Do Tenants Have to Pay for Painting and Professional Cleaning When Moving Out in Spain?

Many landlords automatically deduct professional cleaning or “fresh paint” from the deposit (fianza) when a tenant moves out. But Spanish legal practice, including cases like a court decision in Granada, often supports tenants on this point.

Below are the key takeaways that can help you protect your money and understand what is fair, what is legal, and what usually falls under normal maintenance.

1) Painting and basic cleaning are usually the owner’s responsibility

A Spanish court position (illustrated by the Granada example) treats repainting and standard cleaning as part of the normal technical maintenance of a property. In general terms, the owner must keep the home in habitable condition under the landlord’s maintenance obligations (commonly linked to Article 21.4 of the LAU), unless the contract clearly and specifically states otherwise.

In simple words: routine “refreshing” of the apartment is typically the owner’s cost, not the tenant’s.

2) The apartment does not have to be “like new”

The law expects tenants to return a property in good condition, but that does not mean it must look as if nobody ever lived there. Normal wear and tear is an inevitable consequence of regular use, and tenants are not financially responsible for it.

3) How to tell normal wear from real damage

One of the most practical skills in deposit disputes is separating normal wear from tenant-caused damage.

Normal wear and tear (owner pays)

• Small marks or minor scuffs on walls
• Paint that has aged or faded over time
• Yellowing grout in the bathroom
• Floor wear from normal walking and everyday use

Damage caused by negligence (tenant pays)

• Holes in walls beyond normal hanging marks
• Broken items or fixtures
• Burn marks or heavy stains
• Damaged furniture
• Mould caused by poor ventilation or negligent use

4) What the tenant is actually responsible for

In most cases, the tenant is responsible only for:

• Minor repairs linked to everyday use
• Fixing damage that happened due to their fault, negligence, or improper use

That is very different from paying for general “refresh” work that would normally happen between tenants anyway.

5) How to protect yourself and your deposit (fianza)

Document everything

Take clear photos and videos at both move-in and move-out. This is one of the strongest tools you have if a dispute starts.

Read the contract carefully

If there is no clear clause requiring professional cleaning or repainting before returning keys, the landlord generally cannot impose that requirement afterwards.

Remember the burden of proof

In many disputes, the landlord must prove that the damage was caused by abnormal use, not by time and normal living.

Quick summary

Normal wear and tear is essentially the owner’s “cost of doing business” in exchange for receiving rental income, not a debt of the tenant.

Think of renting a home like renting a car: you should return it clean and without new dents, but nobody expects you to change the oil or repaint the hood just because you drove it.