Renting in Spain without Spanish payslips: what to offer, and what the law says

You've found a flat you like. You earn well, but from clients abroad, so you don't have the thing every listing seems to ask for: a Spanish nómina (payslip). You have foreign bank statements, tax returns and client contracts. Will that do? And what about the seguro de impago (rent-default insurance) the agency mentioned, or the advice to offer six or twelve months up front?

This guide covers two things: a document pack you can put together to show you can pay, and what Spanish tenancy law actually says about deposits, guarantees, insurance and paying in advance. The law part is the useful bit, because it tells you which requests a landlord can make and which they can't.

Build a document pack

Put together a pack that shows who you are and that you can pay:

• Identity: your passport and, if you have it, your NIE (número de identidad de extranjero, the identification number Spain gives foreign nationals).
• Proof of income: recent bank statements showing regular payments in, and your client contracts or invoices.
• Tax returns: from Spain if you've filed here, or from the country where you've been filing.
• References: from previous landlords, with contact details.
• A short cover note: one paragraph on what you do, who your clients are and how long you've worked with them.

Two practical points. Send copies only once you've seen the flat and the rental is going ahead: Catalonia's cybersecurity agency advises never handing over documents like your ID or payslips before you've visited, because they can be used to take out loans in your name (Agència de Ciberseguretat de Catalunya). And send them to the landlord or agency named on the contract, not to a third party.

What the law says about money up front

The rules below are in the LAU (Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, Spain's main tenancy law), in the consolidated text in force since 8 October 2026 (BOE). Several were changed by Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 (a government decree-law), which must still be confirmed by the Diputación Permanente (the standing committee that acts for Parliament while it's dissolved). They apply to a home rental, a contrato de arrendamiento de vivienda.

The fianza: one month

At the signing of a home rental, a fianza (cash security deposit) equal to one month's rent is compulsory (LAU art. 36.1).

Any extra guarantee is capped

On top of the fianza, landlord and tenant can agree an additional guarantee. For a home rental with a contract of up to five years (seven if the landlord is a company), that extra guarantee can't exceed two months' rent. For a temporary rental, the cap is one month (LAU art. 36.5).

The landlord can't require rent-default insurance

The same article now says that in no case can the tenant be required to take out rent-default insurance or similar cover (LAU art. 36.5). This change came in with Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 on 8 October 2026 and depends on the decree being confirmed.

So if you're told you need to buy a seguro de impago yourself before you can rent, that is a requirement the current text rules out. The wording covers requiring the tenant to take out the insurance.

Paying months in advance

Article 17.2 of the LAU says that unless agreed otherwise, rent is paid monthly, within the first seven days of the month, and that "in no case may the landlord demand advance payment of more than one month's rent."

That's the precise rule: a landlord can't demand more than one month in advance. If you're asked for several months up front, the law doesn't let the landlord require it. If any money changes hands:

• pay by traceable bank transfer: the LAU says rent is paid by electronic means as a rule (art. 17.3);
• get a written receipt saying what the payment is for. For rent, the landlord has to give you a receipt, unless you've agreed a payment method that itself proves you paid, and the receipt must break down the amounts paid for each item, including the current rent (art. 17.4).

Agency fees are the landlord's

Going through an inmobiliaria (letting agency) or renting from a private landlord makes no difference here. Property-management and contract-formalisation costs can't be passed on to the tenant, directly or indirectly, under any name. Any other service that isn't essential to the contract can only be charged to you if you asked for it expressly and in writing, after being told it's optional and what it costs (LAU art. 20.2).

Temporary contracts signed before 8 October

If you're on a seasonal or temporary contract signed before 8 October 2026, it keeps its previous legal status and rules until the end date agreed in the contract, and then ends with no extension (LAU, transitional provision 8). Any renewal follows the new rules for temporary home rentals.

While you're in temporary housing

If you're searching from a short stay, note that the LAU now has a category for it: a vivienda temporal (temporary home) rental covers someone temporarily away from their usual home for a justified, provable reason (art. 2.3), and lasts more than 31 days and, as a general rule, no more than 12 months (art. 9 bis). For how to book a short stay without getting caught by a fake one, see Your first few weeks: holiday lets and short-stay scams.

One rule, whatever your documents

However strong your file is, don't send money before you've seen the flat. It's the first rule in our scam-spotting series: No viewing, no money.

Looking at a listing in Madrid? Paste the link into the Justisimo checker. It's free: it reads the ad, compares the rent with the area and looks for the patterns behind fake listings.

FAQs

How much can I be asked for when I sign? For a home rental: one month's fianza (art. 36.1), an extra guarantee of up to two months on contracts of up to five years, or seven with a company landlord (art. 36.5), and no more than one month's rent in advance (art. 17.2). Agency fees are not yours to pay (art. 20.2).

The agency says I need rent-default insurance. Do I? Since 8 October 2026, the LAU says a tenant can't be required to take one out (art. 36.5), pending confirmation of Real Decreto-ley 29/2026.

Should I offer a year up front? The law says the landlord can't demand more than one month in advance (art. 17.2). If you pay anything, use a bank transfer and get a written receipt.

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Justisimo is an information tool, not a law firm. This article is general information, not legal advice.

Sources: BOE: Ley 29/1994 (LAU), consolidated text · BOE: Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 · BOE: Ley 7/1985 (NIE wording, art. 16.2) · Agència de Ciberseguretat de Catalunya · Justisimo