Renting long-term in Torrevieja or Orihuela Costa is how many people start their life on the Costa Blanca: it lets you test a neighbourhood through a full year, including the quiet winter months, before committing to a purchase. The market is very different from the holiday-let scene you see in summer. Good year-round flats go quickly, landlords ask for solid paperwork, and the contract you sign determines how long you can stay and what the landlord can charge. This guide covers how Spanish rental contracts work under the LAU, what deposits are legal, what rents look like in practice, which documents to prepare and why you should be careful with properties registered as tourist accommodation.
Year-round versus winter lets: two different markets
On this stretch of coast you will find two kinds of rental that often appear side by side on the same portals. The first is the habitual residence rental (vivienda habitual), for people who live here: workers, families, retirees who have moved permanently. The second is the seasonal rental (arrendamiento de temporada), typically October to May, aimed at winter visitors from northern Europe who go home for the summer.
Many owners in Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa prefer seasonal lets because they can keep the summer weeks for themselves or for higher-paying holidaymakers. That is why a flat that looks available in November may not be available in June. If you intend to live here all year, say so clearly from the first contact and ask whether the owner is offering a habitual residence contract. It avoids a forced move in late spring, which is exactly when finding another home is hardest.
How LAU contracts work for a main home
Residential leases are governed by the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (LAU). For a habitual residence contract the key rules are protective of the tenant:
- Minimum stay protection. Even if the contract says one year, the tenant can extend it year by year up to five years, or seven if the landlord is a company. After that, if nobody gives notice, it renews annually for up to three more years.
- Leaving early. The tenant can end the contract after the first six months with 30 days' written notice. The contract may set a compensation for leaving early, within the limits of the law.
- Recovering the home. The landlord can only recover the property for their own or close family's use before the end of the protected period if that possibility is written into the contract, and only after the first year.
- Rent updates. Annual increases must be set out in the contract and are limited by the reference index established by law; ask your advisor which index applies to your contract.
Seasonal contracts do not carry this protection: they end on the agreed date. A contract labelled seasonal for someone who in reality lives here year-round can be challenged, but it is far better to sign the right type from the start.
Deposits: the fianza and extra guarantees
The LAU requires a legal deposit (fianza) of one month's rent for a habitual residence contract and two months for other uses, including seasonal lets. In the Comunitat Valenciana the landlord must lodge that deposit with the Generalitat Valenciana; ask for proof that it has been deposited, because it protects your money if there is a dispute at the end.
On top of the fianza, landlords may ask for an additional guarantee, either as a cash deposit or a bank guarantee. For habitual residence contracts within the protected period, that extra guarantee cannot exceed two months' rent. Requests for six months paid upfront, still seen with foreign tenants, go beyond what the law allows as a guarantee for a main home; if an owner wants more security, rental default insurance (seguro de impago) paid by the landlord is the usual alternative.
Since the 2023 housing law, the agency's fees and the costs of drawing up the contract for a residential rental are paid by the landlord, not the tenant. Get a dated inventory with photos when you move in: it is your best defence when the deposit is returned.
What rents look like in practice
Rents vary strongly with season, condition, distance to the sea and whether the building has a pool and parking. As a rough guide for 2025-2026, a typical one or two-bedroom apartment in Torrevieja rents for approximately 650 to 1,100 euros a month on a long-term contract. Areas close to the beach such as La Mata or the Playa del Cura and Los Locos neighbourhoods sit towards the top of that range.
In Orihuela Costa, newer complexes with communal pools in La Zenia, Playa Flamenca and Punta Prima are usually more expensive than older stock in Torrevieja, and year-round offers are scarcer because so many owners let for holidays. Golf areas such as Villamartín offer larger homes but a car is essential. Townhouses and villas with private pools are a separate, much higher bracket. These are indications, not statistics: check current listings before budgeting, and expect utilities and sometimes the community fee to be discussed separately.
Documents landlords will ask for
Owners and agencies here are used to foreign tenants, but they expect a tidy file. Prepare:
- passport and NIE (a NIE is not always required to sign, but you will need it for utilities, registration at the town hall and most bank matters; see our NIE guide);
- proof of income: recent payslips and employment contract, pension statements, or your last tax return if self-employed;
- recent bank statements showing savings, particularly if your income is paid abroad;
- a reference from a previous landlord, if you have one.
Once you have the contract, register on the town hall's population register (empadronamiento). It is needed for healthcare, schools, residence procedures and many local services. Check who holds the electricity and water contracts: many landlords keep them in their name and pass on the bills, which is fine if the contract says so. The landlord must also give you the property's energy performance certificate.
The tourist licence trap
A home registered as tourist accommodation (vivienda de uso turístico) in the Comunitat Valenciana is meant for holiday stays, not for someone who lives there. The regional rules, tightened by Decreto-ley 9/2024, limit each stay to a maximum of ten consecutive days with the same guest and require registration in the regional tourism register. Since April 2025, new tourist lets in apartment buildings also need the express approval of the community of owners.
For a tenant, this means two things. First, do not accept a string of short holiday bookings or a vague agreement as a substitute for a real residential contract: you would have none of the LAU protections. Second, if you are renting now with a view to buying later as an investment, do not assume you will be able to obtain a tourist licence for any flat you like. Long-term letting under the LAU is often the more realistic plan, and it is easier to finance and manage.
Renting first, buying later: a sensible route
Many of our clients rent for a year before buying, and it is sound advice. A year shows you how busy the town is in August, how quiet a complex becomes in January, how long the drive to Alicante or Murcia airport really is and whether you prefer the town life of Torrevieja or the beaches and golf of Orihuela Costa.
Non-EU citizens should remember that renting does not by itself grant residence, and neither does buying: Spain's golden visa for property investors was abolished for new applications on 3 April 2025, so you will need a visa route such as the non-lucrative residence visa, which you should check with an immigration lawyer. When you are ready, browse our properties for sale or contact us to discuss neighbourhoods and budgets with someone who knows both markets.