Garantía adicional

Spanish law lets a landlord agree security beyond the mandatory fianza, and caps how much on a primary-residence lease. This is where the demands for three, four or six months come from — and where most of them stop being lawful.

The word to notice is agreed. The fianza is compulsory; the additional guarantee is a term of the contract, which means it is something you are entitled to argue about. Tenants who believe the ceiling is 'the law' negotiate nothing, which is precisely the misunderstanding the demand relies on.

A bank aval counts inside this allowance rather than sitting alongside it. A landlord asking for a two-month aval and two extra months of deposit has already gone past the limit, whether or not they know it.