INCASÒL
Institut Català del Sòl — where Catalan deposits are registered
Definition
INCASÒL, the Institut Català del Sòl, is the public body that holds rental deposits in Catalonia. The landlord — not the tenant — must lodge the fianza there within two months of the contract being signed, and reclaims it from INCASÒL when the tenancy ends.
Why it matters
Registration is the paper trail. A deposit that sits in INCASÒL's records is documented at a fixed amount on a fixed date, which removes most of the argument about what was paid.
Not lodging it is an administrative breach that can be sanctioned. It also tells you something useful about how the tenancy is being run — and it is a strong position to be in when you ask for the money back.
The return runs through the same channel: the landlord requests it from INCASÒL and the money is transferred back. That process takes time on its own, which is why a landlord who only starts it after you have left is already late against the one-month rule in the LAU.
Example
You can ask your landlord for the deposit's registration reference at any point during the tenancy. Asking early — long before the move-out — is a normal request, and it is far easier than reconstructing it in the last week.
Where this comes up
Related terms
Sources
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