What is tacit renewal?

15 April, 2024
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Real Estate
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Neus Vallara


The Urban Leases Law regulates the duration of a lease contract for an urban property intended for housing or for different use than housing, specifically in its articles 9 – regarding the minimum term – and 10 – regarding the maximum extension. Once the maximum extensions, whether conventional or legal, have expired, a figure called “tacit renewal” comes into play.

What is tacit renewal?

Tacit renewal is provided for in article 1.566 of the Civil Code.

Let’s look at the wording:

“If, upon termination of the contract, the tenant continues to enjoy the leased property for fifteen days with the landlord’s acquiescence, it is understood that there is tacit renewal for the time established by articles 1.577 and 1.581, unless there has been a prior requirement.”

In practical terms, this means that if, at the end of the contract, 15 days pass and the landlord does not require the tenant to vacate the property, a new contract begins between the parties with the same conditions (rent, security deposit, increases, etc.) as the previous one, except for its duration.

When does tacit renewal start?

Two requirements must be met for the tacit renewal to begin:

That the tenant has continued in the property for 15 days following the termination of the contract.

That during those 15 days, the landlord has not required the tenant to vacate the property.

To avoid tacit renewal, the landlord interested in recovering their property must require the tenant to deliver it, thereby interrupting the acquiescence referred to in article 1.566 of the Civil Code.

The duration of the new contract is equivalent to the period for which the rent payment was agreed upon.

Article 1.566 of the Civil Code refers to the duration of the new contract to articles 1.577 and 1.581 of the same legal text. Of these two provisions, the one that regulates the duration of tacit renewal in the case of urban leases is 1.581. Thus, this article establishes that “if no term has been set for the lease, it is understood to be made for years when an annual rent has been set, for months when it is monthly, for days when it is daily.”

While there was much interpretative controversy regarding the duration of the new contract in the case of tacit renewal, the Supreme Court finally set the following criteria in its Judgment 530/2018 of September 26, 2018:

When the terminated contract had stipulated that the rent would be, for example, €12,000 annually, paid in monthly installments of €1,000 each, the new contract born from the tacit renewal will have an annual duration.

When the terminated contract had stipulated that the rent would be €1,000 monthly, the new contract born from the tacit renewal will have a monthly duration.

The new contract is not regulated by the Urban Leases Law.

This is one of the key issues of tacit renewal: that it is regulated by the provisions related to leases provided in the Civil Code and not by the Urban Leases Law, so the tenant is not protected by the mandatory rules of Title II of the Urban Leases Law. Thus, the new contract will be governed by the clauses provided in the terminated contract and, in what is not provided, by the provisions of the Civil Code. It should be noted that the regime of the Urban Leases Law is more protective for the tenant than the Civil Code, which is more beneficial for the landlord.

In conclusion, tacit renewal allows the continuation of the lease, but it can be detrimental to one of the parties, depending on the clauses contained in the terminated contract.

At MES Advocats, we offer comprehensive advice and support in the leasing of all types of properties, whether you are the lessor or the lessee. If you need more information or are interested in obtaining a quote, you can contact our real estate law department at this link.

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Landlordtenantrental agreementRentaltacit renewal

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