Spain Rental Decree 2026 Rejected: What Changes for Mallorca Landlords and What Still Applies

The Spain rental decree 2026 on automatic five-year renewals was rejected on 12 November and never took effect. A second decree was ratified the same day, so tenants can now ask for two extra years and most rent rises are capped.

Congress's standing committee voted on both housing decrees on 12 November: Royal Decree-law 28/2026, the five-year renewals with compensation for tenants, was repealed by 35 votes to 34, three days before it was due to start. Royal Decree-law 29/2026, in force since 8 October, was ratified by the same margin. We have been selling homes in Calvià since 1985, and many of the owners we work with let a home long term. Here is what that means for them, based on the decree published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado.

What the Spain Rental Decree 2026 Would Have Done

The rejected decree would have rewritten Article 10 of the Urban Leases Act (LAU). After the minimum term, leases of a tenant's main home would have renewed in blocks of five years, landlords would have needed six months' notice, and ending a lease would usually have cost the landlord up to a year's rent in compensation, an obligation that passed to any buyer.

None of that applies. Because the decree was repealed before 15 November, it never came into force, and no landlord owes compensation under it.

How Long a Lease Lasts Now

The duration rules stay as they were before October. A lease of a tenant's main home runs for at least five years, or seven if the landlord is a company. After that, if neither side gives notice, it extends year by year for up to three more years. The landlord's notice is four months before the end date, and the tenant's is two months.

The ratified decree keeps that pattern but adds an extra layer of protection, explained next.

The Two-Year Extension Tenants Can Request

The ratified decree gives tenants of main-home leases a new right. Where a lease was in force on 8 October 2026 and its mandatory period ends before 31 December 2028, or its year-by-year extension ends, the tenant can ask to extend it by up to two further years, one year at a time, on the same terms. The tenant must be up to date with the rent and have paid every month for the previous eight months.

The landlord must accept, except where:

• both sides agree different terms or sign a new lease;
• the landlord needs the home for themselves or close family, giving notice under the LAU's usual rules, even if the contract did not mention that possibility, as long as the need is real and can be shown;
• both sides agree a renewal or a new lease with a rent at least 5% lower than the current one.

In practice, an owner planning to take a home back or sell it vacant in the next two years needs to look at the dates in the lease now.

Rent Rises Until the End of 2027

For leases whose annual rent review falls between 8 October 2026 and 31 December 2027, the decree limits the increase. If the rent is already above the ceiling of the state rental price reference index for that home, there is no increase at all. In other cases, the rise is whatever both sides agree, and without an agreement it cannot exceed 2%.

The decree also sets the longer-term rule: a rent can only be reviewed once a year if the contract says so, and never by more than the official rental index (IRAV).

Costs Landlords Can No Longer Pass On

• Property taxes: taxes on the home, such as IBI, can no longer be charged to the tenant unless the tenant is the taxpayer.
• Agency and contract fees: the costs of preparing, signing or renewing the lease cannot be passed on to the tenant in any form.
• Repairs: if a repair affects habitability, the tenant can send the landlord a written request with a quote. If the landlord does not respond within 15 days, the tenant can do the work and deduct the cost from future rent.

Seasonal and Holiday Lets

The ratified decree also tightens the line between types of letting:

• Holiday lets are stays of up to 31 days under tourism law. In Mallorca they need a licence, as our guide to getting a tourist rental licence explains.
• Temporary lets run from 32 days to, as a rule, 12 months, and the contract must state a real, provable reason the tenant is away from their usual home, such as work or study. Without it, or after more than two back-to-back temporary contracts with the same tenant, the let counts as a main-home lease from the start, with all its protections.

Evictions and Small Landlords

Until 31 December 2030, courts can suspend evictions of vulnerable tenants who have nowhere else to go. The decree adds an important limit for private owners: a tenant's vulnerability does not prevail when the landlord is an individual who owns two homes or fewer. Where a suspension does apply against an individual landlord, the housing authorities cover the unpaid rent, utilities and court costs.

What It Means If You Plan to Sell

A buyer of a let home takes over the lease, as our guide to selling with a sitting tenant explains, and that now includes any two-year extension the tenant is entitled to request. Buyers who want to live in the home will factor that in, which is why the dates in the lease, and whether the tenant qualifies for the extension, matter before you go to market. Our article on how property valuation works in Mallorca explains how we price a home let or vacant, and our guide to how rental income is taxed covers the tax side.

This is a summary of the published text, not legal advice. Check your own contract with a lawyer before giving or answering any notice.

How We Help

We have been selling homes in Calvià since 1985, including many let to long-term tenants. If the new rules have you rethinking a property you let, we can value it both ways and work with your lawyer on the timing. Start with a free, no-obligation valuation, or browse our current homes in Santa Ponsa and across Mallorca.

Call us on +34 971 692 434, message us on WhatsApp, or email help@imperial-properties.com.