For home leases agreed since August 7, 2026, the Ley del Régimen Especial de Arrendamiento de Inmuebles Destinados a Vivienda (Special Regime Law for Residential Leases; Gaceta Oficial No. 7.065 Extraordinario) applies. Its article 2 applies it to contracts agreed or formalized after that date and excludes homes that the tenant already occupied under a lease, "mientras persista esa posesión" (for as long as that possession continues). If you are looking for a home to rent, in principle your contract falls under this law.
The parties can agree on whatever they want as long as they do not contradict the law (article 6), whose rules are of public order (article 5). These are the limits it sets:
| Topic | Rule in the 2026 law | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Form | Written contract, with minimum content | 8 |
| Notaría (notary office) | Optional | 9 |
| Duration | Whatever the parties agree; one year if nothing is agreed | 11 |
| Canon (rent) | Agreed by the parties and kept for the whole contract | 12 and 13 |
| Currency | It can be set in foreign currency; paying in bolívares at the rate of the BCV (the central bank) requires mutual agreement | 14 |
| Payment | Monthly, unless otherwise agreed | 14 |
| Guarantee | Deposit or insurance policy, up to three months of rent | 16 |
| Return of the deposit | Within the 15 calendar days following the end of the lease | 18 |
| Early departure of the tenant | Compensation of up to two months of rent can be agreed | 24 |
The contract: what it must say
Article 8 requires the contract to be in writing and to contain, at a minimum:
Authenticating it at a notaría is optional: article 9 allows it to be signed privately, and both forms are binding. See whether the lease contract must go to the notaría. On rent in foreign currency, see the guide to rent in dollars.
Deposit, insurance policy and guarantor
Article 16 allows the parties to agree on "alguna de las siguientes garantías" (any of the following guarantees), to guarantee the upkeep of the property and the payment of overdue utilities:
Three months is a cap, not a mandatory figure. The deposit is returned within the 15 calendar days following the end of the lease, minus duly proven repairs and overdue utilities (article 18). More detail in the guide to the security deposit.
Unpaid rent. Neither article 16 nor article 18 mentions rent among what the guarantees cover. That the deposit cannot be applied to unpaid rent is our reading; the law does not say so expressly. For non-payment, the law provides for early termination after three consecutive periods without payment (article 23).
The guarantor. The 2026 law neither mentions nor prohibits the fiador (guarantor). The Código Civil (Civil Code), which applies on a supplementary basis (article 6 of the law), regulates the fianza (suretyship): the guarantor undertakes to perform if the debtor does not (article 1.804), and the fianza must be express (article 1.808). The law does not say whether the landlord can require a guarantor in addition to the deposit or the policy; if the contract includes one, consult a lawyer.
In practice, the blog of the uHomie platform (November 2025, before the law) says that one or two jointly liable guarantors are usually requested and that, without a guarantor who owns property, some owners accept four to six months of deposit. Under the 2026 law, more than three months exceeds the cap in article 16.
Months in advance
The 2026 law has no rule on advance payments. It only says that the rent is paid monthly, unless otherwise agreed (article 14), and it does not clarify whether months paid in advance count toward the deposit cap.
In March 2026, before the law, El Diario reported, based on a broker in Guarenas, that landlords used to ask for two to three months of deposit, two or three months in advance and a one-month commission for the broker, so moving in could cost five to seven months of rent. The 2026 law does not regulate who pays that commission.
This is a change from the 2011 law, whose article 67 says that the landlord cannot under any circumstances require advance payment of rent. The transitional provision of the 2026 law says that the 2011 law and the anti-eviction decree do not apply to contracts under the new regime.
Discrimination and clauses that contradict the law
Article 4 of the 2026 law includes "igualdad y no discriminación" (equality and non-discrimination) among its principles, but the law does not list prohibited grounds, sets no penalties and has no list of abusive or void clauses. The Constitución (Constitution), in its article 21, prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, creed or social status, among others.
The Código Civil says that laws of public order cannot be waived by private agreements (article 6). In our reading, a clause that exceeds a cap, such as a five-month deposit, contradicts article 16 of the 2026 law. That law does not say what consequence it has: it neither declares the clause void nor reduces it to the cap. Disputes can be taken to conciliation, mediation, arbitration or the municipal courts where the property is located (article 25). To make a claim, consult a lawyer.
The 2026 law does not repeal the 2011 law: it has no repealing provision, and its article 2 keeps leases in force on August 7, 2026 under the 2011 law. Those leases keep the prohibition on requiring rent in advance (article 67) and on publishing ads that set as a condition, among others, not having children, not being pregnant or not being a foreigner (article 14).
What documents are requested and which ones you should ask for
What the landlord can ask for
Regarding the people, the 2026 law only requires the name and identification of the parties (article 8), without saying with which document. If the contract is authenticated, the notary must identify the parties (article 78 of the Ley de Registros y Notarías, the Registries and Notaries Law) and the document must carry a lawyer's visado (sign-off) (article 23).
The 2026 law does not mention the Superintendencia Nacional de Arrendamiento de Vivienda (SUNAVI, the national housing-lease authority), nor does it require the tenant to present a RIF (tax ID), proof of income, an employment letter or bank references. We did not find any other published rule that requires them.
The uHomie blog mentions as practice a cédula (ID card) or passport, RIF, an employment letter less than 30 days old, pay slips for the last three months, personal and bank references, and income of about three times the rent. Each landlord decides which ones to ask for; they are not requirements of the law.
What you should ask the landlord for
Unless otherwise agreed, the landlord pays the condominium fees and the taxes applicable to urban property, and the tenant pays services such as electricity, water, gas, waste collection and internet (article 19).