Update, 2 October 2026: Congress rejected both housing decrees. The BOE has published the repeal of Real Decreto-ley 26/2026 and Real Decreto-ley 27/2026. The measures introduced by these texts are no longer in force.
The first decree, covering rental protections, property measures and tax changes, received 172 votes in favour and 178 against. The second, concerning repeated automatic renewals of habitual-home rental contracts, received 166 in favour and 184 against. RTPA reports both vote totals; the BOE resolutions linked above confirm the legal outcome.
For expats renting or buying in Spain, this means the new 2% rent-update measure, extraordinary two-year lease extensions and TU CASA financing described below cannot be treated as current entitlements under these decrees. The second decree's automatic-renewal changes have also been repealed. Existing protections under other legislation need to be checked separately. If you signed an agreement or made a request during the brief period when either decree was in force, seek advice about that specific action rather than assuming the vote automatically reverses it.
Historical explanation below. We have retained our 30 September account of what Real Decreto-ley 26/2026 contained. Its descriptions and practical suggestions reflect the position before today's rejection and should not be used as a guide to the law now in force.
Original report, 30 September 2026: subsequently repealed
The latest Spain housing law changes in 2026 affect rental contracts, room lets and some property purchases. Spain published Real Decreto-ley 26/2026 on 30 September, with most provisions due to take effect on 1 October 2026. If you rent here or are planning to buy, your contract date and the type of transaction matter more than the headlines.
I checked the published legal text in the BOE, including its exceptions and transition rules. The biggest changes include a conditional 2% limit on annual rent increases, extensions for qualifying existing leases, tighter temporary-rental rules and a new first-home financing mechanism with a permanent resale restriction.
Original legal-status note, written on 30 September 2026 and superseded by the update above. The decree has been published, but parliamentary validation is still pending. Some tax provisions start on 1 December. A separately reported proposal for repeated automatic lease renewals is not part of the published text reviewed here.
Original explanation: what the September decree provided
The decree was approved on 29 September and published the following day. Its final provision eleven sets 1 October 2026 as the general start date, subject to specific exceptions.
A royal decree-law can take effect before Congress validates it. Publication therefore matters, but it does not settle the parliamentary outcome. I would recheck the BOE before acting on an expiring lease or completing a purchase while that decision remains pending.
The national legislation also preserves regional housing and civil-law provisions. For an expat, that means checking the autonomous community and municipality as well as the national rule. Rent controls in an officially declared zona de mercado residencial tensionado, or stressed housing area, are not interchangeable with the rules for every property in Spain.
Rent increases, two-year extensions and eviction protections
Can your landlord raise the rent by more than 2%? Final provision six addresses annual reviews falling between 1 October 2026 and 31 December 2027. If the rent exceeds the applicable maximum under the reference-price system, no increase is allowed. In other cases, the increase follows a new agreement between landlord and tenant; without that new agreement, it cannot exceed 2%.
The amended Article 18 of the Urban Leases Act, known as the LAU, still requires an express rent-update agreement. Without one, there is no automatic annual increase. It also sets the IRAV index as the ceiling for annual updates. The temporary 2% provision needs to be read alongside that framework, rather than as permission to increase every lease by 2%.
For example, 2% of a €1,000 monthly rent is €20. That illustrates the calculation, but it does not establish that an increase is permitted under your contract. These annual-review rules also do not determine every initial asking rent on a newly advertised property. The relevant provisions are Article 3 and final provision six.
Can you stay for another two years? Final provision five allows qualifying tenants to request an extraordinary extension in annual periods, up to two additional years, keeping the existing contract terms.
It applies to leases in force when the decree starts and covers specified expiry situations. These include the mandatory extension ending before 31 December 2028, along with the listed tacit-extension and tacit-reconduction situations. You must be current on rent and have been current monthly during the preceding eight months. The extension requires a tenant request; it is not simply an automatic addition to every contract.
Exceptions include an agreement on other terms, a new contract, and the landlord's genuine, evidenced need to occupy the home personally or for qualifying family members under LAU Article 9.3. The existing stressed-area extension under Article 10.3 takes priority and cannot be combined with this measure. An agreed renewal or new contract with rent at least 5% lower is another exception.
I would keep payment receipts and make any extension request in writing. If you need help identifying your contract's mandatory term and renewal clauses, the Spanish rental-contract guide explains the underlying terminology. Check the new decree for the September changes.
Are evictions banned until 2030? Articles 2 and 5 create protections for people with proven vulnerability and no alternative accommodation. The rules differ according to the claimant and the type of proceedings. They include judicial assessment, compensation provisions and duties for the competent administration to offer housing or settle qualifying arrears.
For the other-claimant suspension regime in Article 2.2, the court reviews the position annually and the suspension has a three-year maximum. There are exceptions, including provisions concerning individual landlords with two or fewer homes. The decree does not cancel rent obligations or create an unconditional ban on every eviction. Anyone facing proceedings needs advice on the specific provisions in Articles 2 and 5.
Temporary rental contracts and renting a room in Spain
The September decree changes how temporary housing and room rentals fit into the LAU. A temporary tenancy must identify a real, provable reason for displacement from the tenant's usual home, expressly stated in the contract. The landlord bears the burden of proving that reason.
Calling a contract “temporary” is not enough. Under the amended Article 7, the absence of the required stated cause brings habitual-home protections into play from the contract's original signing date.
Temporary rentals must last more than 31 days and generally no longer than 12 months, unless the temporary reason continues. An unjustified stay beyond twelve months, or more than two consecutive temporary contracts between the same parties for the same home, leads to habitual-home treatment from the first contract.
For room rentals, the sum of simultaneous rents cannot exceed the rent for the whole home. In a stressed housing area, the whole-home rent or combined room rents must also respect the applicable controls. Splitting a flat into separate contracts does not remove those limits.
The amended rules also prohibit passing agency and contract-formalisation costs to tenants, directly or indirectly under another name. An optional service can be charged only if the tenant expressly requests it in writing after being told it is optional and what it costs. See Article 3's amendments to the LAU.
What happens to an existing temporary lease? The transition provision preserves its previous legal regime until the agreed term ends. It cannot then be extended under that old regime; a renewed temporary rental follows the new rules. Older habitual-home leases also have transition provisions, including changes to extension and rent-update treatment. I would check the signing date before assuming every new protection applies to an existing agreement in the same way.
Buying property in Spain: purchase restrictions and TU CASA
Article 1 restricts certain acquisitions until 31 December 2028 by entities whose corporate purpose includes acquiring property. It covers acquisitions without payment and purchases below 70% of appraised market value.
The exceptions matter. They include qualifying affordable or social housing for at least five years, specified social uses, adherence to an approved good-practice code, previously notarised transfers and acquisitions through judicial or mortgage enforcement. This provision is not a nationality-based ban on ordinary individual expat buyers. Read Article 1.
The amended LAU Article 25 strengthens tenants' preferential purchase rights. Where the rented home is legally individualisable, those rights survive a bundled sale with other properties or assets. The text requires an objectively allocated price and prevents contractual waiver of the right. For an occupied-property purchase, the lease date and transition rules deserve a conveyancing lawyer's attention.
What is TU CASA? Article 19 creates supplementary financing for a first habitual home bought with a mortgage. The loan would cover the lower of 20% of the home's value or €50,000, with zero interest and no commissions.
The decree leaves eligibility, funding and operating arrangements to a subsequent Council of Ministers agreement and related instruments. It does not establish that applications are already open or that every expat qualifies.
There is a substantial trade-off: a home purchased through TU CASA receives a permanent resale-price ceiling, recorded in the deed and Property Register. Later sales are capped by the acquisition price adjusted for inflation, with qualifying improvements potentially included under further regulations. I would compare that lasting restriction with the financing benefit before choosing the scheme. Article 19 sets out TU CASA.
Rental taxes, foreign-buyer headlines and what to check next
Tourist rental VAT changes from 1 December 2026. Article 7 removes the VAT exemption for the specified furnished rentals lasting no more than 30 nights for the same tenant and places them in the 10% reduced-rate category. The short-stay provision includes an exception where the property is the landlord's habitual residence. Hotel-service rentals have their own branch of the rule. The published rate is 10%, rather than the earlier proposed 21%. Article 7 contains the conditions.
A new tenant IRPF deduction covers 10% of qualifying rent. Article 6 introduces it for habitual-home tenants with a taxable base below €33,007.20. The maximum eligible rent base is €11,630 where the taxable base is no higher than €23,007.20, then tapers. The maximum deduction is therefore €1,163.
An additional condition concerns ownership or use rights over another home less than 50 kilometres away, held by the taxpayer or family unit during at least half the tax period, with an exception for an administrative or judicial decision preventing residential use. Taxable base is not gross salary, and this is a tax deduction rather than an automatic cash grant. Check Article 6 before claiming it.
Does Spain now charge foreign buyers 100% tax? This September decree does not introduce that tax. The parliamentary document proposing a supplementary property-transfer tax is a proposal, not evidence of an enacted nationwide charge. I did not establish such an enacted tax in the sources reviewed for this article.
Buying a home also no longer opens a new Golden Visa investor application. That route ended on 3 April 2025, with transitional protection for qualifying earlier applications, valid permits and renewals. The official immigration guidance explains those distinctions.
A second decree concerning repeated automatic lease renewals and compensation of at least twelve months' rent for certain non-renewals was reported as awaiting publication on 30 September. I have not treated those measures as current law here.
For a rental decision, start with your contract date, expiry provisions, update clause and payment record. For a purchase, check the property's location, any existing tenancy and the restrictions attached to financing. Keep communications in writing and take the relevant contract to your regional housing service or a Spanish property lawyer when a dispute or deadline depends on it.
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