Following the entry into force of Law 12/2023 on the right to housing, along with amendments to Spain’s Civil Procedure Act (LEC), landlords classified as large-scale — meaning those who own more than ten residential units (or more than five in certain regions like Catalunya) — were required to meet two procedural steps before filing an eviction or enforcement claim to recover possession of a property.

These two steps, which were treated as admissibility requirements, were:

  • Verifying whether the tenant or occupant was in a situation of economic vulnerability, and
  • If vulnerability was confirmed, initiating a mediation or conciliation process through which a social rent offer was made to the tenant or occupant.

These steps were mandatory and sequential: the second only applied if the first was confirmed.

After Law 12/2023, of 24 May, on the Right to Housing came into force, a constitutional appeal was filed before the Constitutional Court, challenging several of its provisions on the grounds that they infringed the right to legal defense and Article 24 of the Spanish Constitution.

On 29 January 2025, the Constitutional Court issued Ruling No. 26/2025, published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on 28 February 2025. The Court declared these procedural requirements unconstitutional for large-scale landlords, specifically annulling sections 6(c) and 7 of Article 439, as well as sections 1 and 2 of Article 655 bis, and by extension Article 685.2 of the LEC.

As a result, landlords falling under the “large-scale” definition are no longer required to prove tenant vulnerability or to initiate a prior mediation process before filing eviction or enforcement claims under Article 250.1 (items 1, 2, 4, and 7) of the LEC.

In short, large-scale landlords are no longer legally obliged to follow these preliminary steps before pursuing legal action to recover a property.

If you would like more information, please feel free to contact the procedural law department at addwill at comunicacio@addwill.eu, by calling +34 934 875 200, or by clicking here. We will be happy to help.