In Spain, the rental contracts of habitual residence are one of the most common sources of legal conflicts between owners and tenants. Doubts about the minimum duration, compensation for non-compliance or the conditions for leaving the home earlier than agreed usually generate tensions and misunderstandings. In a context of rising prices and increasingly scrutinized contracts, understanding what the law says is essential to avoid disputes. With that idea, the lawyer and legal disseminator known on social networks as @efigares has explained in a video the cases in which a tenant must financially compensate the owner if they decide to leave early.
The lawyer begins by differentiating two main scenarios: when the tenant leaves before the sixth month and when he leaves after the sixth month of the contract. In the first case, he assures that it is a breach of contractunless the signed document itself contemplates the possibility of withdrawing earlier. This detail, he emphasizes, is decisive in knowing whether or not financial compensation is appropriate.
When this breach occurs, the tenant would be obliged to compensate the owner with the remaining monthly payments until the sixth month is completed, although later the amount can be adjusted depending on the case. “In case of breach of contract, the tenant would have to compensate the owner with the months of rent missing up to the sixth month of the contract, although it can be weighted later,” the specialist says. In this way, if someone leaves the home in the third month, the owner could claim the remaining three months until reaching the minimum of six.
The second scenario occurs when the tenant decides to leave after having exceeded the sixth month of the contract, a situation that is regulated by article 11 of the Urban Leasing Law (LAU). In this case, the tenant can leave without compensating the owner, but only if the contract does not include a specific clause indicating otherwise. “In these cases, the tenant can leave without compensating the owner, unless the contract has a clause that says that he or she has to compensate the owner,” he points out.
If such a clause exists, the law allows the owner claim compensation equivalent to one month’s rent for each year of the contract that remains to be fulfilled. When the pending duration is less than one year, the proportional part will be applied. “In these cases, you would have to compensate him with a compensation of one month’s rent for each year of the contract that remains to be fulfilled. And if less than one year is missing, the proportional part,” explains the lawyer, remembering that this nuance is common in most professional contracts.
The lawyer insists that the key is in the contract itself: its wording can determine the outcome of any subsequent conflict. Therefore, we recommend that owners always include a withdrawal clause that clearly establishes the consequences in case of early abandonment. “I always say it, put a clause in your contract in which the tenant has to compensate the owner in case of withdrawal,” he advises.
