Furthermore, it is undoubtedly conceivable that such compensation could be claimed in the case of business premises rented for commercial agency purposes. This compensation, due upon termination of a lease agreement, must be distinguished from the compensation for acquired customers, due upon termination of a distribution agreement, as the latter is not directed against the lessor but against the manufacturer of the distributed products.
The lessee’s claim for compensation arising from the termination of a lease is regulated by the Spanish Law on Urban Leases (Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, LAU). The LAU establishes the following prerequisites for the compensation: (1) It must be a commercial lease agreement (contrato de arrendamiento para uso distinto del de vivienda) as defined by the LAU, i.e. residential leases are excluded from the scope of application. (2) The lease must have had a term of at least five years during which the business premises were open to the public. This requisite is based on the assumption that this period is sufficient to establish a customer base to a level entitling the lessee to compensation. (3) The lease may not be terminated for reasons attributable to the lessee. (4) The lessee must have declared his or her intention to continue the lease for at least five years at market-level rent at least four months before the end of the lease agreement.
The amount of the compensation is based on the potential continuation of the lessee’s commercial activity (commercial agent, distributor) in other business premises within six months. If the lessee were to continue an identical business activity in other business premises in the same municipality, the compensation would be limited to the cost for relocation and the loss of customers incurred during the first 6 months of the new lease.
However, if the lessee, within 6 months of the end of the original lease, carried out a different or no business activity and the lessor or a third party carried out the same business activity in the (terminated) business premises as the terminated lessee previously did, the terminated lessee is entitled to a compensation equal to one month’s rent for each year of the contract, up to a maximum of 18 months’ rent.
Unlike the compensation for acquired customers a commercial agent may claim in case of termination, the compensation described above may be contractually excluded or reduced by the parties to a commercial lease agreement.