Amendments on urgent measures relating to housing and rental matters, introduced by Royal Decree Law 7/2019, of 1 March

Royal Decree-Law 7/2019, of 1 March, on urgent measures relating to housing and rental matters, introduces amendments to Law 29/1994, of 29 November, on Urban Leases in relation to different aspects of residential leases, including: (i) the extension of the mandatory renewal and tacit renewal periods; (ii) the effects vis-à-vis third parties of lease agreements which are not registered with the Land Registry; (iii) the removal of dwellings being temporarily assigned for tourism use from the LAU’s scope of application; (iv) the establishment of a maximum limit on the amount resulting from the rent update; and (v) other amendments.

On 5 March 2019, Royal Decree-Law 7/2019, of 1 March, on urgent measures relating to housing and rental matters (“RD-L 7/2019”), was published in the Spanish Official State Gazette. The Royal Decree-Law consists of four titles, the first of which is aimed at updating the regulation of residential lease agreements, by making various amendments to Law 29/1994, of 29 November, on Urban Leases (Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, “LAU”).

The purpose of this briefing is to explain the amendments implemented under Title I of RD-L 7/2019.