Moving out of a long term rental

[Chica56]

A close friend of mine has indicated to his rental agent that he may wish to vacate from the rental property and asked about the return of the deposit. This rental agent (a company I have a very low opinion of) wrote back and said "normally you lose your deposit". This is not my understanding of rental law and my friend is obviously very concerned as we are talking about a four figure sum. I have said that in this case I would bend the law and say use my deposit as my last month´s rent even though it is not strictly to the letter of the law but he cannot afford to lose such a lot of money.

Can anyone advise on the best way forward please? Rental contract has been in existence for over 6 months so there is no breach of contract regarding early departure

[costakid]

I would do exactly that. Slow burn them for the last months rent and then move out on time so as not to break the law.

[wollie]

Consumer Complaint Forms - Spain Expat

Though I do think that costakid option may be worth considering.
Have a look at above before you go this route. I expect that as you say if they are any way dodgy they will not want to have the attention that this option may bring on them.

hope this helps.

[Superplonk]

Yep, do it. I made the mistake of trusting the friendly landlord and paying rent until the last day. My deposit was never seen again. You'll have to endure some abuse, but as a Spanish lady told me the other day, "It doesn't matter how friendly they are. Never trust Spanish people, especially in Andalucia." I feel awful writing that.