Rent Increases in Spain: Art. 18 LAU and the New IRAV Index (2026)

By Recording Law Editorial TeamPublished July 23, 20267 min read

Key Takeaways

1Rent can only be updated on the contract's yearly anniversary, and only under the terms the parties actually agreed. If the contract has no express clause on updates, the rent simply does not update at all (art. 18.1 LAU).
2If the parties agreed to update the rent but did not specify which index or method to use, the law fills the gap with the Indice de Garantia de Competitividad (IGC).
3For contracts signed after 26 May 2023, updates are capped by reference to the IRAV, a new index the INE was mandated to create specifically to stop disproportionate rent rises.
4The IRAV is defined as the lowest of three separate inflation measures, not a single headline figure, which is why it tends to run below general CPI.
5The latest published value at the time of writing (June 2026) was 2,44 percent, and it changes every month on the INE's regular release calendar, so it should always be checked fresh rather than reused from memory.

Whether a landlord in Spain can raise the rent at all, and by how much, depends on what the contract actually says and on when it was signed. Since 2023 there is also a new government-published index built specifically to stop rent updates from running ahead of household incomes. This page explains both layers: the general rule in art. 18 LAU, and the IRAV index that now caps updates on newer contracts.

Information last verified on 23 July 2026. This page provides general legal information about Spanish law and does not constitute legal advice in an individual case.

No clause, no increase

The starting rule in art. 18 LAU is stricter than most tenants expect: rent can only be updated once a year, on the contract's own anniversary date, and only in the terms the parties pacted. If the written contract says nothing about updating the rent, the default is not "inflation applies automatically." It is the opposite: no update applies at all, unless and until the parties agree one. A landlord cannot introduce an increase mid-contract that was never agreed at signing.

Where the parties did agree to some kind of update but the clause is vague, for example it references "monetary value adjustment" without naming a specific index or methodology, the law does not leave that open. It fills the gap by pegging the annual update to the variation of the Indice de Garantia de Competitividad (IGC) for that year.

The IPC ceiling written into the article

Art. 18.1 also states, in its own text, that whatever increase results from an update cannot exceed the percentage variation of the Indice de Precios al Consumo (IPC) measured at the date of the update. That ceiling is the article's own printed language. For contracts that predate the 2023 housing reform and are not otherwise governed by the newer index described below, this IPC ceiling remains the operative limit.

The IRAV: a newer, narrower index for newer contracts

The 2023 housing law added a separate instruction, now part of the LAU as disposicion adicional undecima, requiring the INE (Spain's national statistics institute) to define a dedicated reference index for annual rent updates, meant to serve as the limit for art. 18 and specifically designed to avoid disproportionate rent increases. The INE has in fact defined and published this index, called the Indice de Referencia de Arrendamientos de Vivienda (IRAV), publishing its first results in January 2025 and monthly figures since, on the same release calendar as the general CPI statistics.

Per the INE's own published guidance, rental contracts signed after 26 May 2023, the date the 2023 housing law took effect, are updated by reference to the IRAV rather than the general IPC. Contracts signed before that date are not automatically switched over; they continue to follow whatever the contract's own clause, or the IPC/IGC default rules above, provide.

The IRAV itself is built to be conservative by construction: the INE defines it as the lowest of three separate figures, the annual variation of the general CPI, the annual variation of underlying (core) CPI, and an adjusted average variation rate set out in the index's own methodology annex. Taking the minimum of three measures is why the IRAV commonly runs at or below general inflation, rather than tracking it directly.

The current published value

The latest published value at the time of writing (June 2026) was 2,44 percent, published by the INE on 15 July 2026. Because the IRAV is a live monthly statistic rather than a fixed legal number, that figure moves every month on the INE's own release calendar. Anyone calculating an actual rent update should check the INE's current published figure for the specific month their contract's anniversary falls in, rather than treating any single percentage as permanent. The INE publishes the series directly, and the Ministerio de Vivienda y Agenda Urbana also offers a calculator tied to the same index for working out a specific update.

What this means for a specific update

Putting the pieces together: first check whether the contract has an update clause at all. If it does not, there is no annual increase, full stop. If it does, check when the contract was signed: after 26 May 2023, the update is capped with reference to the IRAV's currently published value; before that date, absent a different agreed index, the IGC or the IPC ceiling of art. 18.1 is what applies. In every case, the increase can only take effect once a year, on the contract's own anniversary, never mid-term.

For the rest of what governs the contract, duration, the deposit and how the tenancy can end, see the rental contract page. For the broader 2023 housing law that created the IRAV, see the housing law page.

This page is general legal information about Spanish law and does not constitute legal advice in an individual case. The controlling texts are the current versions in the BOE and the INE's published statistics.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my landlord raise my rent every year automatically?

Only if the contract has an express clause allowing it. Under art. 18 LAU, an update can only happen once a year, on the contract's anniversary, and only in the terms the parties actually agreed. A contract with no update clause does not update at all.

What index caps rent increases in Spain right now?

It depends on when the contract was signed. Contracts signed after 26 May 2023 are capped with reference to the IRAV, a new index published monthly by the INE. Older contracts, or ones with a vague clause, generally fall back to the Indice de Garantia de Competitividad or the IPC ceiling written into art. 18.1 LAU.

What is the IRAV and how is it calculated?

The Indice de Referencia de Arrendamientos de Vivienda is a reference index the INE was required to create by the 2023 housing law, meant to keep rent updates from outpacing household incomes. It is defined as the lowest of three figures: annual CPI variation, annual underlying (core) CPI variation, and an adjusted average rate set in the index's own methodology, and it is published monthly.

What is the current IRAV percentage?

The latest published value at the time of writing, for June 2026, was 2,44 percent, published by the INE on 15 July 2026. The IRAV is a live monthly statistic, so always check the INE's current published figure for the month that matters for your contract rather than relying on a past figure.

Does the IRAV apply to a lease signed before 2023?

Not automatically. Per the INE's own published guidance, the IRAV applies to rental contracts signed after 26 May 2023. Older contracts continue to follow whatever update clause they contain, or the IGC and IPC default rules in art. 18 LAU if the clause is silent or vague.

Sources and References

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Rent Increases in Spain: Art. 18 LAU and the New IRAV Index (2026)

By Recording Law Editorial TeamPublished July 23, 20267 min read

Key Takeaways

1Rent can only be updated on the contract's yearly anniversary, and only under the terms the parties actually agreed. If the contract has no express clause on updates, the rent simply does not update at all (art. 18.1 LAU).
2If the parties agreed to update the rent but did not specify which index or method to use, the law fills the gap with the Indice de Garantia de Competitividad (IGC).
3For contracts signed after 26 May 2023, updates are capped by reference to the IRAV, a new index the INE was mandated to create specifically to stop disproportionate rent rises.
4The IRAV is defined as the lowest of three separate inflation measures, not a single headline figure, which is why it tends to run below general CPI.
5The latest published value at the time of writing (June 2026) was 2,44 percent, and it changes every month on the INE's regular release calendar, so it should always be checked fresh rather than reused from memory.

Information last verified on 23 July 2026. This page provides general legal information about Spanish law and does not constitute legal advice in an individual case.