Renting in Chile: notice periods, the lease at the notary and the deposit

Anyone renting a house or flat in a Chilean town falls under Ley 18.101, the law on the rental of urban property. Above all, that law gives the tenant time. If you have a month-to-month lease or one without an end date, the landlord can only give notice through the court or through a notary, and you get two months, plus one month for every full year you have lived there. Together that is six months at most. Under article 19 you cannot sign those rights away.

Situation	What the law says	Article
Month-to-month lease or no end date	notice by the landlord only through the court or a notary; 2 months + 1 month per full year, max. 6 months	3
Fixed lease of up to a year	the landlord can only reclaim through the court; you get 2 months after service	4
Fixed lease of more than a year	you may sublet, unless the lease excludes it; then you may stop early without the remaining rent	5
Rent arrears	the landlord can start a fast procedure; you get 10 calendar days to pay	18-A
Late payment	amounts are adjusted to the UF, the indexed unit of account	21
Written lease	signatures authenticated by a notary	20

Does the law also apply to a holiday home?

Not always. Article 2 excludes furnished homes let for rest or tourism for periods of three months at most. Hotels and guesthouses, land of more than a hectare with an agricultural use, and parking spaces also fall outside it. Anyone spending the first months in a furnished holiday flat therefore does not have the same protection as someone with an ordinary lease.

You do not need a RUT for such a first rental. The SII writes that a tourist who rents a home can appear in the contract with their passport. See registration and numbers.

What does the 2022 law change?

Ley 21.461 of 30 June 2022 added two things. First: with a written lease the signatures are authenticated by a notary, who also asks for the title that entitles the landlord to let the home (article 20). Such a lease is enough to start a fast collection procedure. Second, that procedure itself, the demanda monitoria: the court asks the tenant to pay the arrears within 10 calendar days, or to object.

If there is no written lease, the rent is taken to be the amount you paid for at least three consecutive months. If there are no payments, what the tenant says counts.

Have the lease signed at the notary, even if the landlord says it is not necessary. The notary asks for the title that entitles the landlord to let the home, and that protects you against someone who lets what they are not entitled to let.