The Spanish pensioner’s ordeal put Europe’s housing crisis back in the spotlight. So what happens when landlords want their property back?
The reality is that owners can still terminate the contract with the tenant ahead of schedule if they want, but with a few caveats and important differences depending on where you live in Europe.
In general, if tenants are paying regularly, landlords need an important and legally recognised reason, such as if they are selling the property; they need it for themselves or close relatives; or, in some cases, if the house needs major renovation.
No force majeure is needed if the tenant isn’t paying regularly; however, there may be legal exceptions and challenges in some cases if the tenant is vulnerable.
Spain: Short notice period, potential suspension for vulnerable people
Spain has one of the shortest notice periods — only two months — according to the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos. However, the terms apply only after the first year of tenancy.
The landlord must be a physical person, not a company. Of course, non-payment is grounds for eviction through a legal procedure called desahucio por falta de pago.
“Economically vulnerable” tenants can request a suspension while social services evaluate alternative housing options. Suspensions can be rejected if the landlord owns fewer than three properties.
The suspension can last for up to three years and is re-examined every 12 months.
France: Winter truce and longer notice for unfurnished properties
In France, tenants are a bit more protected. Landlords can’t terminate the lease halfway through; the notice period starts only three months before the end of the contract if the house came furnished, and six months before if it was unfurnished.
Also, evictions are banned during what’s known as the “winter truce”, between 1 November and 31 March, inclusive.
Tenants who are late with payments have six weeks to clear their arrears after receiving a commandement de payer (order of payment).
However, a judge can give a tenant up to three years to repay rent arrears through a payment plan, provided that they have resumed paying their current rent and are considered capable of clearing the debt.
Germany: No minimum period before the termination notice
In Germany, tenants can legally challenge a termination if they face hardship risks, according to the country’s civil code, the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch.
Otherwise, the notice is three months, extending to six months after five years, and to nine months after eight years.
But, unlike in France and Spain, there is no minimum period before the termination notice is sent.
Also, failure to pay rent for at least two months is enough to open a termination procedure — fristlose Kündigung.
The judge decides the delay to vacate the property, up to a maximum of one year. The tenant has two months to repay the debt and void the procedure after the termination order is issued.
However, this mechanism can only be used once every two years.
Italy: No termination before four years if there’s no serious breach
In Italy, notice is given six months before the end of the contract, which usually lasts for a minimum of four years, as regulated by the country’s law 431/98.
During that period, landlords cannot ask their tenants to move out for any reason, unless the tenant is in severe breach of their obligations.
The course of action is shorter in case of payment failure. The grace period goes from a minimum of three to a maximum of four months if the tenant faces issues such as unemployment or sickness after entering the property.
If the tenant still fails to pay, eviction takes place within a maximum of two months after the end of the grace period.
UK: New protections for tenants
From May 2026, in England, as it already was in Scotland, landlords are no longer allowed to terminate the contract before the end of the tenancy without a specific ground for possession — like selling or moving in — following the repeal of Section 21 of the Housing Act, where no-fault eviction was allowed.
The notice period was set to four months, and it cannot be triggered in the first year of tenancy.
In case of arrears, landlords can seek mandatory eviction if a tenant owes at least three months’ rent. If the debt is below three months, eviction may still be possible, but it’s up to the judge to decide whether there are reasonable grounds.
The picture is slightly different in Wales and Northern Ireland, where it is still possible to terminate the contract for no particular reason. In Wales, the landlord needs to give six months’ notice and cannot force the tenant to move out before the first year elapses.
The notice period is much shorter in Northern Ireland. Only four weeks, if the tenancy has been going on for less than a year. For tenancies of over a year, the notice is two months, rising to three months for contracts of more than 10 years.
The background: What happened to Maricarmen Abascal?
Europe’s housing crisis came back into the spotlight when wheelchair-bound Maricarmen Abascal was forcibly evicted from her apartment in Madrid last week, after refusing to honour a more than €1,000 hike on her monthly rent.
Her pension is around €1,300, and she was paying €500 for her apartment, where she had lived since 1956.
The price hike was set by an investment fund, Urbagestión, which acquired the building where the flat is located in 2018. The eviction led to huge protests across Spain, including in Madrid and Barcelona, prompted donations and even sparked an appeal from the United Nations.
Luckily for Abascal, the story ended positively. She was offered a new eight-year contract capped at 30% of her income, following negotiations between Urbagestión and Madrid’s housing authority.
However, the backlash had far-reaching implications, prompting Spain’s government to swiftly introduce new housing support measures, in particular a ban on evictions for vulnerable people until 2030.
It also brought in further restrictions and controls on investment funds buying building complexes, such as stricter scrutiny of contract termination procedures against elderly tenants and increased tax penalties for holding empty units.