The two housing decrees approved by Pedro Sánchez's government at the end of September have been repealed, but that does not mean that all existing protections for tenants in Spain have disappeared.
On October 2, Congress agreed to repeal both the Royal Decree-Law 26/2026, which introduced a wide range of measures regarding rentals, and the Royal Decree-Law 27/2026, mainly focused on strengthening the continuity of residential lease contracts.
The respective repeal resolutions were published by the Official State Bulletin on October 2.
The first came into effect on October 1, and the second is listed in the BOE with an effective date of October 2, so both had an extremely short legal lifespan.
For tenants and property owners, the practical question now is another: what measures are being lifted and what rules continue to apply?
The new state regulation on temporary rentals is disappearing
One of the most significant innovations of Royal Decree-Law 26/2026 was the establishment of a specific framework for temporary rentals and rooms.
The regulation required that a temporary contract include a genuine and verifiable reason justifying why the tenant needed the housing only for a specific period.
In addition, it established as a general rule that these contracts:
They had to exceed 31 days.
They should normally not exceed 12 months.
They could become regular rentals if they exceeded that time without a valid justification.
They could also be considered as regular rentals when more than two consecutive temporary contracts were linked between the same parties regarding the same property.
The absence of a duly substantiated temporary cause could lead to the contract being regarded as a primary residence from the outset.
With the repeal, that new state regime ceases to have effect.
Temporary contracts are once again subject to the previous regime of the Urban Leasing Law and to any applicable regional regulations.
The specific limit for renting out rooms is also falling
The decree established another rule that is especially relevant in cities with a tense rental market: when a dwelling is rented by rooms, the total of all rents cannot exceed the price corresponding to the full rental of the dwelling.
In addition, in the areas designated as tense residential markets, the applicable price limitations for the property had to be respected.
This new specific regulation introduced by Royal Decree-Law 26/2026 is now rendered void.
This does not prevent autonomous communities or competent administrations from having their own rules regarding temporary rentals, rooms, or tourist housing.
The extraordinary extension of up to two years disappears
Another significant change was an extraordinary extension of up to two additional years for certain contracts for primary residences.
Tenants whose contracts were nearing the end of certain extension periods before December 31, 2028, could apply for it, provided they were up to date with their rent and had been for the previous eight months.
The owner was obligated to accept the extension except in certain cases, such as a new agreement between the parties or a genuine and substantiated need to reclaim the property.
That special two-year extension is no longer in effect following its repeal.
But there are still other extensions for some tenants
The removal of that provision does not mean that any landlord can immediately terminate a lease.
The current Urban Lease Law retains several previous protections.
The minimum mandatory duration of contracts for primary residence remains:
Five years when the landlord is an individual.
Seven years when the landlord is a legal entity.
Once that period has elapsed, if neither party correctly expresses its intention to terminate the contract, it may be extended for annual periods for a maximum of three additional years.
The landlord must communicate their intention not to renew it at least four months in advance, and the tenant must do so at least two months in advance.
Vulnerable tenants retain certain protections
The previous regulation also includes an extraordinary extension of up to one year for certain tenants who can demonstrate social and economic vulnerability when the landlord is a large holder.
Moreover, when the residence is located in a high-demand residential market area, the tenant may request extraordinary annual extensions under certain circumstances, up to a maximum of three years.
These protections stem from previous legislation and were not dependent on the two decrees that have now been repealed.
The extraordinary limit of 2% on rent updates is lifted
The Royal Decree-Law 26/2026 also established an extraordinary limitation for certain income updates until December 31, 2027.
The measure stipulated that:
If the rent had already exceeded the maximum limit set by the corresponding state system, no increase should have been applied.
In other cases, the owner and tenant could negotiate the update.
If there was no new agreement, the increase could not exceed 2%.
This specific extraordinary limit also disappears with the repeal of the decree.
Updates are again subject to the ordinary regime of the Urban Leasing Law, the conditions of the contract, and the legally applicable indexes or limits in each case.
The compensation of 12 monthly payments for not renewing has been eliminated
The second decree introduced one of the measures that sparked the most controversy.
Royal Decree-Law 27/2026 amended Article 10 of the Urban Leasing Law to specify that once the minimum contract periods have been exceeded, if the landlord decides not to renew it without one of the justified causes stipulated by the regulation, they must compensate the tenant.
The compensation was equivalent to 12 months of rent for a comparable housing unit, calculated whenever possible using the state reference system.
Moreover, it could never be less than one month's rent for each year the tenant had lived in the property.
With the repeal of Royal Decree-Law 27/2026, this compensation is no longer part of the current regime.
The new five or seven-year renewal system is also falling
The decree aimed to transform the extensions beyond the initial rental period.
If neither party communicated their intention to terminate the contract, a new mandatory extension would have occurred for:
Five years when the owner is an individual.
Seven years when it became a legal entity.
Additionally, the owner was required to communicate their decision not to renew with six months' notice.
Following the repeal, that reform disappears.
The previous regulation is reinstated: after a minimum period of five or seven years, the contract may continue through annual extensions for a maximum of three years, provided that neither party terminates it within the legal deadlines.
Are the owners still paying the agency fees?
Yes.
This is one of the points where more confusion can arise.
The repealed decree reinforced the restrictions to prevent certain expenses, services, and taxes from being passed on to the tenant.
But the basic obligation that the costs of real estate management and the formalization of the contract are the responsibility of the landlord already existed before these decrees and continues to be included in the Urban Leases Law.
Therefore, the repeal of Royal Decree-Law 26/2026 no longer allows charging the tenant the fees of the real estate agency related to the management and formalization of the regular housing contract.
However, ordinary regulations do allow the parties to agree in writing that certain general expenses, taxes, or charges may be assumed by the tenant, provided that the conditions required by law are met.
The rental limits in tense areas also do not disappear
Another consequence that can lead to confusion is thinking that the repeal allows for the free setting of any price in an area officially declared as a tense residential market.
It's not like that.
The rules previously introduced by the Law 12/2023 on the Right to Housing remain in effect.
In these areas, the new rent for a property that has been leased in the previous five years cannot, as a general rule, exceed the last updated rent of the previous contract, except for legally permitted increases under certain circumstances.
When the owner is a large holder, the maximum limit resulting from the state system of reference price indexes continues to apply.
In certain cases, this limitation may also apply to housing that has not been rented out during the previous five years when this has been stipulated in the declaration of the tense zone.
The tenant's right to purchase preferentially also does not completely disappear
Royal Decree-Law 26/2026 also expanded the tenant’s right of first refusal in certain transactions, including some joint sales where the property could be legally individualized.
That expansion loses its effect.
But the general right of first refusal and retraction stipulated in Article 25 of the Urban Lease Law still exists.
In a regular sale of the rented property, the tenant may have the right to acquire it preferentially under the terms and exceptions established by law.
The two decrees were barely in effect
The Royal Decree-Law 26/2026 was published on September 30 and came into effect on October 1.
The Congress agreed to its repeal on October 2, and the BOE published on the same day the resolution that formalized the fall of the regulation.
The Royal Decree-Law 27/2026 was published on October 1. The BOE indicates the date of entry into force as October 2, and also the date of repeal on the same day, through a second resolution of the Congress.
Due to this exceptionally brief period, contracts, renewals, or actions formalized specifically during the days these regulations were in effect may require a specific analysis based on their date and circumstances.
A reform that ultimately led to a political crisis
CiberCuba explained on September 30 the new rental rules introduced by the first of the decrees, when some of them had just been published in the BOE.
Two days later, Congress rejected the proposal to maintain both regulations.
The parliamentary defeat triggered a political crisis that culminated on Monday with the announcement of early general elections.
Pedro Sánchez announced that Spain will hold general elections on November 29, following the collapse of the two housing decrees.
In summary: what disappears and what continues
Among the new measures that are no longer in effect are:
The new specific state regulation for temporary rentals.
The specific state limit for the total rental amount for rooms.
The extraordinary general extension of up to two years.
The extraordinary limit of 2% on certain income updates until the end of 2027.
The minimum compensation is 12 months' rent when the owner decides not to renew without just cause.
The new automatic successive extensions of five or seven years provided for by the second decree.
The extension introduced in certain cases of the right of first refusal.
But they remain in effect, among other rules:
The minimum duration is five years when the landlord is a natural person and seven years when it is a legal entity.
The annual extensions of up to three years provided for by ordinary legislation.
Certain extraordinary extensions for vulnerable tenants.
The extension of up to three years for certain dwellings located in areas with a strained residential market.
The price limits applicable to certain new contracts in tight markets.
The landlord's obligation to cover the expenses of real estate management and the formalization of the contract.
The ordinary right of first refusal and retraction for the tenant in cases established by law.
The key point, therefore, is that the Congress's rejection eliminated the reforms added by decrees 26/2026 and 27/2026, but did not repeal the Urban Lease Law or the Law for the Right to Housing, which continue to govern a significant portion of the relationships between landlords and tenants in Spain.
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