Renting a villa in Marbella for a season or for years

Two kinds of contract

Spanish law distinguishes between two kinds of longer let. A seasonal contract (arrendamiento de temporada) covers a temporary need: a winter on the coast, a work posting, a year of study. A residential lease (arrendamiento de vivienda) is for the home where you actually live. Both fall under the urban leases law, the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos or LAU, but they are treated very differently.

A seasonal contract runs for the agreed period and gives the tenant few rights beyond it. A residential lease gives real security: where the landlord is an individual, the tenant can extend the lease year by year up to five years, and the landlord can end it early only in limited circumstances. Different terms apply where the landlord is a company.

The label on the contract matters less than the reality. A seasonal contract for a family that moves in, enrols the children in school and settles as residents may be challenged as a residential lease in disguise. Be open about your plans, and have the contract read by an independent lawyer before you sign.

Since 1 July 2025 seasonal lets, like holiday lets, fall under Spain's single national rental register, so ask the landlord for the registration number.

Deposits, guarantees and the inventory

A residential lease comes with the statutory deposit (fianza) set by the leases law. Landlords of large villas often ask international tenants without Spanish income for further security, such as a bank guarantee or rent paid in advance. The law limits what can be demanded on a residential lease, so ask your lawyer to check the figures.

For a seasonal contract, the terms are set largely by the contract itself. Either way, get a receipt for every payment, and make sure the contract states when and how the deposit is returned.

Insist on a detailed inventory signed by both sides, with dated photographs of every room, the furniture, the pool, the garden and the appliances. A villa has far more to go wrong than a flat: irrigation, pumps, awnings, gates, the alarm. Note what works and what does not on the day you move in, because the inventory is what you will be measured against when you leave.

Utilities, maintenance and running costs

In a long let you usually pay the utilities yourself: electricity, water, gas where there is any, internet and television. Ask to see recent bills, because a large villa with a heated pool, air conditioning and an irrigated garden can use far more than you expect. Find out whether the supply contracts stay in the owner's name or move to yours.

Agree in writing who pays for pool and garden maintenance, the alarm and security service, and community fees if the villa sits in an urbanisation with a community of owners. The annual property tax, IBI, normally falls on the owner, although the contract can say otherwise. Settle who handles repairs and how quickly: a broken pool pump in July is not a minor matter.

• Who pays each utility, and in whose name the contracts are
• Pool, garden, alarm and community fees
• Repairs: who calls whom, and how fast
• How and when the deposit is returned

Planning around the school year

For families, the school calendar sets the timetable. International schools generally start their year in early September, and popular year groups can fill well ahead, so secure the school place before you sign a lease, not after. Then look for a villa within a sensible school run.

The map helps. Aloha College is in Nueva Andalucía, Swans International School is in Marbella, The English International College and Colegio Alemán Juan Hoffmann are in Marbella East, and Laude San Pedro International College is in San Pedro. Our guide to international schools in Marbella looks at them in more detail.

Morning traffic on the A-7 can turn a short drive into a long one, so test the route at school time before you commit. The right side of town can give you back a good part of every weekday.

Moving with a family

Allow time for the practical layer: an NIE for each adult, a Spanish bank account for direct debits, health cover, and registration on the town hall's population register (empadronamiento) once you live there. Many villas are let furnished, so check whether the contents suit daily life or only holidays: a proper kitchen, storage, desks and outdoor furniture that survives a winter.

Winter is a different season in a villa. Ask how the house is heated, whether the terraces catch the winter sun and how damp is handled in a house designed for summer. A visit in November or February tells you more than any summer viewing.

Renting before you buy

Many future owners rent first, and with good reason. A year in a neighbourhood shows you what no viewing can: the summer bustle, the winter quiet, the school run, the neighbours. Some people who were certain about the hills discover they want to walk to dinner, and some find the reverse.

Use the rental year as research. Our villa finder matches your priorities to a shortlist of areas, and the neighbourhood guides set out indicative prices, plot sizes and drive times for each of the twelve. When you are ready, the step-by-step buying guide takes it from there.

This guide is general information, not legal advice; before you sign a lease, have it reviewed by an independent lawyer (abogado).