What a residential rental listing in Spain must show in 2026
Since 8 October 2026, article 20 of Royal Decree-law 29/2026 requires four items in every rental offer or advertisement for housing in Spain, two of them only in certain areas. Here is the text, item by item, when each one applies, and what older rules already required. Written for agents and owners who advertise lettings on the Costa Blanca, the Costa del Sol or anywhere else in Spain.
Edu Castillo (page in Spanish) · published · listing audits and automation for Spanish estate agencies · Rubí (Barcelona)
Where each rule stands today
The new rules come in a royal decree-law, which the Spanish Congress still has to ratify. That is why this page starts with the status of each rule. If anything changes, it changes here first, with the date.
| Rule | Status |
|---|---|
| Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 BOE-A-2026-20823 | In force since 8 October 2026. Pending ratification by the Spanish Congress. The BOE shows the original text published on 7 October and, in its analysis section, no later act ratifying or repealing it. According to the press (Moncloa.com, 17 October 2026), the Standing Committee of Congress plans to vote on 12 November; as of 26 October I have not found that session on the Congress website. (checked at the official source on 26 October 2026) |
| Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, art. 20.2 (redacción del RDL 29/2026) BOE-A-2026-20823 | In force with RDL 29/2026, and stands or falls with it. Since 2023 article 20 already said those fees are borne by the landlord. The new wording turns it into a ban and adds «neither directly nor indirectly, under any name». If the decree were not ratified, the likely outcome is that the change lapses and the previous wording returns (my reading, not legal advice). (checked at the official source on 26 October 2026) |
| Real Decreto 390/2021, art. 17.3 BOE-A-2021-9176 | In force. Consolidated text last updated on 23 July 2025. It does not depend on any pending vote. (checked at the official source on 26 October 2026) |
| Ley 10/2025 (disposición final tercera, que modifica el art. 20.1.c del TRLGDCU) BOE-A-2025-26698 | In force since 28 December 2025. A consumer-protection rule, not a rental rule: it applies to sales and lettings alike. (checked at the official source on 26 October 2026) |
| Ley 12/2023, por el derecho a la vivienda, art. 31.3 BOE-A-2023-12203 | In force. Consolidated text last updated on 7 October 2026. Due before signing and in the contract. For the listing: the list in article 20 of RDL 29/2026 does not name it, but its preamble does, and the Ministry of Consumer Affairs counts it as required «where applicable» (press release of 7 October 2026). In Catalonia, article 59.g of Law 18/2007 requires it in advertising. (checked at the official source on 26 October 2026) |
| Real Decreto 1312/2024 (Registro Único de Arrendamientos), anulado en parte por el Tribunal Supremo BOE-A-2026-13893 (y BOE-A-2026-12300) | Struck down by the Supreme Court as regards the single registration procedure and its number: rulings published in the BOE on 8 and 26 June 2026. A partial annulment: what falls is the national single-registration procedure and its number, not every code a region may require. (checked at the official source on 26 October 2026) |
What article 20 of Royal Decree-law 29/2026 asks for
My own translation of section 2. The binding text is the Spanish one in the BOE (BOE-A-2026-20823, read on 26 October 2026). Section 1 adds that rental advertising must be truthful and transparent and must not leave out relevant information that could mislead.
«2. Every rental offer or advertisement shall include, at least: a) the reference price index for housing rentals provided for in current legislation, whenever the property is located in a stressed residential market area; b) in areas where the rent of a primary residence is legally capped, the applicable rent limit, where applicable, and a reference to the rules and parameters that set it; c) the identifying number, code or title of the unit let, where applicable; d) whether the landlord is a large holder (gran tenedor), where applicable.»
| Item | When it applies | What I would do |
|---|---|---|
| a) Reference price index | Only in a declared stressed residential market area (zona tensionada). | Check whether the municipality is declared a stressed area before publishing, and state the index for that flat. |
| b) Rent cap and the rule behind it | Only where the rent of a primary residence is capped by law. | State the cap and which rule and parameters set it, not just the figure. |
| c) Identifying number or code | «Where applicable». The preamble gives tourist-let registration codes as an example. | If the property has an identifying code under a rule that applies to it, show it. |
| d) Large-holder status | «Where applicable». It can be read as «only if they are one» or as «always say yes or no». | Ask the owner to declare it in writing and state it either way. |
The rent of the previous contract: include it. The list in article 20 does not name it in those words, but the preamble of the decree does, and the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, which has already opened proceedings against a large property portal, counts it as required «where applicable» (press release of 7 October 2026, in Spanish). If the property had a primary-residence lease in the previous five years, show that rent in the listing. Article 31.3 of Law 12/2023 also requires it to be disclosed before signing and in the contract, in stressed areas, and Catalonia requires it expressly in advertising. The article sets no fine amounts, and I will not quote a figure I have not read in the text.
Three older rules that still apply to a rental listing
1 · Energy rating, Royal Decree 390/2021, art. 17.3
Anyone who publishes or allows the publication of a sale or rental, websites and property portals included, must include the energy efficiency rating. In my reading, a colour scale with no letter marked does not meet the rule.
2 · Full final price, consumer law (TRLGDCU art. 20.1.c)
As amended by Law 10/2025, in force since 28 December 2025: the full final price, taxes included, with any extra charges passed on to the consumer broken down.
3 · Agency fees, Urban Leases Act (LAU) art. 20.2
In the wording given by the same decree-law: property management and contract formalisation costs cannot be passed on to the tenant, «neither directly nor indirectly, under any name». Since 2023 the law already put those fees on the landlord.
This page covers national rules only. Regional governments and town halls may ask for more. It is not legal advice and I am not a lawyer. The Spanish version is the reference: qué tiene que llevar un anuncio de alquiler.
Written by Edu Castillo, from Rubí (Barcelona). I measure what goes wrong with estate agency listings and enquiries in Spain, with the method published. Most of the site is in Spanish.
Keep reading: the listing audit, in English · this page in Spanish · the studies (Spanish).