The Ministry of Consumer Affairs has calculated that the extraordinary extension of rental contracts that end before 2029 will generate a median saving of 4,341 euros per home over the two additional years. This measure could be applied to 1,895,676 contracts and reach nearly five million tenants.
The initiative forms part of the Royal Decree-law on measures in housing matters that this Thursday is submitted to the Permanent Deputation of the Congress for ratification, and it establishes that contracts expiring before 2029 may be extended mandatorily until December 31, 2028. Although the rule is already in operation, it requires parliamentary endorsement to remain in force.
According to Consumo data, the extension will allow the contracts to be kept "on the same terms". On that basis, the department estimates that the median saving per household during the total two-year period will be 4,341 euros.
To project how many people could be affected, the Ministry uses INE statistics, which set the average number of inhabitants per household residing in rental at market price at 2.59. Based on this reference, it calculates that contracts eligible for extension could benefit about 4.9 million people.
Differences by autonomous community
The economic effect is not uniform and varies depending on the autonomous community. In the Community of Madrid, the estimated median saving amounts to 9,152 euros per household, while in the Balearic Islands it rises to 10,090 euros. In Andalusia, the figures range from 2,044 euros in Córdoba to 10,625 euros in Málaga.
In the Valencian Community, the saving ranges from the 3,890 euros of Castellón to the 8,436 euros of Valencia. In the Canary Islands, estimates range from 4,128 euros in Las Palmas to 7,596 euros in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
In Galicia, the expected impact ranges from 1,760 euros in A Coruña to 3,455 euros in Lugo; in Aragón, from 1,811 euros in Huesca to 4,110 euros in Zaragoza; and in Castilla-La Mancha, from 2,987 euros in Albacete to 6,220 euros in Guadalajara.
In Castile and León, the median saving stands between 2,551 euros in Palencia and 6,257 euros in Segovia, while in Extremadura it is calculated to range between 2,479 euros in Badajoz and 3,464 euros in Cáceres.
The Government has not carried out a specific projection of the economic impact in Catalonia, since in most areas they have been declared tight residential market zones.
Calculation methodology
Consumo has prepared these estimates through a microsimulation based on the IRPF Household Panel of the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Tax Agency, which incorporates a sample of the rents declared by individual lessors in the common tax territory, with information available up to 2023.
To determine the savings, during the two years of extension, the rent of the extended contract is compared, with its updates and legal limits, against the rent of a new contract, the amount of which is inferred from the published listing prices on Idealista in each province.
In tight residential market zones, no rent increase is expected in new contracts, given that this cannot exceed the amount of the previous contract.
The model is based on the assumption that all tenants choose to take advantage of the extension. In turn, the estimates of the population benefiting are obtained from the average size of households living in rental at market price in each autonomous community, according to the 2025 Survey on Living Conditions of the INE.