You don’t have to pay the tuition fee for the errors when renting a flat in Spain because I’ve made all mistakes instead of you. This post is the practical knowledge to avoid Spanish renting problems.
If you want to rent a flat, cave, luxury villa, apartment, anything in Spain, the most crucial advice is never act in a hurry. You will need time to decide, and you will need a chance to find the right real estate in Spain. Renting costs are friendly in Spain, however not in Barcelona or Madrid. On the other hand, you can rent three bedroom houses with a garden for 350-400 euros/months if you don’t mind to live more than 3 kilometres from the sea.
How don’t find real estate in Spain?
It depends on your time. But I’ve rented two flats from the Internet under pressure, with children and dog and without the time, and I had only three days to find and rent an apartment, don’t do that. Go there, rent something cheap for a week at least.
How can you find real estate for rent in Spain?
Of course, check the Internet first. The most popular sites, where you can find ads about Spanish properties for rent are the following:
Of course, there other relevant and useful portals, but these are the most viewed; perhaps your future home is on one of those local real estate agency’s sites.
Walking a lot is another option but don’t try it between May and August. It is too hot, and all the property owners of Spain can rent their real estates for tourists during the whole summer. These are of course short-term rentals, but still enough money for the owners. You can reach the best price when you start to find your new home in Spain from November. The landlords will spend all their summer income, and they will desperately seek a new renter.
Take care, on trendy Spanish beaches; owners sometimes rent their real estates only from September to May! These are beautiful and affordable solutions for a couple of months, but later you will have to rent the new during the highest season.
The best way to find the right place to live is always and everywhere is the same: get friends and start asking. In our neighbourhood, the average rental cost of a three bedroom apartment is somewhere between 550-650 euros for foreigners. Of course, you can rent these places for 450euros/month, if you find it with the help of your local connections.
How don’t visit the real estate in Spain?
I thought I do well because I checked all household equipment, the air condition, the oven, the fridge and the boiler too. All the tools worked, it’s okay, let’s rent. The problem was, that each of those worked perfectly, alone. But if you wanted to take a hot bath and the fridge was on, then the fuse switched down. The “potencia” was too low. The landlord told me that is was not a problem for the last 30 years and THE MAN, who lived there, never complained. But we are FOUR PERSONS. So, he told to higher the “potencia” I have to invest 670 euros, and we can take a bath in the future, and the milk will be okay in the fridge. Or we could play with the XBOX and wash clothes at the same time! The landlord told us, (after I openly described my opinion about the situation) that we are hiding a dog in the apartment. Then I showed him the contract, what he signed with the closure about the doggy in it. He told me that he didn’t read the contract, before signing it, so it is not valid and he calls the police now. I said it is an excellent idea because I will create a reason soon for them to come….
What happens when you are lazy and don’t ask the neighbours about the zone of your desired home in Spain?
In my case, the “Autovia del Mediterraneo” passes close to the city. So, to avoid the always bigger and bigger traffic jams, they built an exit for the international highway, which leads precisely into our little, quiet street. They opened the road, and one month later then we‘ve arrived, and the rental costs fall by at least an immediately 40% here. However, the noise and the pollution increased by 200%.
Cockroaches in a rented apartment in Spain
Cockroaches are widespread species in the Spanish city environment. What happened in our case, that they appeared after a vast bug extermination campaign. They escaped from the pesticides to our home. One morning, they were everywhere in the kitchen, in our clothes, bathrooms, under the beds, in the drawers. They attacked us without declaring war, of course, our answer was the legal chemical warfare. We had to spend one night in one of Cartagena’s lively festivals to wait until the pesticides do the bloody work. What happened is that we’ve found dead bodies all over the apartment and we still would do. However, we found a traditional magic weapon against cockroaches, forged by nature itself. It is the bay leaf. You put one leaf in each corner, and they don’t come close.
Who pays the real estate agent in Spain?
There are three options: you can pay, the landlord can pay, or you can share the cost of the Spanish real estate agent.
The good news is that nowadays, typically the landlord pays the agent when you rent in Spain. Of course, there are all three options on the market, but you will find your home also on other pages, where you don’t have to pay the agent.
How much is the deposit when you rent a real estate in Spain?
It is one, maximum two months. If you pay the half of the agent’s fee, then try to insist on paying only the one month deposit.
Necessary documents for rent a real estate in Spain
In the first case, they asked for:
- Passport copy
- ID copy (foreign)
- Bank account statement
In the second case, there were “Russian gangsters” living in the apartment before us, and they left without paying several months. So, the landlord asked for the following documents:
- Passport copy
- NIE number
- ID copy
- Personal reference
- Bank account statement
- Payslip
- Bank reference
Rent a real estate in Spain and lower your taxes
So, if you are a Spanish Autonomo (read here all info), you can deduct less than the half of your home from your taxes. Generally, 49%. Now, imagine yourself, trying to find a flat where you will need two contracts. A reasonable rental agreement for the 51% of the property and another with the VAT for the other 49%.
Have fun! Contact me if you want to buy an affordable real estate in Spain or if you want to move through the Spanish Golden VisaProgram!
Update: I received a comment, one of our visitors mentioned that they rented a little flat at night, and they realised only in the morning that there are no windows on their seaside home!
Copyright by Bence Zákonyi
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