Contrato de Temporada: The 11-Month Lease on Mallorca

At some point during your flat search in Palma, you'll hear this line: I don't do long-term rentals, but I can offer you an eleven-month contract. What's being offered is a contrato de temporada, a seasonal lease. It isn't illegal. For most newcomers, it's still the wrong contract, because it strips out exactly the protections that make Spanish tenancy law famously tenant-friendly. The basics on term length, deposit, and notice periods are covered in the guide to rental contracts in Spain. Here we're focused on this one contract type and how to tell whether it's even valid in your situation.

What a contrato de temporada legally is

A contrato de temporada is a lease on a property that the tenant doesn't use as a permanent residence, but for a time-limited purpose such as seasonal work, a semester of study, or renovating their own house. Spanish tenancy law places it in the section for leases without a residential purpose.

The law itself draws the line. Article 2 of the Ley 29/1994 de Arrendamientos Urbanos defines a residential tenancy as one that meets the tenant's permanent housing need. Article 3 explicitly lists contracts made "por temporada," whether for summer or any other season, and treats them the same as commercial leases. So what matters is the purpose, not the number of months in the contract.

That has concrete consequences. For residential tenancies, Article 9 of the LAU mandates extension to at least five years, or seven years if the landlord is a legal entity. None of that applies to a seasonal contract. It ends on the agreed date, the landlord needs no reason and no notice period, and there's no statutory cap on the rent during the term.

Why landlords insist on eleven months

The five-year commitment is a real concession in a market like Mallorca. Anyone renting out in 2026 is locked in until 2031, and the annual rent adjustment is tied to an index they don't control. How tight that framework is shows up in our post on rent increases under IRAV instead of IPC.

Then there's holiday letting. Many owners want the flat free in summer, or are waiting on a tourist rental licence. Eleven months sounds like a compromise, but it isn't one: what you end up with is eleven months of housing, followed by a landlord who decides freely what happens next.

One detail often gives the setup away at move-in. Under Article 36 of the LAU, the statutory deposit for a residential tenancy is one month's rent; for a lease without a residential purpose, it's two. In the Balearic Islands, the landlord also has to deposit it, and under Article 55 of the Balearic Housing Law (Ley 5/2018), within 30 days of signing. If someone asks for two months' deposit, they've already classified the contract internally as a seasonal lease.

How to spot a seasonal contract in the text

The wording repeats itself once you know what to look for:

• The contract cites Article 3 of the LAU, or "uso distinto del de vivienda," instead of Article 2.
• It gives no reason for the time limit, just an end date.
• The deposit is two months' rent.
• There's a clause where you confirm the flat isn't your main residence.
• After the term ends, the landlord offers you a new, near-identical contract.

When a court turns it into an ordinary residential tenancy

Spanish courts look at actual use, not the heading on the document. If the flat meets your permanent housing need, Article 2 of the LAU applies, and the contract is treated as a residential tenancy, with the right to extension and protection against termination. The legal term for this is fraude de ley: circumventing a mandatory rule by using the wrong contract form.

What you'd present in such a case is everyday evidence: your empadronamiento with the municipality, electricity and water contracts in your name, an open-ended employment contract on the island, your children's school enrollment, a chain of back-to-back seasonal contracts on the same flat. Rulings from Spanish courts on this pattern are in the public database of the Consejo General del Poder Judicial, search term arrendamiento de temporada.

Is an eleven-month lease illegal on Mallorca?

No. Eleven months is a permitted term. What becomes invalid is the wrong classification: if the flat becomes your permanent home, the protections for residential tenancies apply, regardless of what the contract says.

What does reclassification actually get me?

You can renew annually up to the full five years, and during that time the landlord can only remove you in the legally defined cases. What applies at the end of the term is covered in our post on renewing and ending a rental contract.

What the planned housing decree would change

The draft that's been under discussion since summer 2026 would, for the first time, write seasonal contracts directly into the LAU: a maximum term of twelve months, plus a written justification for why the stay is temporary. If the reason is missing or the term is exceeded, the contract would count as a residential tenancy with the five-year rules.

As of 12 September 2026, none of this is in force. Its predecessor, Real Decreto-ley 8/2026 of 20 March, was rejected by Congress on 28 April 2026. The cabinet meeting meant to approve the new decree was pulled in late July and pushed to September. So for your contract, the LAU in its current form still applies. Whether and when the decree appears will show up in the Boletín Oficial del Estado.

Bottom line

Whether an eleven-month contract holds up ultimately depends on how you actually live in the flat. Ask directly at the viewing which article of the LAU the contract relies on. Some landlords back down once it's clear you know the difference. If it stays a seasonal contract even though you intend to stay long term, sign anyway if you have to, and start collecting your evidence from day one. For larger sums, or a landlord who insists on the clause, an hour with a lawyer before signing is worth more than a lawsuit afterward.