Rent default insurance in Spain: what it covers, what it costs, the small print

Short answer: what Spain calls a «rent default insurance» (seguro de impago de alquiler) costs from 3% of the annual rent — up to 5% for residential property and 6% for commercial, depending on the tenant's solvency assessment. It covers unpaid rent, the legal costs of recovering the property and, in some products, vandalism damage. At Adastra we arrange it through SEAG, whose partner office we are. One detail is worth knowing before you sign: technically it is not insurance. Here is what that means, and why it can work in your favour.

What you are buying is a joint-and-several guarantee, not a policy

SEAG's own general conditions say so, in these words: the guarantee «does not have the legal nature of an insurance operation, but of joint and several suretyship and the provision of specialised professional services», and the company «IS NOT SUPERVISED BY THE DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR INSURANCE AND PENSION FUNDS». Legally it is a suretyship under article 1822 and following of the Spanish Civil Code.

What changes for you?

• In your favour: the guarantor expressly waives the beneficio de excusión — the right to be pursued only after the debtor. In plain terms, you do not have to chase the tenant or exhaust their assets first. You claim directly from the guarantor and they pay. A conventional insurance policy gives you a capped number of monthly payments and a claims process.
• To keep in mind: because it is not an insurance company, it does not sit under the insurance regulator's umbrella. So the size and track record of whoever guarantees you matters. SEAG's figures at the close of 2024: 6,719 partner offices, 110,742 guarantees issued and €11,498,299 paid out in unpaid rent.

What it covers, against a standard policy

Cover	Typical rent-default policy	SEAG guarantee
Months of rent guaranteed	12	Unlimited, until you recover the property
Legal defence	Up to €3,000	No cap
Vandalism	Excess from €300	Up to €3,000, no excess
Squatting protection	No	Yes, for 3 months after expiry
Unpaid utilities	Up to €150	Up to €1,500 (with add-ons)
Room-by-room lettings	No	Yes
Minimum price	From 4% of annual rent	From 3%

The first line is the one you feel in a real case. A twelve-month policy leaves you exposed if proceedings drag on, and eviction for non-payment in Spain rarely resolves within a year. A guarantee that pays until you get the keys back moves that whole risk off your balance sheet.

What it costs

• From 3% of the annual rent.
• Up to 5% for residential property.
• Up to 6% for non-residential property.
• Since 4 May 2026, already-tenanted properties of more than a year went from being approved at 4% to 4.5%.

With numbers: a flat let at €900 a month is €10,800 of annual rent, so the guarantee costs between €324 and €540 a year depending on the tenant's profile. Less than half a month's rent, protecting twelve.

It is paid by direct debit from the landlord's account — never the tenant's — and runs for 12 months from the start of the tenancy, renewing automatically unless cancelled 30 days in advance.

The five requirements almost nobody meets

1. A photographic annex signed by the tenant on the day of signing. Without it, the vandalism cover — up to €3,000 with no excess — cannot be claimed. It is the most commonly skipped requirement. At Adastra we do it at every move-in.
2. Report the missed payment before the 25th of that same month. Report it on the 26th and you lose that month's compensation; cover starts with the following month.
3. Send the contract, signed on every page, within 7 days of the claim. Miss the deadline and the claim is void.
4. The contract must be a primary-residence tenancy with the statutory LAU duration (minimum 5 years for an individual landlord, 7 for a company). Seasonal and holiday lets are excluded from the indefinite guarantee; a separate temporary guarantee exists for those.
5. Notify any change in writing, in advance. Rent increases, a tenant leaving or joining, an annex, a payment arrangement. Agreements between landlord and tenant that have not been authorised in writing are not covered, and a rent increase above 10% triggers a new assessment.

And a sixth worth anticipating: if it goes to court you must grant power of attorney before a notary within 15 days of being asked, and the guarantor's lawyers run the case exclusively. Refusing terminates the guarantee.

When the first payment actually reaches you

The base product has one month of waiting period, and payments are made in arrears, within the first 5 days of the following month. The contract's own example: if your tenant misses January and you report it before 25 January, January counts as the waiting period and the guarantor pays you February's rent on 5 March.

So roughly two months pass between the first missed payment and the first transfer. Two ways to remove that gap:

• The Plus / No Waiting Period add-on, which removes the waiting month.
• Cobro Puntual, where the guarantor pays you on the 1st of every month whether or not the tenant has paid, and you no longer need to report anything.

What it does not cover

• Missed payments within the first 30 days of the guarantee.
• Arrears predating the contract, or arising from a pre-existing dispute.
• Non-payment legitimised by a judicial, police or administrative decision.
• Properties that lose habitability, for any reason.
• Subletting, unless the Plus add-on is in place.
• Void contracts, contracts in fraud of law, or signed by someone without title to let.
• Tenant or guarantor details that do not match the solvency assessment.

One rule surprises people: if the tenant eventually pays what they owed — or a third party does, including a public body — you must return those amounts to the guarantor. The guarantee advances your money and takes your place in claiming it back; it is not compensation on top of the debt.

What your tenant has to pass

The solvency assessment is the real filter, and it tightened on 4 May 2026:

• A guarantor is required where income is below €1,200 for a single tenant, or below €1,500 for several.
• Files with Asnef or Equifax entries require a guarantor, and cannot take the Plus or Cobro Puntual add-ons.
• Financial documentation is only waived for rents below €300 (the threshold used to be €600).

Here is the value most landlords miss: a «no» from the assessment is information you get before signing, not after. If a tenant does not pass the filter of a company putting its own money behind them, they probably should not pass yours either.

In exchange, the assessment considers profiles landlords often reject outright: employees with no seniority, self-employed people and founders, income from abroad, and unemployment with benefits or allowances.

How we handle it at Adastra

• We run the solvency assessment before we show you the candidate, not after you have chosen.
• We draft the contract with the duration and clauses the guarantee requires.
• We produce the signed photographic annex at every move-in.
• If a payment is missed, we handle the reporting before the 25th and the paperwork within the deadline. You do not have to remember anything.
• And if your case does not qualify — some properties and profiles do not — we tell you before you sign.

We also guarantee room-by-room lettings, which most rent-default policies on the market do not cover.

Frequently asked questions

How many months are covered?

Under the indefinite guarantee, every month until you recover possession. There is no cap. In exchange, while a claim is open the guarantee must be renewed; stop paying it and you stop being paid.

What if my tenant declares insolvency?

Unpaid rent remains covered from the date you reported it, and amounts already paid to you are not reclaimed.

Can I take it out on an already-tenanted property?

Yes, subject to assessment; since May 2026 properties tenanted for over a year are approved at 4.5%. What is never covered is arrears predating the contract.

Does it cover squatting?

It includes legal protection against squatting, extending three months beyond the end of the guarantee. It is legal representation, not damage cover.

Is it tax-deductible?

The cost is a deductible expense against rental income, like home insurance or council tax. Check your own situation with your adviser.

Figures taken from SEAG's General Conditions for the Rental Guarantee (version V20251003), its scoring-change notice of 29 April 2026 and its corporate presentation with data as at year-end 2024. The conditions applying to your contract are those of the guarantee actually issued, which we give you in full before you sign.