Duration of a room lease

The duration of the lease of a room will be that agreed in the contract as it is not subject to the Law of urban leases.
NOVEMBER 8, 2021
6 min read

 FRANCISCO SEVILLA CÁCERES

0 COMMENTS

Index of contents

Before seeing the duration of the lease of a room with the right to use the common services and dependencies (normally the kitchen and the bathroom), it is necessary to see if said contract is subject to the Urban Leasing Law (LAU) or the Civil Code.

And we say this because, as you know, if the lease of the room was subject to the LAU and the contract had been formalized as of March 6, 2019,el inquilino tiene derecho a permanecer en el contrato the tenant has the right to remain in the contract for up to 5 years if the landlord is a natural person. and up to 7 years if the lessor is a legal person (company).

room is subject to the LAU or the Civil Code?

Most of the Courts, although there are some exceptions, have been proclaiming that the room rental contract is subject to the Civil Code and not to the Urban Leasing Law.

The arguments that they expose coincide that »according to what is established in art. 2 of the LAU, the lease of housing is defined as that lease that falls on a habitable building whose primary purpose is to satisfy the tenant's permanent need for housing, being essential, to resolve the issue raised, the specification of the term of habitability of the object leased in the specific case at hand.

A building will be habitable when it is adequate to serve the needs of dwelling or residence, where the person or family develops the intimacy of their existence, constituting their home, without this concept being properly transferable to a room or dependency that is part of a dwelling, object of the contract signed between the parties, since it lacks the minimum and essential services (bathroom, kitchen,...), and that are only supplied by the granting of the right to use it in a shared, not exclusive, manner. other dependencies that are simultaneously served by the remaining occupants of the dwelling.”

Provincial Court of Madrid (Section 9), judgment of 03.28.2019

«The controversial issue is therefore centered on the determination of the legal nature of the contract concluded by the parties. The lease, according to document No. 1 of the lawsuit, falls exclusively on one room of the house, the tenant being able to use the kitchen and any of the shared bathrooms with the commitment to share with the rest of the tenants the cleanup.

According to article 2 of the LAU, "housing lease is considered to be that lease that falls on a habitable building whose primary purpose is to satisfy the tenant's permanent need for housing."

This characteristic of permanently satisfying the housing needs of the tenant is not predicable of a room that does not guarantee the development of the tenant's domestic life with the intimacy and services that are considered essential today, which are only available on a shared basis. . The space that is assigned exclusively is only that of a room, which cannot be understood as included within the definition of article 2 of the LAU. This is provided for in the contract itself that refers to the regime of articles 1,542 to 1,582 Civil Code in everything not provided for in its text.»

What does the Civil Code say about the duration of a room lease?

For the sector that considers that the rental of a room is excluded from the LAU and therefore subject to the Civil Code, the duration will be determined by the following rules:

1.- It will be the duration freely agreed upon by the parties, concluding on the predetermined day without the need for a request (art. 1565 Civil Code). (art. 1565 Código Civil).

2.- If at the end of the contract, the tenant remains enjoying fifteen days of the leased thing with the consent of the lessor, it is understood that there is a tacit renewal for the time established in articles 1,577 and 1,581 of the Civil Code,artículos 1.577 y 1.581 del Código Civil unless there has been a prior request .tácita reconducción

3.- The duration of the lease of a room when no term has been set for the lease, will be understood as done for years when an annual rent has been set, for months when it is monthly and for days when it is daily.

Procedure to follow for the eviction of a room lease:

Provincial Court of Madrid (Section 14), sentence 05.05.2020:

«The sentence issued in the first instance explains that the defendant has admitted not having paid all the agreed rent, due to the breach of the obligations assumed by the lessor. It does not challenge the lease, which establishes the rent at 280 euros per month, nor does it justify a verbal agreement altering the previous stipulation.

Regarding the applicable regulations, if the lease falls on one of the rooms or dependencies of a dwelling, the provisions of articles 1554 and following of the Civil Code  artículos 1554 y siguientes and general precepts on obligations and contracts must be followed.

Consequently, considering that the obligation to pay the price is essential in the lease, its breach allows the resolutory effect of art. 1124 Civil Code art. 1124 Código Civil,, in relation to art. 441.1 Law of Civil Procedure in the procedural aspect, which for rental processes limits the allegations and means of proof of the defendant in relation to payment, or enervation...

It should be remembered that for lease contracts subject to the general regulations of the civil code, article 1569 of the Civil Code contemplates the power of the landlord to initiate an eviction proceeding for non-payment of rent, declaring that: » The landlord may judicially evict the lessee for any of the following reasons: (...) 2nd Failure to pay the agreed price». And that said eviction process is subject to the limitations of allegation, and means of proof, contemplated in art. 444.1 art. 441.1 Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil transcribed above, with the result that the testimonial evidence that is proposed is not intended to prove either the payment of income, or the enervation."

Observation:

If you want to read some sentences about the subjection of the room lease contract to the Civil Code CLICK HERE  - arrendamiento de habitación al Código Civil PINCHAR AQUÍ