How do you end a lease and recover your property in Chile?

Lawyer in charge: Javier Díaz Gurruchaga · Updated October 2026

Law Nº 18,101 sets out a summary procedure to end a lease of urban property and to have the tenant vacate it. A lease can be ended when:

• the agreed term has expired;
• the tenant does not pay the monthly rent;
• the tenant misuses the property; or
• the tenant or the landlord breaches an obligation under the contract or the law.

If none of this happens, in month-to-month or open-ended leases the landlord can give notice to terminate (desahucio), served through the court or a notary, even though the tenant has met all obligations. From that notice the tenant has two months to return the property, plus one month for each full year of occupation, up to a maximum of six months (article 3 of Law Nº 18,101). The tenant may leave earlier and pays rent only until the day the property is handed back.

The fast track when the tenant does not pay

Since 2022, Law Nº 21,461, known as “Devuélveme mi casa” (“Give me back my house”), added to Law 18,101 a monitory procedure for unpaid rent and the return of the property (articles 18-A to 18-K).

Its logic is the reverse of an ordinary lawsuit: the court does not call a hearing to debate, but orders the tenant to pay within ten calendar days the rent, common charges and utilities owed. If the tenant does not pay, does not appear or does not raise a well-founded objection, the order becomes a final judgment and the court orders the eviction of the tenant and the other occupants within no more than ten days.

• It only applies to non-payment. Claims based on other grounds, such as misuse of the property, cannot be combined with it.
• The claim must be built well from the first filing. The detailed account of the debts required by article 18-A is not a formality: it is what supports the whole procedure.
• If the tenant objects with reasons, the case moves to an ordinary trial, but limited to what the tenant raised and to the evidence offered at that stage.

The eviction

Every lease case ends with a judgment ordering the property to be returned to the landlord within a set period. If the tenant does not leave in time, the landlord, represented by a lawyer, asks the court to order the eviction (lanzamiento) of all occupants. It is carried out by a court officer (receptor judicial), with police assistance if needed. In serious cases the court may suspend it for up to 30 days (article 13 of Law Nº 18,101).

Frequently asked questions

Can I remove a tenant who does not pay myself?

No. Changing the locks, removing their belongings or cutting off utilities exposes you to legal action. Only a court can order the eviction, carried out by a court officer with police assistance if necessary.

Which route is best if the tenant stopped paying?

Usually the monitory procedure of Law Nº 21,461: the tenant is ordered to pay and, if within ten days they neither pay nor object with good grounds, the court orders the return of the property.

More detail, with the articles of the law, on our Spanish page (in Spanish).