Commercial lease in Spain: Template, Key Clauses and Local Law (2026)

What a commercial lease is under Spanish law A commercial lease in Spain is an arrendamiento para uso distinto del de vivienda, a lease for use other than housing, governed by the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (LAU, Ley 29/1994). This matters because Spain treats commercial leases very differently from residential ones. For housing, the LAU imposes strong mandatory protections. For a commercial lease, the order of rules is almost the reverse: the will of the parties comes first, then Title III of the LAU, and the Civil Code only as a last resort. So a Spanish commercial lease is largely what you negotiate, which makes careful drafting more important, not less. Unlike France, Spain does not give a commercial tenant an automatic right to renewal or an eviction indemnity by statute. If you want those protections, you must build them into the contract. ## What local law requires and what the parties decide Term is freely agreed. There is no statutory minimum term for a commercial lease. The parties set the duration. Because there is no automatic renewal right, a tenant who wants security should negotiate a firm term, renewal options and clear conditions for ending the lease early. Rent and indexation are negotiable. Rent is set by agreement. Indexation is also a matter for the contract; many leases reference a published index. Spanish law has at times restricted the use of the general consumer price index for updates, so state the chosen index and method clearly and check it is currently permitted. Deposit (fianza). The LAU requires a security deposit, and for a lease for use other than housing it is at least two months' rent. Many regions require the landlord to lodge the cash deposit with a regional housing body, though the detail varies by region and has been changing, so confirm the current rule where the property is. Additional guarantees, such as a bank guarantee, are negotiable and common. Assignment and subletting. The LAU gives a commercial tenant certain default rights to assign the lease or sublet, with the landlord entitled to a rent increase, unless the contract says otherwise. Spell out what is allowed. Transfer of the business premises. If the landlord sells the property, the lease position depends on whether the lease is registered in the Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad). Registering the lease protects the tenant against a new owner, so a tenant taking a long lease should consider registration. ## Charges, taxes and works Who pays for what is a matter of contract in a Spanish commercial lease, so set it out in full. The main items are the IBI (impuesto sobre bienes inmuebles, the local property tax), community of owners charges (gastos de comunidad) where the premises sit in a building, utilities, and insurance. It is common in commercial leases to pass the IBI and community charges to the tenant, but only if the contract says so. Fit-out and works also need a clear split: which party carries out and pays for the initial fit-out, who handles ordinary repairs, and who is responsible for structural works. Record the condition of the premises at the start, because the tenant's obligation to return them in good order is measured against that baseline. ## Early termination, renewal and VAT Because the LAU leaves most of this to the parties, three points deserve attention. First, early termination: decide whether the tenant can leave before the term ends, on what notice, and with what penalty, because without a clause the tenant may owe the remaining rent. Second, renewal: there is no automatic statutory extension for commercial use, so if the contract simply runs on after the term, be clear whether that creates a tacit renewal (tacita reconduccion) under the Civil Code and on what terms. Third, VAT: the lease of commercial premises generally carries IVA at the standard 21 percent rate, which the tenant pays on top of the rent, and the landlord must issue proper invoices. State clearly whether the quoted rent is before or after VAT so there is no dispute later. ## A usable template Adapt to your facts and have a Spanish lawyer review it. CONTRATO DE ARRENDAMIENTO PARA USO DISTINTO DE VIVIENDA / COMMERCIAL LEASE 1. Parties. [Landlord, tax ID] and [Tenant, tax ID]. 2. Premises and use. [Address, description]. Permitted use: [the agreed activity]. 3. Term. From [date] for [duration]. [Renewal options and conditions.] 4. Rent. [Amount] per [period], payable [in advance]. Updated annually by [chosen index/method]. 5. Deposit and guarantees. Cash deposit of two months' rent, lodged as required locally. [Additional bank guarantee if agreed.] 6. Works and condition. [Who carries out and pays for fit-out, repairs and structural works; condition at entry and exit.] 7. Assignment and subletting. [State what is permitted and any rent adjustment.] 8. Charges and taxes. [Allocation of IBI property tax, community charges, utilities, insurance.] 9. Registration. [Whether the lease will be registered in the Land Registry.] 10. Termination. [Notice, early termination, penalties, return of the premises.] 11. Governing law and jurisdiction. Spanish law; courts of [city]. Signatures, dated. ## A short walk through the key clauses Term and renewal carry the most weight precisely because the LAU gives no automatic renewal. A tenant who wants certainty should negotiate a firm term plus renewal options in writing. Deposit and guarantees follow the two-month floor, with the lodging rule depending on the region. Confirm the current local requirement. Assignment and registration protect the tenant: clear assignment rights keep the lease transferable with the business, and registration protects the lease if the property is sold. ## Red flags to check before signing - Assuming a renewal right that Spanish commercial leases do not grant automatically.

• A deposit below two months' rent, or no plan to lodge it where required locally.
• An index or update method that is not currently permitted.
• Silence on assignment and subletting, which leaves the default rules to govern.
• A long lease left unregistered, exposing the tenant if the owner sells. ## Keeping the lease under control after signing A Spanish commercial lease is largely what you negotiated, so the duties that follow are the ones you wrote: the term and renewal windows, the annual rent update on the chosen index, the deposit and guarantees, and the charges split. Drafting a Spanish commercial lease that captures the protections the LAU does not give by default, checking the deposit, index and assignment clauses, and tracking the term and renewal dates can sit in one AI workspace tuned to how your company leases space. Adira is built around that idea: it drafts from a template, models the lease as linked clauses so it can flag a missing renewal option or an index that is no longer allowed, and keeps the key dates and obligations in one place. Adira is India-first today, with jurisdictions set per contract and an international mode for others; deep, verified coverage of the Spanish lease rules is on its roadmap rather than established, so treat Spain specific output as a draft for a Spanish lawyer to confirm. This page is general information, not legal advice. The LAU and regional rules change, so confirm the current requirements where the property is located.