Renovations in lieu of rent in Spanish tenancy law

In the context of difficulties in access to housing, the Spanish Act 4/2013 introduced a new article 17.5 into the Act on Urban Leases 1994 (LAU). This paper regulates the so-called renovations in lieu of rent (rehabilitación por renta), that is to say, a tenancy contract in which the tenant does not pay the rent in money but by performing renovation works in the same rented dwelling. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the legal regime of renovations in lieu of rent and how this scheme works.

Renovations in lieu of rent, by its own nature, allow a tenant with building skills to access affordable housing. However, due to the new regulation of this tenancy contract, which is only included in Paragraph 5 of art. 17 LAU, some problems may arise from a legal perspective.

This paper approaches the compatibility of this scheme with the LAU, detects its problems and proposes legal improvements.

This paper explores the application of renovations in lieu of rent and determines whether this new scheme, according to the current regulation, may represent a true residential alternative for vulnerable people or if legislative reform is needed to promote its use.