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Lodging the rental deposit in the Basque Country: Bizilagun and the Lease Register.
In the Basque Country, lodging the deposit and registering the lease are a single procedure before the Basque Government's regional housing offices. There is a one-month deadline, but not every lease is covered: rooms, parking spaces and sublets are excluded. We go through it with the surcharges, the bulk scheme for landlords with ten or more properties and the refund.
- One month from signing
- Free to lodge
- Checked on 18 Oct 2026
2015 Housing Act and Decree 42/2016
The Basque Country required lodging later than other regions. It did so with Housing Act 3/2015 of 18 June, whose article 54 requires landlords to lodge the deposit with the housing department's regional offices, and with Decree 42/2016 of 15 March, which governs lodging and creates the Basque Register of Urban Lease Contracts. All of this implements article 36 and the third additional provision of the LAU.
In practice, the public-facing service is Bizilagun, part of the Department of Housing and Urban Agenda, and the files are decided by the regional offices of Araba/Álava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa. Lodging is free and earns no interest.
Which leases must be lodged and which need not
The duty falls on whoever is named as landlord in the lease. It covers leases signed from 26 September 2015 for main homes and other uses (seasonal, professional activity, homes leased to a company, shops or industrial units), and revisions made since that date to earlier leases.
- Not required: renting rooms, storage units and parking spaces; assigning the running of a business; sublets.
- Amount: one month for main homes and two for other uses; for leases under a year, pro rata based on two months.
- Deadline: one month from signing; for subsidised housing between private parties, one month from the regional office's approval stamp.
Lodging and registration in a single application.
It can be done online or on paper, handed in at a Zuzenean office or any public register.
Prepare the documents
A complete copy of the signed lease (unless verbal or already stamped), the IBI property tax bill to check the cadastral reference and, for companies, the tax ID.
Issue the payment slip
The form generates the slip to pay the deposit through the payment gateway or at a bank. There is no need to attach proof of payment.
Submit the application
Online with an electronic ID (B@kQ, digital certificate, etc.), or printed and signed by hand. Drafts are kept for a month if you do not finish in one go.
Give the copy to the tenant
You will receive the registration certificate and two copies of the receipt. One is for the tenant, and you have a month to hand it over.
What happens if you do not lodge on time in the Basque Country
| Situation | Consequence |
|---|---|
| You lodge on your own after the month | 2% surcharge on the deposit |
| The authorities demand the deposit | 10% surcharge on the deposit |
| You do not lodge after being notified | Enforced collection and a minor offence (art. 85.j of Act 3/2015): a €300 to €3,000 fine, and at least twice the deposit demanded |
Source: Basque Government procedure «Fianzas y registro de contratos de arrendamiento», which refers to articles 85.j, 90.3 and 90.6 of Act 3/2015.
Special bulk scheme and refund
The Basque bulk scheme: ten properties or €30,000
Landlords with at least 10 urban properties let or deposits of €30,000 or more can join at any time (Bizilagun, special bulk scheme). Once granted, 90% of the deposits is paid in within a month of notification, and the remaining 10% is kept to refund ended leases. Each year, before 31 January, a self-assessment of deposits set up, updated and returned in the previous year is filed, with the list of live deposits and the Lease Register entry and cancellation certificates.
Leases of landlords in the bulk scheme are also entered in the Lease Register, and that registration can only be done online.
Refund: up to three months, and four years to claim it
Once the lease ends, only the landlord can claim the refund, with the file code or deposit number, a document signed by both parties or a judgment proving the end of the lease (or a sworn statement), a bank account certificate and the copy of the receipt. Bizilagun refunds by transfer within three months at most; if it is late for reasons not attributable to you, statutory interest is paid. The right to claim expires four years after the lease ends.
Remember that your deadline with the tenant is a different one: one month from the return of the keys under article 36.4 LAU. Since Bizilagun may take up to three months, the tenant's refund cannot wait for the transfer to reach you.
Which leases must go to Bizilagun and which need not, in one list.
You submit the application to the Basque Government yourself; FixrOS does not lodge the deposit. What the Portfolio module does is keep control: each lease's deposit and whether it must be lodged, the one-month deadline, the receipt and handing the copy to the tenant. And since Bizilagun may take three months to refund, the tenant refund shows in the owner statement without waiting.
- Exempt leases flagged (rooms, parking)
- Alerts for the one-month deadline and tenant copy
- Tracking of pending refunds
Other regions and tools
Questions about deposits in the Basque Country
Where is the rental deposit lodged in the Basque Country?
With the Basque Government's regional housing offices (Araba/Álava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa), through the Bizilagun service, in the same procedure that enters the lease in the Lease Register.
What is the deadline to lodge the deposit in the Basque Country?
One month from signing the lease. For subsidised housing between private parties, one month from the regional office's approval of the lease.
Must a room or parking space deposit be lodged in the Basque Country?
No. According to the Basque Government, deposits for rooms, storage units and parking spaces need not be lodged, nor those for sublets or assigning the running of a business.
What is the surcharge for lodging late in the Basque Country?
2% of the deposit if you lodge late on your own, and 10% if the authorities demand it. Failing to lodge after the demand is a minor offence fined at €300 to €3,000.
How long does Bizilagun take to refund the deposit?
Up to three months from the request, by transfer to the landlord. The right to claim expires four years after the lease ends.
Does FixrOS file the deposit with the Basque Government?
No. The landlord or their manager submits the application. FixrOS records each deposit, shows whether the lease must be lodged and tracks deadlines, receipts and refunds.
Information checked on 18 October 2026 against the Basque Government's official pages (deposit and lease register procedure, Bizilagun, deposits and special bulk scheme), Decree 42/2016 in the BOPV and the Urban Leases Act. It is not a substitute for professional advice.
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