Property lawyers in Spain for landlords and buyers
Your tenant has stopped paying and is still in the flat, someone has moved into your second home, the residents' meeting has approved a levy you do not accept, or the flat you bought has damp and nobody answers. Our real estate lawyers act for owners and buyers, from the first formal demand through to the eviction date or registration at the Registro de la Propiedad (the Spanish land registry). A lawyer registered with the Spanish bar tells you which route is the fast one in your particular case and what you have to do before the clock starts running.
What we handle
Your tenant has stopped paying and will not leave
Combined claim for eviction and unpaid rent, preceded by the formal demand that, served thirty days ahead, blocks the tenant's right to stop the eviction by paying (arts. 22.4 and 250.1.1º LEC).
Someone has moved into a property of yours
Fast track criminal proceedings for usurpation or trespass under LO 1/2025, or the summary possession claim, which lapses one year after dispossession (arts. 202 and 245 of the criminal code; art. 250.1.4º LEC).
Your new build has damp or cracks
Claim against developer, builder and technical staff, joint and several where the defect cannot be attributed to one of them, within the one, three or ten year warranties (arts. 17 and 18 of the Spanish building act).
The residents' meeting approves a levy you reject
Challenge to the resolution within three months, or one year if it breaches the law or the statutes, provided you are up to date with payments or deposit what you owe (arts. 17 and 18 of the commonhold act).
You were charged agency fees and extra deposits
Nullity and refund of what was wrongly charged, because letting agency costs fall on the landlord and any clause to the tenant's detriment is void (arts. 6 and 20.1 LAU, the tenancy act as amended by Ley 12/2023).
The seller backs out after the deposit contract
Where the deposit is confirmatory rather than a right to withdraw, we enforce performance with execution of the deed and a court caution on the title, instead of settling for double the deposit (arts. 1124 and 1454 of the civil code; art. 42.1 of the mortgage act).
The flat next door is making life impossible
Cease and desist action, which can bar the offender from using the flat for up to three years, reinforced by the rule that tourist letting now needs prior approval by three fifths of the owners (arts. 7.2 and 17.12 of the commonhold act).
How we work on it
Almost all of these matters are won or spoiled in the step before the hearing, not at it. On unpaid rent, a formal demand for payment served at least thirty days before the claim blocks enervación, meaning the tenant can no longer stop the eviction by paying at the last minute, and that single decision changes the whole case; so the first job is to review the contract, the receipts and the burofax (recorded delivery notice), and to combine eviction and the rent claim in one action so you do not litigate twice. Where a property is occupied, we choose between the fast track criminal route, shortened by LO 1/2025, and the summary possession claim, which lapses one year after dispossession and is exempt from the pre-action attempt at agreement that the law has generally required since April 2025. On construction defects we sue developer, builder and technical staff together, because where the defect cannot be attributed to one of them they are jointly and severally liable, and the urgent task is to stop the one, three or ten year warranty clock. And the matter does not end with the judgment: we stay through enforcement, because an eviction order with no date set does not give you your keys back.
Your matter is quoted after the consultation, because every case is different. The consultation fee is credited in full against the engagement if you go ahead.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change the locks or cut off the utilities?
No, and doing it turns you into the defendant. Changing the locks, removing the door or cutting off supplies to force someone out is prosecuted as coercion, and it also wrecks your own eviction claim, because the court stops seeing an owner enforcing a right and starts seeing an owner taking the law into his own hands. Only a judge can order possession returned to you.
What is enervación and how do I prevent it?
It is the tenant's right to stop the eviction by paying everything owed before the hearing, and it can only be used once. It is blocked in one specific way: by serving a recorded formal demand for payment at least thirty days before the claim is filed, with no payment made in that window. That notice, properly drafted and properly dated, is what decides whether the matter is resolved or repeats itself every six months.
I want to challenge a community levy. What do I need?
Three things and a deadline. Having voted against and having it recorded in the minutes, being up to date with payments or depositing what you owe with the court before challenging, and grounds: a resolution that breaches the law or the statutes, seriously harms the community or is abusive towards one owner. The deadline is three months from the resolution, or one year where it breaches the law or the statutes.
What does an eviction cost and who ends up paying?
The matter is quoted after the consultation, 100 euros for half an hour or 200 euros for a full hour, credited in full against the engagement if you go ahead. If the claim is fully upheld, costs are normally awarded against the tenant, although actually collecting them depends on whether they have anything to pay with. We will not give you an eviction date at the consultation: it depends on the court's diary and promising one would be misleading you.
Law firm guides on this area
The dispute explained: what action lies, what deadline is running and what has to be proved.
- Your tenant has stopped paying: recover the flat and the debt
- Squatters in your flat: the fast criminal route and the civil one
- Cracks or damp in your new home: who exactly do you sue
- The owners' meeting approved an unfair levy: challenge it
- Your landlord slipped in void clauses: get the money back
- The seller backs out: demand the house, not just the deposit
- A neighbour makes life impossible: the cessation action