Can a landlord ask for extra guarantees?

Overview

Beyond the standard one-month legal deposit, landlords in Spain are allowed to ask for additional guarantees — but the law sets a clear cap on how much they can request in total for a standard residential lease.

Requirements

• Applies to habitual-residence leases of up to five years (individual landlord) or seven years (company landlord)
• Any additional guarantee must be explicitly agreed and written into the contract — it cannot be demanded afterwards if it wasn't stated at signing

Step-by-step process

• Check what, if anything, is being requested beyond the one-month legal deposit before you sign
• Confirm the total of deposit plus any additional guarantee does not exceed the legal cap of three months' rent in total (one month deposit plus up to two months of extra guarantee)
• If a bank guarantee (aval bancario) is agreed, arrange it through your bank as a formal guarantee policy
• Keep a copy of the contract clause and any guarantee documentation

Required documents

• Contract clause stating the exact additional guarantee agreed
• Bank guarantee documentation, if that form is used
• A guarantor's ID and proof of income, if a personal guarantor is used instead

Common mistakes

• Agreeing to more than three months' total (deposit plus guarantee) for a standard habitual-residence lease
• Accepting a verbal agreement for an additional guarantee instead of having it written into the contract
• Not accounting for the setup and annual maintenance costs of a bank guarantee, which add to its real cost

Practical tips

• A bank guarantee typically costs a percentage of the guaranteed amount in setup and notary fees, plus an annual maintenance fee — compare this to simply paying extra months upfront if you can afford to
• If a landlord asks for more than the legal maximum, you can point to the LAU limit and negotiate it down

How Tuchati can help

If you're being asked for a guarantee that seems unusual or you're not sure it's within the legal limit, Tuchati can help you check it before you agree.