Know your rights
The fianza is the month of rent you handed over when you signed. It was never a fee and never the landlord's money — it's security against damage you actually caused.
Under article 36.4 of the urban rentals law (LAU), your landlord has one month from the day you hand back the keys to return it. Once that month has passed, they owe you the deposit plus legal interest. And they can only keep money for real damage, backed by valid invoices.
- 1 month: counted from the day you hand back the keys — not the day you moved out or gave notice.
- + interest: after that month, they owe you the deposit plus legal interest.
- Proof only: deductions need real damage and valid invoices. Normal wear and tear isn't damage.
- “I'll transfer it next week” is not a legal position. It's the most common delay tactic in Spain, and it works because people wait.
Step 1: Document move-out day
Deposits are lost in the week you move out, not in the week you argue. Everything that helps you later is created on move-out day, while you still have access to the flat.
- Photos or video of every room, with the date visible. One continuous video of the whole flat, then close-ups of anything they could blame you for.
- Keep your cleaning receipts.
- Record the date you hand back the keys — ideally confirmed by the landlord in writing or on WhatsApp.
- Keep every message with your landlord, from the whole tenancy. Spanish courts accept WhatsApp history as evidence.
Step 2: Ask in writing
Once the month has passed, send a WhatsApp or email asking for your deposit back and for proof of where it was lodged. Keep it short, in Spanish, and screenshot every reply.
The message that usually works
“Hola [name]. On [date] I handed you the keys to [address]. Under article 36.4 of the LAU, the one-month period to return the deposit of [amount] € expired on [date]. Please transfer it to this IBAN: ES__ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____, and send me proof of where the deposit was lodged. If I don't receive it, I will send a burofax and then file a monitorio claim, seeking interest and costs. Regards.”
Send it in Spanish. Keep a copy. Screenshot it once it shows as delivered.
What not to do
The message is the easy part. These are the ways people lose an argument they had already won.
- Don't accept a partial “goodwill” payment without checking what you're giving up.
- Don't argue about damage on WhatsApp before you've seen their invoices.
- Don't let them move the conversation to a phone call, where nothing is recorded.
Step 3: Check their invoices
Almost every withheld deposit in Spain is justified with a “damage” charge that wouldn't stand up in front of a judge. A landlord can charge for damage, not for the fact that someone lived there. If they claim deductions, ask for the invoices — and check them.
- A valid invoice shows a company name, NIF/CIF, date and the work done.
- Handwritten notes don't count.
- The landlord's own bills — their own labour at a rate they invented — don't count.
- Normal wear and tear doesn't count: faded paint, worn carpet, a scuff behind the bed.
Step 4: Send a burofax
If they still don't pay, send a burofax: a certified letter through Correos that proves exactly what you sent and that it arrived. It's the move Spain takes seriously, and it also interrupts the five-year limitation clock on your claim.
- State the amount you're owed.
- Give a deadline of 10 working days.
- Offer to settle out of court (MASC). Since April 2025 the law requires this attempt before you can go to court, and the burofax is your proof you made it.
- Send it to the landlord's home address, not the flat you rented.
- Choose “con certificación de contenido y acuse de recibo”, and write it in Spanish.
Step 5: Keep the proof
Everything you send now becomes your court file. Keep it all in one safe place.
- The burofax receipt.
- The Correos delivery certificate.
- Every unanswered message.
- Blocked? Screenshot the undelivered message — it proves you tried.
Step 6: File a monitorio
The procedimiento monitorio is Spain's fast-track debt claim, built for exactly this: a specific, documented sum that hasn't been paid. It's free, and you don't need a lawyer to start. Most landlords are betting you won't file, not that they would win.
- File online at sedejudicial.justicia.es, or at your local court registry with 3 copies.
- Attach your contract, proof the deposit was paid, proof the keys went back, and the burofax with its delivery certificate.
- If you've already left Spain you can still file — you'll need a NIE or an address for notifications.
What happens next
The court orders your landlord to pay within 20 working days. From there, one of three things happens.
- They pay: you're done.
- They ignore it: you ask the court to enforce payment.
- They object: it goes to a short hearing, where the burden of proving the deductions sits with them.
Evidence checklist
Tick these off before you send the burofax. With all eight, you have a strong file.
- Rental contract
- Proof of deposit paid
- Move-out photos
- Cleaning receipt
- Messages with landlord
- Burofax + Correos proof
- Your NIE or passport
- Landlord's home address
“Is it too late?”
Probably not. The one-month deadline belongs to your landlord, not to you. Your deadline to claim is five years: a deposit claim is an ordinary personal action under article 1964 of the Código Civil, and a burofax interrupts that clock (article 1973 CC).
- A deposit from 2022 is very often still live — and the interest has kept growing.
- The one thing that does kill a claim is inaction.
Don't want to deal with this yourself?
Everything above you can do yourself. But if the landlord is stonewalling, sends invoices you can't assess, or you've already left Spain, we handle the entire process for you, for one flat fee of €129. No payment until your case is reviewed.