Spanish language learning forums - El año pasado o el último año

Poli is right. The normal expression to talk about an event that took place in the last year is "el año pasado":

- El año pasado hubo un incendio en esa casa.
Last year there was a fire in that house. -> Sometime during last year, the fire took place.

- No he salido de vacaciones desde el año pasado.
I haven't been on holidays since last year. -> That's a specific event that started and ended sometime last year.

- Tus resultados son mucho mejores que los del año pasado.
Your results are much better than those you had last year. -> A year ago, your evaluation was not as good as the current one.

- ¿Alguien se acuerda quién fue el ganador del concurso el año pasado?
Does anybody remember who was the winner of last year's contest? -> In an annual contest, someone can't remember who the last year's winner was.

If you say "el último año", your listener must know about what makes that year the last: :thinking:

- Este último año no me he sentido bien.
I haven't been feeling well this last year. -> I am talking about what has been happening during the last months.

- No he hablado con Juan en el último año.
I haven't talked to Juan in the last year. -> Again, I'm talking about what has been happening during last year.

- El último año que estuvo mi hermano con mis padres, les compró un coche nuevo.
The last year my brother lived with my parents, he bought them a new car. -> After a period of time, the event of buying a car marks the last of the years my brother lived with my parents.

- Todos queremos que ya se acabe el último año de la universidad.
We all want the last year of college to end. -> "de la universidad" defines the characteristic of a "last year", so the listener knows what makes you use that adjective.