The expression arrendamiento para uso distinto immediately prompts the question ¿distinto a qué? The complete expression with its ellipted part included is arrendamiento para uso distinto del de vivienda, and it has been translated perhaps rather clumsily as “non-dwelling lease,” “lease for other than habitation” and “lease intended for other than residential purposes.”

But as used in Spain arrendamiento para uso distinto (del de vivienda) simply denotes the “leasing of non-residential property” (literally, “leasing for use other than as a residence.”) And, in this context, uso distinto refers to “non-residential use” or “use for non-residential purposes.” Thus, a contrato de arrendamiento para uso distinto is  a “contract to lease property for non-residential purposes” that may often be translated simply as “non-residential lease.”