{"id":34286,"date":"2026-06-11T13:13:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T13:13:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cbleon-abogados.com\/?p=34286"},"modified":"2026-06-11T13:13:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T13:13:25","slug":"unilateral-withdrawal-of-the-lessee-in-lease-contracts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cbleon-abogados.com\/en\/desistimiento-unilateral-del-arrendatario\/","title":{"rendered":"Unilateral termination by the tenant in lease agreements"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Unilateral termination by the tenant is a Spanish legal mechanism that allows landlords to terminate a lease agreement early.<\/strong> This is a legal right and is applied differently depending on the nature of the property, as it applies only to residential properties.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We are referring to any type of urban lease for residential purposes. This is established in the Urban Leases Act (LAU), which regulates this matter through Article 11, which we will address immediately. We therefore invite you to join us in analyzing its scope and implications.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Characteristics of Unilateral Termination by the Tenant<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As provided in Article 11 of the law (LAU), the tenant may unilaterally terminate the lease under very specific circumstances. These are as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">At least 6 months must have elapsed since the contract in question was signed.<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The tenant must notify the landlord of this action at least 30 days in advance.<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">However, likewise<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"> <a style=\"color: #3366ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/cbleon-abogados.com\/en\/74-of-rental-homeowners-consider-that-in-the-event-of-non-payment-they-have-fewer-rights-than-the-tenant\/\">protecting the landlord's interests<\/a>,<\/span> This law allows for the inclusion of certain compensation provisions favorable to the landlord in the event of such unilateral termination by the tenant.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In the lease agreement, both parties could agree to compensation equal to one month\u2019s rent at the current rate for each year the contract is not fulfilled. For periods of less than one year, compensation may be calculated on a pro-rata basis.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Consequences of Failure to Comply with Legal Requirements<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As mentioned, the law establishes two requirements for a tenant to be able to unilaterally terminate the lease. We are referring to a lease term of at least 6 months. In addition, a notice period of 30 days or more is required, but let\u2019s take a look at what happens if these requirements are not met.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The contract must be valid for at least six (6) months<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In this regard, the law is unequivocal, as it leaves no alternative but for the contract to have been in effect for a minimum period in order to take this action. Anyone who attempts to terminate such an agreement without complying with this minimum term is simply in breach of contract.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This situation paves the way for the landlord to take the appropriate legal and compensatory actions. These could include filing lawsuits in court for damages, actual damages, and loss of profits.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-34292 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cbleon-abogados.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/desistimiento-unilateral-del-arrendatario.jpg\" alt=\"unilateral termination by the tenant\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" \/><\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A minimum of thirty (30) days' notice<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Unlike the prerequisite, the minimum 30-day notice period is not mandatory. In this case, the tenant would not be subject to legal action. The tenant may simply be exempt from liability by paying the corresponding amount.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Commercial Leases and Termination of a Lease Agreement<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This law (LAU) applies only to properties intended for residential use. This means that, for other uses\u2014such as commercial properties\u2014it applies only in exceptional cases and under the following circumstances:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Unexpected situations.<\/strong> These include all unexpected situations that, as a result, prevent the debtor from continuing to fulfill the contract. In such cases, the legal remedy known as \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/dpej.rae.es\/lema\/rebus-sic-stantibus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>rebus sic stantibus<\/strong><\/a>\u201d.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>This is despite the fact that, according to the Supreme Court ruling (January 17, 2013),<\/strong> an attempt is made to resolve situations of manifest legal inequality. It implies a kind of exemption from certain contractual obligations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Mutual consent of the parties.<\/strong> In Article 4.3, the LAU sets forth specific provisions regarding leases for uses other than residential.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">These are based on the parties\u2019 freedom of contract. In addition, they are further supported by the Civil Code (Art. 1255).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>This means that the contracting parties are free to implement,<\/strong> Among its contractual provisions is the tenant's right to unilaterally terminate the lease.<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">However, this may be done only when it does not conflict with the law, public morals, or public order.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Now that you\u2019ve reviewed all of the above, you know that you can use this legal tool whenever you need it. However, this will only be possible as long as you meet the legal requirements. So, before taking this step, make sure you do it properly to avoid any subsequent legal action. <\/span><\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>El desistimiento unilateral del arrendatario es un instrumento jur\u00eddico espa\u00f1ol que faculta a quienes arriendan un bien inmueble para rescindir un contrato de alquiler anticipadamente. Esto en calidad de derecho y de manera diferenciada seg\u00fan la naturaleza del inmueble, ya que solo aplica para viviendas. Hablamos de cualquier tipo de arrendamiento urbano, con fines residenciales. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34287,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-actualidad"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbleon-abogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbleon-abogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbleon-abogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbleon-abogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbleon-abogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34286"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cbleon-abogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36084,"href":"https:\/\/cbleon-abogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34286\/revisions\/36084"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbleon-abogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbleon-abogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbleon-abogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbleon-abogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}