The new 2026 rental law in Venezuela: what changes for the owner

Article 2 limits the law to tenancies agreed or formalised after 7 August 2026. It is not a reform of the 2011 law: it is a separate regime running in parallel, and the 2011 law remains alive for everything that does not fall under this one.

Left outside the special regime:

• Contracts signed before 7 August 2026, which continue under the 2011 law and the decree against arbitrary eviction.
• Commercial premises, which have their own law.
• Undeveloped land and rural property.
• Tourist accommodation.
• Housing occupied because of an employment or subordinate relationship.

You set the initial rent with the tenant (article 12) and it stays the same for the whole term of the contract (article 13). There are no increases mid-contract, not even for inflation.

On renewal, any adjustment needs both parties to agree. If the rent is in bolívares, the increase cannot exceed the change in the Consumer Price Index published by the Banco Central de Venezuela. If it is in foreign currency, the law sets no mechanism and no cap, which is how most rentals in Caracas work.

1. 1You agree one of two guarantees with the tenant: an insurance policy or a deposit of up to three months’ rent (article 16). You cannot require both.
2. 2When the contract ends, you inspect the property with the tenant and record in writing the state you receive it in.
3. 3You return the deposit within fifteen calendar days of the handover, deducting proven repairs and unpaid services (article 18).

Where the deposit was agreed in foreign currency, it can be returned in bolívares if both parties agree.

For contracts under the new regime, the prior administrative procedure before SUNAVI disappears, and that was the step where evictions stalled for years. Now every eviction needs a ruling from a municipal court or an arbitration tribunal, through the summary procedure, whatever the amount (articles 25 to 27). The law also allows mediation, commercial arbitration and justices of the peace.

Article 23 lists the grounds. Among them:

• Failure to pay the rent for several consecutive months.
• Three months of unpaid utilities.
• Assigning or subletting the property without authorisation.
• Damage beyond normal wear.
• Improper use or abandonment of the property.

The term is agreed by the parties and there is no legal minimum. If the contract says nothing, it is taken to be for one year (article 11). If neither party says it wants to end the contract when it expires, it continues on the same terms, automatically.

The law sets no notice period for saying you will not renew. That means the period is whatever your contract says: if you do not write it, it does not exist.

Article 20 gives a tenant who is up to date and has been in the property two years or more a right of first refusal if you decide to sell it. If that is your case, read it before listing the property: we explain it in the guide to selling.

1. 1Put the contract in writing with the minimum content of article 8: what the contract must say.
2. 2Decide the currency of the rent and, if it is foreign currency, write down how and when it is adjusted.
3. 3Write down the notice period for not renewing, which the law does not provide.
4. 4Define the guarantee: an insurance policy or a deposit of up to three months, and how it is returned.
5. 5Record the state of the property and the services on handover day.
6. 6Check that the property meets the minimum habitability conditions of article 10; the law forbids renting in areas declared high-risk.