If your lease expires in the coming months, you have a very powerful legal opportunity to gain up to two extra years of peace of mind… and a rent freeze. A new government decree allows tenants to extend their lease for up to 24 additional months, under the same terms and without rent increases exceeding the general cap of 2% per year.
Royal Decree-Law 8/2026, already published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), paves the way for an extraordinary extension of up to two years for primary residence leases that expire before December 31, 2027. This includes both contracts that expire now and those that end in 2027, whether due to the expiration of the initial term or the mandatory/tacit extensions under the LAU.
Who is eligible
You can request this extraordinary extension if:
- Your lease is for a primary residence (not a seasonal rental or a room).
- The lease (or its legal extensions) expires before December 31, 2027.
- The landlord has not formally notified that they need the property for their own use or that of a family member under the terms permitted by the LAU.
There is no need to be in a vulnerable situation or for the landlord to be a “large-scale landlord”: the measure applies generally to this type of lease, with the exceptions set forth by law.
Be careful with high-demand areas: there was already a separate extension of up to three years in place there, which takes precedence over this new two-year extension.
How to request up to 2 more years without a rent increase
The regulation states that the extension is activated upon the tenant’s request. In other words, if you don’t request it, it doesn’t apply. In practice, these would be the steps:
Check your lease and the expiration date; see exactly when it ends: the end of the initial term, the mandatory extension, or the tacit extension (typically 5 or 7 years depending on the landlord, plus extensions). If that date falls before December 31, 2027, you are covered by the decree.
Request the extension in writing (and on time). Before the lease expires, send your landlord a verifiable notice (email with read receipt, burofax, certified letter, or similar) stating that you wish to avail yourself of the extraordinary extension under Royal Decree-Law 8/2026 for up to two years, under the same terms.
You can request one year and then another, or both years at once: the regulation refers to an extension “in annual increments and for up to a maximum of two additional years.”
Maintain the terms of the lease. During the extension, the landlord must honor the original rent and clauses, except for permitted adjustments capped at 2%. They cannot demand a new lease with a rent increase… unless you agree to it.
Exceptions to keep in mind. The landlord is not obligated to accept the extension if:
- You need the housing for yourself or for a close relative (and can prove this under the terms of the LAU).
- You agree to sign a new lease (for example, with a lower rent).
- If you are in a high-demand area, the specific extension of up to three years under the Housing Act applies to you; in that case, the rules of that law apply, not those of the new decree.
What about rent increases?
In addition to the extension, the decree limits annual rent increases to 2% during the same period, affecting both extended leases and those still in effect. This means that if your lease provides for adjustments based on the CPI or another higher index, only the maximum 2% can be applied during annual reviews. The freeze on terms during the extension prevents the landlord from “resetting” the price on the grounds that the lease is expiring.
For many tenants, combining the extension with the 2% cap amounts, in effect, to an almost total rent freeze amid a scenario of sharp market increases.
A key tip: apply now, even if Congress overturns it
There is an important political caveat: the decree is already in effect, but its continuation depends on Congress ratifying it within 30 days. If Congress rejects it, it would cease to apply in the future, but applications made while it was in effect are sparking intense legal debate
For this reason, legal experts and groups such as the Tenants’ Union are encouraging tenants whose leases expire before 2028 to request the extension as soon as possible, taking advantage of the fact that the regulation remains in effect as long as it is not overturned. The idea is to document the request within the decree’s validity period so that it can be defended in the event of a dispute.