Seasonal lets, rent updates and subletting in Spain (LAU)

A seasonal let is a tenancy for a use other than as a home (article 3 of the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, the Spanish Urban Tenancies Act). It is granted over a dwelling, but it does not cover the tenant's permanent need for housing: it covers a temporary stay for work, study, medical treatment, building work on their main home or holidays. The Act mentions it expressly: tenancies of urban property entered into for a season, whether summer or any other.

It is governed by what the parties agree (article 4.3 LAU) and, failing that, by Title III of the LAU and the Código Civil (the Spanish Civil Code). This means it has no compulsory extension of 5 years (7 if the landlord is a legal entity), no update capped by the IRAV, and none of the price containment measures of the Ley por el derecho a la vivienda (the Spanish housing act). The statutory deposit is 2 months' rent, against 1 month for a main home.

What matters is not the label on the contract but the real purpose of the tenancy. There must be a verifiable reason for the temporary nature, and it must be recorded; otherwise the courts can reclassify the contract as a main home tenancy with all its protection.

Rent is only updated if the contract expressly provides for it, and only on the anniversary date (article 18 LAU). With no update clause, the rent does not rise while the contract is in force.

For a main home, the reference index is the IRAV (Índice de Referencia de Arrendamiento de Vivienda, the housing rent reference index), published monthly by the INE, Spain's national statistics office, which replaces the IPC (the Spanish consumer price index) in contracts signed since Ley 12/2023 came into force (26 May 2023). Earlier contracts continue to apply the index agreed, normally the IPC, or the Índice de Garantía de Competitividad (the competitiveness guarantee index) where the clause was generic. The IRAV acts as the maximum limit on the increase.

The latest figure published by the INE is the one for June 2026 (2.44%); May 2026 was 2.48%. You should check the figure for the month matching your contract's anniversary, because the index changes every month. You can see the price of this service on the Rent update page: Managora works out the correct index and drafts the notice for you.

In a seasonal let the rent is updated as freely agreed, without the IRAV cap, because it is not a main home.

Yes, with different requirements depending on the type of tenancy. In a main home (article 8 LAU) subletting can only be partial and needs the landlord's prior written consent; assigning the contract also requires that consent in writing. The sublet price can never exceed the rent the tenant pays, and the subtenant's right ends when the main contract ends.

In business premises and other non housing tenancies where a business or professional activity is carried on (article 32 LAU) the landlord's consent is not needed, but the assignment or the sublet must be notified by a formally provable means (notificación fehaciente) within 1 month. In exchange, the landlord may raise the rent by 10% for a partial sublet and by 20% for an assignment or a total sublet.

Consent is not implied by silence or by the owner's informal knowledge. Subletting or assigning without meeting these requirements is grounds for terminating the contract. Managora prepares the request for consent or the formal, provable notice; the price appears on the Sublet notice page.

When the seasonal label is used to dodge the protection given to a main home (the extension of up to 5 years, the rent cap), but the tenant lives there permanently. The courts look at the reality and not at the name: if there is no real, evidenced temporary reason, they reclassify the contract as a main home tenancy with all its effects.

To avoid fraud of law (fraude de ley), the contract must state the specific reason for the temporary nature (a temporary employment contract in another city, enrolment on a course, a move because of building work on your own home) and set a duration consistent with it. It is advisable to keep the documents that prove that reason.

Managora drafts the seasonal contract with the right reason and the supporting documents so that it withstands any later review, without leaving your case in someone else's hands.

The IRAV is now fully established as the update index for main homes and has displaced the IPC. As at 17 July 2026 there is no extraordinary cap in force: the full index published by the INE applies. There was one briefly: Real Decreto-ley 8/2026, of March 2026, set a provisional cap of 2%, but Congress did not ratify it on 28 April 2026 and it ceased to have effect the following day. The caps of earlier years (2% in 2023, 3% in 2024) are also behind us. In any case, it is worth confirming in the BOE (the Spanish official gazette) that no new limiting measure is in place on the date of application.

Short term lets advertised on digital platforms are governed by Real Decreto 1312/2024, which created the Registro Único de Arrendamientos (the single rental register) and the Ventanilla Única Digital de Arrendamientos (the single digital rental window). Since 1 July 2025 you must obtain a Número de Registro de Alquiler (NRA, the rental registration number) in order to advertise that accommodation; listings without an NRA are removed from the platforms. Not every seasonal let needs one: the duty is aimed at short stays marketed on platforms, not at a direct seasonal contract for a whole season (an academic year, for example), which may fall outside it.

In addition, some autonomous communities (Spain's regional governments) have approved their own requirements for seasonal lets and room lets. It is worth checking the regional rules that apply before signing.

Managora identifies the correct regime for your contract and prepares and files it for you: we draft the seasonal tenancy agreement with its evidenced reason, we calculate and notify the annual rent update using the IRAV index in force, and we handle the notice of the sublet or the assignment to the landlord.

The whole process is online. You can see the current price of each service on its own page: Seasonal let, Rent update and Sublet notice. If your case needs the NRA in order to advertise the accommodation, we handle that too.