Renting in Ecuador: two years minimum, and above 482 dollars a registered contract

If you rent a home in town in Ecuador, the Ley de Inquilinato gives you the right to a tenancy of at least two years, even if the contract is shorter. If the home costs more than one basic wage a month, 482 dollars in 2026, the contract must be in writing. The landlord then registers it with a notary within 30 days. The tenancy law says nothing about a deposit; you set that down yourself.

Rule	What the law says	Article
Minimum term	two years, except hotels, boarding houses and temporary stays	28
Written contract	compulsory above one basic wage a month (482 dollars in 2026)	29
Registration	by the landlord, within 30 days, with a notary	29
Notice by the landlord	at least 90 days before the end, otherwise one year's extension	33
Notice by the tenant	contract without an end date or verbal: one month in advance	35
Sale of the home	the contract ends, the tenant gets three months	31
Maximum rent	one twelfth of 10% of the municipal valuation, plus the municipal taxes	17

The law applies to homes within the urban boundaries that each municipality sets itself (article 1). What the tenancy law does not regulate falls under the civil code (article 2).

What does that minimum term mean?

If you sign for one year, article 28 still lets you stay for two years. The landlord can only make you leave earlier for a reason listed in article 30, such as two months of arrears, damage, subletting without written permission, or because he must live in the home himself and has no other.

There are exceptions. The minimum term does not apply to rooms in hotels and boarding houses, nor to someone whose usual residence is elsewhere and who stays somewhere else temporarily. So if you rent a holiday home in the first weeks, you do not have that protection.

Does the contract have to be in writing?

Above one basic wage a month it does. It may also be in writing below that, and that is sensible. Set down the rent, when it rises, how high the deposit is and when you get it back. The law does not regulate the deposit, so only the contract protects you.

A furnished home gets an inventory with the value of the furniture (article 24). If it is missing, the law values the use of the furniture at 25% of the rent.

Ask whether the landlord really has the contract registered with the notary, and ask for a copy. It is his duty. For you it is proof of your tenancy, and on a sale article 31 only protects a contract made by notarial deed and entered in the property register.

How does a rent increase work?

The law only prohibits an automatic rent increase during the minimum term for rents up to two salarios mínimos vitales, a unit of account the law does not express in dollars (article 18). For an ordinary rent, do not count on that protection and put agreements about increases in the contract yourself.

There is an upper limit. According to article 17 the monthly rent may not exceed one twelfth of 10% of the commercial value in the municipal land register, plus the municipal taxes on the property. The landlord must register his home with the municipality and hold a certificate of the permitted rent (articles 9 and 12).