From arrendamiento por temporada to vivienda temporal: what changed for corporate housing in Spain on 8 October 2026

What changed on 8 October 2026

Until this week, a company placing an employee in a furnished flat in Spain for a few months would usually sign an arrendamiento por temporada: a seasonal lease that the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (LAU) treated as a lease "for a use other than housing". That category no longer covers housing. Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 of 6 October, published in the BOE on 7 October and in force since 8 October 2026, rewrote the relevant articles of the LAU. A lease whose object is to accommodate people is now expressly excluded from the "other use" category, and temporary accommodation has its own name: arrendamiento de vivienda temporal, a temporary housing lease governed by the housing rules in Title II of the LAU.

One caveat before anything else. This is a decree-law, so it takes effect immediately but Congress must vote to validate it within 30 days or it lapses. Its predecessor, Real Decreto-ley 26/2026 of 29 September, was voted down on 2 October. The rules described here apply today, but check the position at the time you sign, and take advice from a Spanish lawyer on any specific placement.

What counts as a temporary housing lease

The LAU now defines a temporary housing lease as one that covers the tenant's need for a home while the tenant is temporarily away from their habitual residence for a justified and demonstrable reason. A room can be let on the same basis as a whole dwelling.

The test is the reason for the stay, not the number of months. An engineer seconded to Málaga for a six-month project, who keeps a home in Munich and will go back to it, fits the definition. A new hire who has moved to Málaga for good and signs six months while deciding where to buy does not, however the contract is headed. Calling a contract "temporary" achieves nothing if the facts say otherwise.

The reason has to be written into the contract

Under the amended article 7, a temporary housing lease must state expressly why the tenant has moved temporarily. That reason must be real and provable, and the burden of proving it falls on the landlord. If the contract does not properly state a temporary reason, it loses its temporary nature and is treated as an ordinary residential lease, with effect from the day it was signed.

For a corporate placement, that means the assignment itself should be settled before the contract is drafted: who is going, why, from where, and for roughly how long. A line such as "temporary relocation to Málaga for a defined project assignment" is only useful if your assignment letter and project documents say the same thing.

More than 31 days, and twelve months as the general limit

The new article 9 bis sets the duration. The parties agree it freely, but it must be longer than 31 days and, as a general rule, no longer than twelve months, extensions included. If the reason for the stay still exists when the agreed term ends, the lease can be extended by express agreement; it can go past twelve months only if that reason genuinely continues.

Two situations convert the arrangement into an ordinary residential lease from the first contract onwards: running beyond twelve months without the temporary reason to justify it, or signing more than two consecutive temporary contracts between the same parties for the same dwelling. The converted lease carries the full statutory minimum term and extensions, which run to five years, or seven where the landlord is a company. For an assignment that might run long, plan the extension at the start rather than renewing contract after contract.

Rent on a successive temporary contract for the same dwelling cannot rise by more than the IRAV, the official index for annual rent updates. Agency or management fees for arranging the lease, and taxes on the property, cannot be charged to the tenant.

Leaving early

Under article 11, the tenant of a temporary housing lease may withdraw once the lease has run for one month, giving at least ten days' notice, without owing the landlord compensation.

Corporate assignments end early for reasons the statute does not describe: a project closes ahead of plan, an employee is replaced, a team shrinks. Agree with your supplier at the outset how those cases are handled, including whether a replacement occupant can take over the residence.

When the company is the tenant

The new definition is written around a tenant who is away from their own home. In corporate housing the tenant is often the employer and the person living in the residence is an employee, and the new definition does not spell out how it applies to that arrangement. How the rules work when a company signs should be checked with a Spanish lawyer. As a minimum, the contract should name the occupant and state the occupant's real reason for being in Málaga, so that the temporary cause is attached to an actual person.

VAT from 1 December 2026

The same decree changes the VAT treatment of furnished lettings from 1 December 2026. A furnished letting is taxed at the reduced 10% rate, rather than exempt, where the landlord provides hotel-type services such as restaurant, cleaning or laundry, or where the stay for the same tenant is 30 nights or fewer. Other residential lettings remain generally exempt. Ask the supplier to state the VAT treatment it applies to your arrangement, and have your tax adviser or gestor confirm it.

Contracts signed before 8 October

A seasonal or temporary lease signed before the decree came into force keeps its previous legal regime until the end date written in it. At that point it expires and cannot be extended; any renewal is a new temporary housing lease under the new rules. If you have employees in Spain on seasonal leases today, list their end dates now.

What HR should keep on file

Because the landlord must prove the temporary reason, a good supplier will ask you for evidence of it. Expect to provide some combination of:

• the assignment or secondment letter, with dates and work location
• confirmation that the employee keeps a habitual home elsewhere
• the names of everyone who will occupy the residence
• any extension decision, recorded before the original end date

Tourist lets remain a separate regime under regional tourism rules, limited to 31 days, and regional rules on temporary lets can apply on top of the LAU. Neither changes the core point: the paperwork should describe a real temporary situation that your company can demonstrate.

How Palacete 10 contracts

Palacete 10 lets five furnished residences in a restored 1908 villa in Málaga to companies placing employees on assignment. Companies contract directly with the owner, Vamoz Marbella SL, company to company, under a single agreement that sets out the residence, duration, rates, inclusions, payment terms and responsibilities in accordance with the applicable Spanish legal framework. Invoices are issued monthly with the applicable VAT treatment, and one agreement can cover one residence, several, or the whole building. The FAQ covers contracting and invoicing in more detail, and corporate housing at Palacete 10 sets out what each residence includes.

Send us the reason for the assignment, the expected dates, the number of occupants and the work location, and we will reply within 24 hours. Request a corporate proposal