If you let a long-term home on the Costa Blanca, the law lets you take one month's rent as the legal deposit (fianza) for residential lets — and in the Valencian Community you are legally required to lodge that fianza with the regional housing body (through the EVHA/IVIMA system) within 30 days of signing the contract. You may also ask for an additional guarantee (such as an extra month or a bank guarantee), but that is capped and governed separately. Get this wrong and you face a fine, lose your right to deduct for damage, and hand the tenant a strong card in any dispute.
The rules come from the national Urban Tenancies Act (Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, LAU), but lodging and the exact deposit mechanics vary by autonomous community — so a landlord on the Costa Blanca (Valencian Community), Costa Cálida (Murcia) or the Costa del Sol and Costa Almería (Andalucía) each face slightly different obligations. This guide sets out, region by region, how much you can take, where to lodge it, and how to get it back cleanly at the end of the tenancy.
Spanish law distinguishes two things that English-speakers lump together as a "deposit":
So a typical Costa Blanca long-let can lawfully involve one month's fianza plus up to two months' additional guarantee — a maximum of three months' rent in total up front, on top of the first month. Anything beyond that is not enforceable.
Many first-time landlords assume the deposit sits in their current account as a cushion. It does not. The fianza is held in trust against damage and unpaid obligations, and in the Valencian Community the capital of the legal fianza must physically be deposited with the regional housing fund. You get it back when you return the keys. Spending it during the tenancy is both unlawful and a fast route to a claim.
The headline figures below come from the LAU and apply across all four regions. What changes is the lodging body and procedure.
| Item | Residential let (vivienda habitual) | Seasonal / non-housing let |
|---|---|---|
| Legal fianza (must be lodged) | 1 month's rent | 2 months' rent |
| Maximum additional guarantee | Up to 2 months' rent | Freely negotiable |
| Practical maximum up front | ~3 months (fianza + guarantee) + first month | Negotiable |
| Deadline to lodge the fianza | Varies by region (see below) | Same rules apply |
If you are weighing up whether to let at all rather than sell, our rent vs buy comparison for the Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol is a useful companion read, and the wider framework of tenant and landlord rights is covered in our 2026 rental law guide.
This is where the four costas genuinely diverge. The obligation to deposit the fianza with a public body exists because the regional housing funds use pooled deposits to finance social housing — and because it protects tenants from landlords who "forget" to return money.
| Region (coast) | Autonomous community | Lodging body | Typical deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Costa Blanca | Valencian Community | EVHA / IVIMA housing fund (via the Generalitat's rental deposit system) | Within ~30 days of signing |
| Costa Cálida | Región de Murcia | Regional housing authority (Dirección General de Vivienda) | Within ~30 days of signing |
| Costa del Sol | Andalucía | AVRA (Agencia de Vivienda y Rehabilitación de Andalucía) | Within ~30 days of signing |
| Costa Almería | Andalucía | AVRA (Agencia de Vivienda y Rehabilitación de Andalucía) | Within ~30 days of signing |
The Valencian Community operates a mandatory deposit system. Within roughly a month of signing you must either pay the fianza into the regional fund or, if you are a frequent landlord, use the régimen concertado that lets approved managers hold deposits collectively. You will need the contract details, the property's cadastral reference and both parties' NIE/NIF. This is one reason it pays to have your tax numbers sorted early — see our explainer on the difference between the NIF and NIE.
Murcia likewise requires the legal fianza to be lodged with the regional housing authority, with an equivalent one-month window. If your Costa Cálida property is a holiday home that you occasionally let, be careful not to confuse the long-term fianza rules with tourist-let obligations — and bear in mind the separate tax duties set out in our guide to Costa Cálida holiday-home taxes (IBI and Modelo 210).
Both these coasts sit within Andalucía, so the lodging body is the same: AVRA. Andalucía runs an online portal for lodging and refunding deposits, and also offers a régimen concertado for professional managers. The deadline is again about a month from signing, and failure to lodge can trigger penalties and complicate any later deduction for damages.
Across all four regions, failing to lodge the fianza is an administrative offence that can lead to a fine (often a percentage of the un-lodged amount, with minimums that can run into the hundreds of euros). More painfully for day-to-day letting:
The cost and hassle of lodging correctly are trivial compared with the downside of not doing it. For absentee owners who live abroad, this is exactly the kind of task a local manager handles — our property management guide for absentee owners explains how.
When the tenant hands back the keys, the clock starts. Under the LAU, if the landlord does not return the deposit within one month of the keys being returned, the outstanding sum accrues legal interest. The practical sequence is:
You may deduct for genuine damage beyond normal wear and tear, unpaid rent, unpaid utilities that were the tenant's responsibility, and cleaning if the property is left in a poor state. You cannot deduct for ordinary ageing — faded paint, minor scuffs, a worn sofa. The burden is on the landlord to evidence the deduction, which is why a dated inventory and photographs at both ends of the tenancy matter so much.
Yes — the additional guarantee (not the legal fianza) can take the form of an aval bancario, a bank-backed guarantee the tenant arranges, or a rental-default insurance policy. These are common where a tenant has limited Spanish credit history or where the rent is high. They do not replace the legal fianza, which still has to be a cash amount lodged with the authority. For international tenants and landlords, moving these sums across borders raises currency questions covered in our guide to sending money to Spain.
One month's rent as the legal fianza for a residential long-term let, plus an additional guarantee of up to two months' rent. The fianza must be lodged with the Valencian Community's housing fund within about 30 days of signing.
With the Valencian Community's rental deposit system (EVHA/IVIMA). Professional landlords can use the régimen concertado to manage multiple deposits collectively.
Yes. Both are in Andalucía, so the amount (one month for residential lets) and the lodging body (AVRA) are identical, using Andalucía's online portal.
Lets classed as "for a use other than housing" — including many seasonal contracts — carry a legal fianza of two months' rent rather than one. Short tourist lets are governed separately and require a licence.
Within one month of the keys being returned. After that, the outstanding balance accrues legal interest, and the tenant can claim.
You risk an administrative fine, may be ordered to lodge it retroactively, and weaken your ability to justify deductions. Lodge it correctly from the start.
No. You can only withhold sums you can justify — unpaid rent genuinely owed, documented damage beyond wear and tear, or unpaid bills. Early departure alone does not entitle you to keep the fianza.
Getting the fianza right is just one part of being a confident landlord on the Costa Blanca, Costa Cálida, Costa del Sol or Costa Almería. Whether you are buying your first rental investment or expanding a portfolio, the team at Mediter Real Estate can help you find the right property and point you to trusted local professionals for contracts, deposit lodging and management. Get in touch with us today to discuss buy-to-let opportunities across Spain's four most popular coasts.
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