Renting in Chile: the rules

A residential lease in a city is a contrato de arrendamiento between the arrendador (landlord) and the arrendatario (tenant), governed by Ley 18.101 and, for anything that law does not cover, by the Civil Code (Ley 18.101 art. 1). The law does not apply to furnished homes let for holidays or tourism for periods of up to three months, to hotels and similar lodging, to parking, or to rent-to-buy homes under Ley 19.281 (art. 2). Tenants' rights under Ley 18.101 cannot be waived in the contract (art. 19). There is no minimum or maximum term: leases are fixed-term (often one year), month to month, or open-ended, and the term decides the notice rules (see Notice).

A lease does not have to be in writing to be valid, but the law presumes the terms against an unwritten one: without a written contract, the rent is presumed to be the amount shown on at least three consecutive months of deposits or receipts, and failing that, the amount the tenant declares (art. 20, as replaced by Ley 21.461, in force 30 June 2022). Since that reform, the signatures on a written lease are to be authorised by a notary, who must ask for the documents showing that the landlord can let the property; a notarised lease is sufficient basis for the landlord's fast-track 'monitorio' claim for unpaid rent (art. 20). This is why landlords and agents insist on signing at a notaría: the tenant pays a small notary fee and gets a lease the landlord can enforce quickly. A tenant gains from it too, because the notary checks that the person letting the home has the right to do so.

If the home is sold, a buyer for value must respect the lease only if it was made by escritura pública (a public deed); a mortgage lender only if that deed was entered in the property register before the mortgage (Civil Code art. 1962). Ordinary notarised leases are not public deeds, so a sale can end the lease early; the tenant can then claim damages from the landlord. As of 2026-10, Ley 18.101 has not been amended since the 2022 reform (LeyChile, current version dated 30 June 2022).

No law in force caps the deposit or says when it must be returned (as of 2026-10). The only statutory rule, a one-month cap with return adjusted by the consumer price index, was in a transitional article of Ley 18.101 that applied only to leases signed in the four years after 1982 (transitional art. 2 no. 7); the authors of a 2023 bill to regulate the deposit confirm that today it is left entirely to the contract (Bill 16019-14). In practice the garantía or 'mes de garantía' (deposit) is usually one month's rent paid at signing, together with the first month in advance, so moving in costs at least two months' rent, plus half a month's agency fee if an agent is involved (see Repairs). Some adverts ask for more: the same bill reports demands of up to three months' deposit or up to twelve months' rent in advance.

The deposit is meant to cover damage beyond normal wear and unpaid bills or building charges. The tenant must hand back the home in the state received, allowing for wear from legitimate use; if no record shows its state at the start, the tenant is taken to have received it in fair condition unless proved otherwise (Civil Code art. 1947). An inventory with dated photos, attached to the contract, is therefore the tenant's best defence. Because no law sets a deadline, the contract's clause on when and how the deposit comes back governs; read it before signing. Late payments or refunds between the parties are adjusted by the change in the UF between the due date and the date paid (Ley 18.101 art. 21), which applies to a deposit returned late.

The usual extra guarantee is an aval or codeudor solidario (a guarantor who signs as joint debtor), who is asked for the same income papers and credit report as the tenant (Bill 16019-14); some landlords accept more months in advance instead. These are market practices, not legal requirements. Pending: Bill 16019-14 (filed 13 June 2023) would cap the deposit at one month, regulate its return and adjustment, and ban UF rents; it has sat in the Chamber's Housing Committee since then and is not law (Senate tracking, read 23 October 2026).

There is no rent control in Chile (as of 2026-10). The starting rent, the currency and any increase are set by the contract. Rent may be expressed in pesos or in UF, the daily inflation-indexed unit published by the Central Bank and the tax service (CLP$41,199.85 on 23 October 2026, SII). A rent in UF rises every day with inflation, so the peso amount paid changes each month; some contracts add a further yearly increase on top, which the authors of Bill 16019-14 call a 'double adjustment'. Leases in pesos usually rise once a year, or every six months, by the IPC (consumer price index, published monthly by INE; 4.1% in the twelve months to September 2026, SII table). Rent in UF is legal; the bill to ban it has not advanced.

Unless agreed otherwise, the rent of an urban property is paid monthly (Civil Code art. 1944). A landlord who refuses to accept the rent or to give a receipt can be bypassed: the tenant may pay it into the Treasury (Servicio de Tesorerías) office for the area, which issues a receipt and tells the landlord by registered letter; the payment counts as made to the landlord (Ley 18.101 art. 23). A landlord who unjustifiably refuses a rent receipt can be fined 1 to 60 UF (about CLP$41,200 to CLP$2,471,991 as of 23 October 2026) by the court hearing the case (art. 24). Late payments are adjusted by the UF and carry interest (art. 21).

A tenant who thinks the rent is too high has no tribunal to turn to: the only lever is negotiation before signing. For context, an analysis by the proptech Inciti of the CASEN 2024 household survey puts the average rent paid by the 912,958 renting households in the Santiago Metropolitan Region at CLP$426,178 a month (The Clinic, July 2026); asking rents for new lets are higher.

The notice a landlord must give depends on the type of lease (Ley 18.101). Month-to-month or open-ended lease: the landlord's notice to quit (desahucio) can only be given through the court or by personal notification by a notary, and the period is two months from notification plus one month for each full year the tenant has lived there, up to six months in total (art. 3). Fixed term of up to one year: when it ends, the landlord can only ask the court for the home back, and the tenant then has two months from notification of the claim to leave (art. 4). In both cases a tenant who leaves earlier pays rent only to the day of handover. Fixed term of more than one year: the lease ends on the agreed date without notice (Civil Code art. 1954). If the tenant stays on and the landlord accepts rent for a later period, the lease is renewed on the same terms for three months at a time (art. 1956).

The tenant on a month-to-month or open-ended lease must give a full rent period's notice, normally one month (Civil Code art. 1976). A tenant who leaves a fixed-term lease early owes the rent until the end of the term, unless they propose a suitable replacement tenant and guarantee them (arts 1945 and 1955); many contracts add their own early-exit clause with a penalty, so read it. Under a residential lease of more than one year, a clause forbidding subletting lets the tenant end the lease early without paying the remaining rent (Ley 18.101 art. 5).

Eviction always needs a court. For one full period of unpaid rent, the landlord can end the lease after two demands at least four days apart (Civil Code art. 1977). Since Ley 21.461 (June 2022) a landlord can use the monitorio procedure: the court orders the tenant to pay the rent, building charges and utility debts within ten calendar days; if the tenant neither pays nor files a reasoned objection, the order becomes a final judgment and eviction (lanzamiento), with police help if needed, follows within ten days of it becoming final (arts 18-A to 18-F). Paying in full before the deadline ends the case (art. 18-E). Other lease cases go through a short oral procedure in the civil court (arts 7–8), where the judge can order early return of a home damaged or made unusable by the tenant (art. 8 no. 7 bis). Once eviction is ordered, the judge can suspend it in serious cases for up to 30 days (art. 13). We found no official figure for how long an eviction takes. Pending: Bill 18110-07 (Senate, filed 4 March 2026) would extend the monitorio procedure to other restitution claims; it is in committee (as of 2026-10).

The landlord must hand over the home and keep it fit for use, doing all necessary repairs except the minor ones called reparaciones locativas, which fall on the tenant (Civil Code arts 1924 and 1927). For a house or flat, the tenant's share means keeping the home as received: walls, floors and pipes intact, broken windows replaced, doors, windows and locks working, and the home reasonably clean; the tenant is not liable for wear from time and legitimate use, defects of construction or the age of the building (arts 1970–1972). If the tenant pays for an urgent repair that is the landlord's job, having told the landlord promptly, the landlord must refund it (art. 1935). The contract may shift these duties (art. 1927), and many do; read the repairs clause.

Utilities (electricity, gas, water, internet) are paid by the tenant by contract. In flats and condominiums the gastos comunes (building charges: concierge, cleaning, lifts, common utilities) are owed to the building by the owner, who remains liable to it (Ley 21.442 on condominiums, art. 6), but leases almost always pass the ordinary charges on to the tenant; extraordinary charges and the reserve fund are normally the owner's. Charges are due within ten days of the bill unless the building's rules say otherwise (art. 7), and if three or more instalments are unpaid the administrator can have the electricity or telecoms of the flat cut off (art. 36). A landlord's monitorio claim can include unpaid building charges and utility bills (Ley 18.101 art. 18-A). The property tax (contribuciones) is owed by the owner; a tenant who pays it may deduct it from the rent (Ley 17.235 art. 46).

Agency fees: no law sets or caps a corredor de propiedades' (estate agent's) commission. The usual practice is a fee equal to one month's rent, split equally between landlord and tenant (Bill 16019-14, explanatory statement); paying half is therefore normal, but a bill to make only the party who hired the agent pay remains pending (as of 2026-10).

Chile has no compulsory address register like Spain's padrón. Every resident, Chilean or foreign, is identified by a RUN/RUT number (Rol Único Nacional, also the tax number) printed on the cédula de identidad (identity card). A foreigner who has been granted residence through the Servicio Nacional de Migraciones must apply for a cédula de identidad para extranjeros at a Registro Civil office within 30 days of the permit taking effect, or pay a fine first; tourist-card holders cannot get one. The card shows the holder's visa and RUN, and stays valid while a renewal or new residence application is pending (Ley 21.325 art. 43; ChileAtiende, as of 2026-10). Without residence, a foreigner can still obtain a RUT from the tax service on form 4415.1 for non-residents, at an SII office (SII). When an address must be proved, juntas de vecinos (neighbourhood councils) can be authorised to issue a certificado de residencia (Ley 19.418 art. 42); a lease or a utility bill is also commonly used.

What landlords and agents ask for is not set by law. The usual file, as described in the 2023 bill that tried to limit it, is an employment contract, recent liquidaciones de sueldo (payslips), proof of income of three or four times the rent, a clean credit report (the DICOM/Equifax commercial report, sometimes the 'Platinum' version), pension (AFP) contribution records showing continuous employment, and an aval with similar papers (Bill 16019-14). A newcomer without a Chilean credit history, payslips or a guarantor is often asked to pay several months in advance instead (Bill 16019-14 reports demands of up to twelve months). Turning down an applicant because of nationality, ethnicity or similar grounds without reasonable justification is arbitrary discrimination: the person affected can bring an acción de no discriminación arbitraria before the civil court within 90 days, and the court can fine the offender (Ley 20.609 arts 2, 3, 5 and 12).

Pending (as of 2026-10): Bill 17716-07 (filed 21 July 2025) would forbid foreigners in an irregular migration situation from signing urban leases; it is in the Chamber's Constitution Committee and is not law.

The default depends on the length of the lease. Under the Civil Code a tenant may neither assign the lease nor sublet unless expressly allowed (art. 1946). But for a residential lease with a fixed term of more than one year, the right to sublet is implied unless the contract forbids it, and if it does, the tenant may end the lease early without owing the remaining rent (Ley 18.101 art. 5). Everything Ley 18.101 says about landlords and tenants applies equally to sublandlords and subtenants (art. 22). No law caps what a sublettor may charge.

Subtenants are exposed when the main tenant stops paying. To be bound by an eviction or termination judgment, subtenants must have been notified or joined the case, and the tenant is asked under oath whether there are subtenants (art. 11); in a case for unpaid rent against the sublandlord, subtenants can pay the arrears themselves before judgment, stop the eviction and recover the money from the sublandlord (art. 12). A sublandlord who pockets the subtenants' rent without paying the landlord, causing their eviction, can be fined 1 to 60 UF (art. 24).

Letting by the room (arriendo por pieza) is regulated against overcrowding: rooms must meet the minimum standards of the General Building Ordinance and its maximum occupancy, and a let that does not is 'abusive' (arts 24 bis and 24 ter). The municipality, the regional housing office or anyone can report it to the juzgado de policía local (local police court), which sends municipal inspectors; fines run from 5 to 100 UTM (CLP$360,755 to CLP$7,215,100 at the October 2026 UTM), and at least 30% of the maximum where the landlord took advantage of vulnerable tenants (art. 24 quáter).

There is no landlord licence, lease register or energy certificate for an ordinary long let (as of 2026-10). In practice a landlord needs a notarised written lease, which is what makes the monitorio procedure available (Ley 18.101 art. 20). If letting by the room, the home must meet the building ordinance's standards and occupancy limits (arts 24 bis–24 quáter).

Income tax: rent from up to two homes acquired under DFL-2 (housing of up to 140 m² built under the 1959 decree, stated in the deed) is not taxable income for an individual; the exemption covers the two oldest such homes, and since Ley 21.420 (2022) rent from a third DFL-2 home onwards must be declared whatever its purchase date. Companies and sole traders with business activities do not get the exemption. Rent from any other property, including homes over 140 m², must be declared in the annual income tax return (SII rent assistant, Operación Renta 2025; SII FAQ updated July 2025), where for individuals it is taxed at the progressive Global Complementario rates, from an exempt band up to 40%. The SII's return assistant asks for each tenant's RUT.

Furnished lets and short lets: letting a furnished home is subject to VAT at 19% (DL 825 arts 8 letter g and 14), on the rent minus 11% a year of the property's tax valuation (art. 17). The SII says that even a host with two DFL-2 homes who lets one now and then through a platform must declare this VAT monthly on form F29, while the rent itself stays income-tax free. Furnished holiday lets of up to three months fall outside Ley 18.101, although disputes still go through its court procedure (art. 2). In flats, the building's reglamento de copropiedad may set rules and penalties so that use as temporary lodging, tourist accommodation or apart-hotel does not disturb permanent residents (Ley 21.442 art. 8 letter j). We found no national or Santiago municipal licence specific to private short lets (as of 2026-10).

Lease disputes go to the civil courts (juzgados de letras), using the short oral procedure of Ley 18.101: a hearing on the fifth working day after notification, a mandatory attempt at settlement, up to four witnesses each and evidence weighed freely; only the final judgment can be appealed, and the appeal does not suspend it (arts 7, 8 and 17). Parties may appear without a lawyer at first instance if the rent is no more than 4 UTM a month (CLP$288,604 in October 2026) (art. 8 no. 10). Abusive room letting goes to the local police courts (art. 24 quáter). Arbitrary discrimination by a landlord can be taken to the civil court under Ley 20.609.

There is no rent tribunal or public mediation service for leases. Free legal advice and representation for people who cannot afford a lawyer is given by the Corporaciones de Asistencia Judicial (CAJ), regional public legal-aid bodies under the Ministry of Justice; the Santiago region's has a free line, 800 025 000. Estate agents are businesses, and complaints about an agency's service can go to SERNAC, the national consumer service (its website could not be reached when we checked on 23 October 2026). We found no national tenants' union with an advice service for private renters (as of 2026-10).

State help with rent: the Subsidio de Arriendo (rent subsidy, DS 52 of 2013, run by MINVU) pays a total of 170 UF (about CLP$7,003,974) over up to eight years, at most 4.2 UF a month (4.9 UF in the Metropolitan Region and five other regions), for a home whose rent is no more than 11 UF (13 UF in those regions, about CLP$535,598). Applicants need a valid cédula (foreigners: the cédula de identidad para extranjeros, so legal residents can apply), must apply with a spouse, partner or child unless they are over 60, so a single newcomer under 60 does not qualify; they must also be in the Registro Social de Hogares within its 70% band, have savings of 4 UF and a household income of 7 to 25 UF a month. The 2026 call closed on 7 August 2026 (ChileAtiende; peso values at the UF of 23 October 2026). It reaches few renters: about 8,450 families in 2026 (Inciti via The Clinic).