When a Spanish court serves a tenant in an eviction for unpaid rent, it gives them ten days to pay, leave or object, and if they do none of those things the case is closed without a hearing and the eviction is carried out on the day and at the time already stated in the court’s demand. For the landlord, waiting costs something else. Unless you demand payment by a verifiable means at least thirty days before filing the claim, the tenant keeps the option of stopping the eviction by paying everything owed within those ten days, which Spanish law calls enervación, and the tenancy continues.
At Perseus & RC Abogados evictions are handled by Ana María Reza Cortiñas, member no. 6064 of the A Coruña Bar Association and managing partner of the civil practice, and Luis Jurado Cano, member no. 6317. We act for landlords, many of whom live abroad and let a flat in Galicia, and for tenants who have been served with a claim, and we explain every step in English. What applies to any civil case, starting with the negotiation Spanish law requires before suing, is on the civil law page.
Before the claim, one burofax doing two jobs
The first thing we prepare is a demand for payment sent by burofax with certified content to the rented property or the address in the contract. Sent at least thirty days ahead, and if the tenant does not pay in that time, it prevents them from halting the eviction later by paying at the last minute. If it also contains a concrete proposal, a schedule to clear the arrears or a moving-out date in exchange for writing off part of the debt, the same letter serves as the attempt at agreement that the law has required since 2025. Evictions for unpaid rent are not exempt, and without that attempt the court will not admit the claim.
If thirty calendar days pass from receipt without the tenant replying or agreeing to meet, the negotiation is treated as ended and we can file. If the contract has a joint and several guarantor, we send them the demand too, because that is what allows us to sue them in the same case. Meanwhile, gather the contract and its annexes, proof of the payments that were made, proof of the deposit paid and any message in which the tenant admits the debt or announces they are leaving.
In court, the ten-day demand
The claim seeks possession and an order to pay the rent owed, whatever the amount, and it must state whether the property is the occupant’s main home and whether you are a large-scale housing owner. If you are not, a Land Registry certificate listing the properties in your name must be attached. The claim can also offer to write off all or part of the debt and the costs if the tenant leaves within a period you set, which cannot be less than fifteen days from service.
Once the claim is admitted, the court gives the tenant ten days to pay, leave or object, and the same document sets the hearing date, in case they object, and the exact day and time of the eviction, in case they do not. If they do nothing, the court closes the case with a decision ordering them to pay costs and the rent that keeps accruing until they hand over the property. When the property is the tenant’s main home, the court notifies the regional and local social services so they can assess vulnerability, and if they confirm it the judge may suspend the case for up to two months where the landlord is an individual, or four where it is a company, weighing the landlord’s situation as well.
If you are the tenant
The ten days run from the day you are served, and free legal aid must be requested within the first three. If you want to stay and can pay, paying or depositing with the court everything claimed plus whatever you owe by then stops the eviction, provided you have not done so before and the landlord did not demand payment thirty days ahead. To object, the law only lets you argue that you have paid, that you do not owe all or part of what is claimed or that the conditions for stopping the eviction are met. Other complaints against the landlord, such as repairs that were never done, have to be pursued separately. Doing nothing is treated by the law as consent to ending the tenancy.
End of contract, informal occupation and squatters
Unpaid rent is not the only ground for eviction. When the tenancy has ended and the tenant stays on, the same procedure applies. Under residential leases signed since March 2019, the tenant may renew year by year until the lease reaches five years, or seven if the landlord is a company, and after that it continues for up to three more years unless either side gives notice, the landlord four months in advance.
Someone living in a property without paying and with your permission, such as a relative you let stay without a contract, is removed through eviction for precarious occupation, the same kind of proceedings, which also requires the prior negotiation. Occupation without your consent is different. An owner or lawful possessor who is an individual can seek immediate recovery of the home, and if the occupiers do not produce a valid title within five days the judge orders them out, with no prior negotiation required. We cover it in squatters, what the owner can and cannot do. Rent left unpaid by a tenant who has already gone is claimed like any other debt, as explained on the debt recovery page.
Where we are
Rúa Torreiro 13, 3.º C, 15001 A Coruña, Spain. Phone +34 677 841 007. If you have been served with court papers, say so at the start of the call and have the date of service to hand. If the flat is in A Coruña and you live abroad, we can prepare everything by video call, in English.
Related reading
- Squatters in your property, what the owner can and cannot do
- The order for payment procedure, how to recover an unpaid debt
- Can you collect from a debtor who says they have nothing?
Frequently asked questions
How long does an eviction take in A Coruña?
It depends above all on how long it takes to locate the tenant and serve the papers. The legal time limits are short, thirty days between the prior demand and the claim, ten days for the tenant to pay, leave or object and, if there is a hearing, an eviction that must take place within thirty days of it. Nobody can promise you a fixed date, because it depends on the court's calendar.
Can I change the locks or cut off the utilities if the tenant does not pay?
Do not do it. Taking the home back yourself, by changing the locks, removing their belongings or cutting off water or electricity to force them out, can be the offence of coercion, which the Spanish Criminal Code punishes more severely when the aim is to prevent someone from living in their home. It would also hand the tenant an argument they do not have today. The route is the demand for payment and, if they still do not pay, the claim.
Can I claim the rent from the guarantor in the same case?
Yes, if they are a joint and several guarantor and were first asked to pay without doing so. The law allows that claim to be joined to the eviction whatever the amount, and what the judgment decides on that rent cannot be reopened in another case.
Can I keep the deposit to cover the rent I am owed?
When the tenancy ends, the deposit answers for whatever the tenant leaves owing, whether rent or damage to the property, and any balance is returned. If that balance is not returned within a month of the keys being handed back, it starts to earn statutory interest. In the claim we take the deposit into account so that the amount claimed is exact.
I am the tenant and I have been served with an eviction claim. What should I do?
Check the date you were served, because from that day you have ten days to pay, leave or object and only three to apply for free legal aid. If you do nothing, the case is closed and the eviction goes ahead on the date already stated in the papers. If the property is your main home and you are in a vulnerable situation, also contact the social services the court refers you to.