- Seasonal lets for work, study or health become subject to the rules for main residences.
- For room lets, the total charged may not exceed the maximum for the whole flat.
- Tourist or holiday lets are excluded; the law creates a register of large landlords.
On Thursday 18 December 2025 the Parliament of Catalonia passed a law regulating seasonal lets and room lets. It stems from Decree-law 2/2025 of 25 February, which was processed as a bill following an agreement between the Govern and several groups. Its aim is to close a route by which seasonal contracts escaped the rent limits applying to main-residence lets.
Under the law, seasonal lets that are not for holiday or leisure purposes —for example, those for work, study or medical care— become subject to the rules for main-residence lets: limits on annual increases, deposits, increases for improvements and the passing on of general costs. Temporary tourist or holiday lets are excluded.
What changes in seasonal lets
Until now, a contract signed as “seasonal” could fall outside rent limits, on the argument that it was not a main residence. According to the debate that accompanied the law, the formula was used to let to students, relocated workers or people undergoing medical treatment for successive periods, at rents above the caps. The law tries to cut off that route by equalising the rules when the purpose is neither tourist nor holiday.
For the landlord, this means a seasonal contract for work, study or health purposes must respect the annual increase limit and the other rules for main residences. For the tenant, it means more protection against increases. The boundary between seasonal and holiday use will be a sensitive point, and the contract should clearly state the reason for the let. It may be advisable for the contract to record the documents that support the purpose, such as an employment contract, an enrolment certificate or a medical certificate.
Rooms and large landlords
For room lets, the law provides that the sum of the price of each room may not exceed the maximum cost of the whole flat according to the reference index. It is a response to the practice of letting each room of a home separately so that the total comfortably exceeds the rent that could be charged for the whole flat. For landlords who shared one flat among several people, the rule requires recalculating rents and checking the index in force.
The law also creates a register of large landlords under the Catalan Housing Agency and a commission to monitor housing lease contracts. For those who manage several properties, registration and compliance with these obligations will become part of the ordinary management of their assets.
What to review
Those who let property in Catalonia should review the seasonal and room contracts in force and those they plan to sign: the declared reason for the let, the rent and its updating, the deposit and the other conditions. Tenants can check whether their contract fits the limits that now correspond to their situation. It is advisable to do so in advance, before the law enters into force, to know which contracts may be affected.
The law applies from its entry into force, the date of which will depend on its official publication, and it will be developed with criteria and registers that will need to be followed. Consult your legal adviser on the position of your specific contracts and your property holdings, because rent regulation in Catalonia is complex and changes often.
A well-drafted contract is the first safeguard for both sides.
This article is general information. It is not legal, tax or investment advice, and it does not take anyone’s particular circumstances into account.
