When planning a vacation in Spain and thinking about accommodation, we often think of a hotel first. Recently, however, rental housing has become increasingly popular. It turns out to be much more convenient than a hotel, because the apartment has everything that is needed for a comfortable pastime even for families with small children. Depending on the purpose - vacation or long-term stay - rental housing in Spain will differ in terms of conditions and cost.
Types of rental housing in Spain
For those who travel to Spain on vacation, it is more expedient to consider the option of housing on the seashore or in a historical place. Short-term renting of such apartments will cost more than renting an object for a long time in a residential building, but unforgettable vacation memories will be provided.
Vacationers are suitable for:
- apartments on the coast,
- villas with sea views,
- cottages on the coast, for example, in Tenerife,
- townhouses,
- bungalow.
The range of prices for such housing options is very significant: the rental price can range from 100 to several thousand euros per day. It all depends on the client's preferences and financial capabilities.
For those who are looking for a long-term perspective, we advise you to take a closer look at the apartments that are located further from the center. Public transport in Spain is inexpensive and runs great, so there will be no problems with arriving at work on time, but you can rent a house for tens of euros cheaper.
If you wish, you can save even more and rent a room in a communal apartment or participate in a program for the provision of social housing (if you have a residence permit and work rights for migrants).
Finding a home to rent in Spain
The easiest way to search for housing in Spain is simply from the comfort of your computer - many Spanish sites offer thousands of options for various types of objects for rent. The most popular local, already verified, web services:
- Idealista website,
- Enalquiler web resource,
- Pisos.com platform,
- Niumba,
- HomeAway,
- Airbnb Plus,
- Habitaclia,
- Muchosol website adapted for Russian-speaking clients.
The Booking.com portal, a global system for online booking of hotels and apartments, remains relevant for Spain as well.
Also, without intermediaries, you can search for ads in Spanish newspapers, for example, print versions of publications such as: EM (El Mundo), El Pais, elEconomista.es. It is important to take into account that offers from websites and newspapers are dealt with very quickly, so it is better to start calling the authors of the ads you like in the morning.
Look for popular abbreviations and terms as you browse newspapers for rentals:
- master bedroom - MBR;
- double bedroom - DBR (habitación matrimonial);
- separate - det (detached, Spanish casa individual);
- bedroom - br (bedroom, Spanish habitación);
- dining room - din rm (dining room, comedor);
- electric hot water supply - elhws (electric hot water service, calentador de aqua eléctrico);
- hot water - HWS;
- residential - liv (living);
- kitchen - kit;
- the presence of a fireplace - FP (frplc, fplc);
- colonial house - Col;
- California Bungalow - Cal Bung;
- kitchen with little space for food - EIK;
- air conditioner - c / a or CAC, ac, a / c (aire acondicionado);
- dishwasher - d / w;
- duct heating - d / h (ducted heating, calefacción central);
- double doors - D. dbl (puertas dobles);
- pool at ground level - I / G pool;
- panoramic view - grt (vw, vu, vus, vws);
- night on weekdays / night on weekends - Night M-F / Night S-S;
- for a calendar month - PCM or pcm (por mes calendario);
- polished floors - pol flrs (pisos parqué);
- parking - pkg or prkg (estacionamiento);
- living room - BDS (bedsitter, Spanish dormitorio externo).
Often, in order to save time and effort, foreigners who want to travel to Spain for the summer prefer to use the services of realtors to find housing. Many Russian real estate agencies offer to find housing and help in drawing up a contract.
Their Spanish counterparts can also be considered as an alternative. Since they often deal with foreigners, many of them speak multiple languages. However, realtors from Spain are more focused on the sale of real estate, so they are not very willing to deal with lease issues.
The main payment to a Spanish real estate agent usually comes from the landlord, but they also have the right to demand a certain amount from the clients: either a fixed amount (from 250 euros) or a percentage of the monthly rent.
The process of registration of a lease and what documents are needed
For those who go to Spain on vacation and are looking for a short-term rental, the process of registering a rental housing in Spain step by step is as follows:
- Choose a suitable housing option in terms of parameters. Don't forget to pay attention to the services included in the rental price.
- Book your place. At this stage, you also need to finally decide on the date of entry and exit. After that, we wait until the booking is confirmed, and then we make an advance payment for the booking (as a rule, 25-30% of the cost). Thus, the housing is guaranteed to be assigned to the tenant for the stated days. At this stage, you can discuss with the landlord the time and place of receiving the keys, the details of the full payment of the lease and other pressing issues.
- In the event that a document confirming that a foreigner will have a place to live in Spain is required to obtain a visa, an official voucher must be requested from the owner of the property. The document can be sent by regular mail or by email.
- Conclusion of a lease agreement (contrato de arrendamento or contrato de alquiler). In Spain, the lease of real estate can be concluded both orally and in writing. This is provided for at the legislative level. But for the sake of reliability, it is still worth insisting on writing the deal, especially if you don't speak Spanish well enough. Do not sign papers until you thoroughly understand each point. If you wish to terminate the contract, the landlord must give the tenant at least 30 days before the end date of the contract.
What documents to prepare and what to consider when signing an agreement
Long-term rental housing is usually issued for a period of 1 year or more. Every year or 3 years, the contract is renewed if the owner does not declare his desire to occupy the house. In the latter case, the tenant should be given 2 months to make the fees.
The landlord is allowed to raise the rental amount (but not higher than the inflation index) if the conditions in the apartment are improved. However, improvements must meet certain standards and total no more than 20% of the rent.
Until 2021, if the tenant decided to move out before the end of the contract, he had to pay the entire amount of the rent for the period until the end of the contract. From a legal point of view, today this is not necessary: the minimum rental period can be as little as six months, plus a rolling contract for 1 month. It is better to discuss the item regarding payment in case of sudden eviction in advance and enter into the contract.
To sign a lease agreement for a long term, a foreign tenant will need:
- tax number of a foreigner in Spain - NIE (Numero de Identidad de Extranjero);
- a document confirming the solvency: a certificate of income from the place of work or it can be replaced with a bank statement;
- passport,;
- other personal information, if required by the owner of the apartment.
A deposit will also need to be paid - usually the equivalent of one or more months' rent.
In addition to the deposit, in the case of a short-term lease upon settling into the object, the owners require a certain amount of the deposit - that is, a guarantee that the tenant will not damage the property during his stay. If everything is in order at the time of the guests' departure, the amount is fully refunded.
Rental prices in Spain
The cost of renting real estate in Spain depends on many factors.The type of housing, area, availability of a terrace, location, rental period, season - all this affects the monthly cost requested by the owner.
In Barcelona, to rent a furnished apartment of 900 sq. M. for a month, you will have to pay about 875 euros, in Madrid the object of the same parameters will cost a little cheaper - 853 euros / month.
The prices for real estate of different types differ quite significantly:
- A room is the cheapest option for a couple of days, more suitable for those who are passing through Spain. For a day, you can keep within only 25-50 euros.
- An apartment is an excellent solution if the goal is to have a comfortable vacation in Spain. A clear plus for those traveling in a large company. You can rent a spacious apartment and divide the payment for everyone. Practical and comfortable.
- Villa or cottage in Spain. Renting this type of accommodation will provide a quality vacation for several families. If you rent a bungalow or townhouse, each group will even have its own separate entrance. As a rule, these houses have their own swimming pool, garden, parking. Prices strongly depend on the location of the object: in Marbella, a villa will cost about 1250 euros / week, and on the Costa Brava - almost 2 times less - 770 euros / week.
In terms of living standards, the capital and other large cities of the country are certainly very attractive for migrants. Accordingly, renting accommodation, for example, in Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante, Seville (Andalusia), San Sebastian, will not be cheap. To save money, it is recommended to look at the less well-known, but more affordable suburbs: Tres Cantos, Las Rozas, Mostoles, Alcobendas, Murcia.
Rental price in cities of Spain
The average price for a 1-bed apartment in the city center in Spain is 538 euros / month, for a 3-bed apartment it rises to 875 euros / month. On the outskirts, respectively, the figures are 402 and 636 euros / month.
In the center of Ibiza (Balearic Islands), the cost of renting an apartment for one person will be 833 euros / month, in the outskirts - 666 euros / month. Bilbao offers the same for 740 and 590 euros / month, Seville - for 570 and 420 euros / month.
For more details on the average rent in Spanish cities, see the table.
| City in spain | Rent per month, EUR Center, one bed | Rent per month, EUR Outskirts, one bed | Rent per month, EUR Center, 3 beds | Rent per month, EUR Outskirts, 3 beds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madrid | 864 | 642 | 1582 | 1070 |
| Barcelona (Catalonia) | 896 | 694 | 1495 | 1074 |
| Alicante | 450 | 357 | 658 | 533 |
| Almeria | 336 | 266 | 556 | 450 |
| Benidorm | 483 | 386 | 770 | 600 |
| Bilbao | 745 | 586 | 1222 | 888 |
| Canary Islands | 675 | 516 | 1025 | 750 |
| Malaga | 575 | 446 | 958 | 694 |
| Palma de Mallorca | 804 | 605 | 1275 | 871 |
| Seville | 574 | 424 | 956 | 663 |
| Valencia | 567 | 397 | 928 | 618 |
| Badajoz | 425 | 350 | 525 | 450 |
| Burgos | 431 | 356 | 725 | 533 |
| Cadiz | 425 | 350 | 700 | 550 |
In addition to the rent itself, for long-term renting of housing, you also need to pay separately for utilities: electricity, heating, water, gas, telephone, Internet. To study and compare the current prices for renting real estate in other places in Spain in more detail on the website of the global database Numbeo.
What does the rent consist of?
The question that many people may have thought about is - what does the cost of renting an apartment depend on? Is the owner's suggested price overpriced or underpriced?
The first point that affects the rent is the purchase price of the property. By dividing the total amount received from the rent for the year by the cost of the object, you can calculate the profitability of renting this home as a percentage. The reverse calculation will allow you to understand how many years you need to rent a property in order to recoup 100% of its purchase price.
Also, the rate of monthly rent for housing is determined by the level of supply and demand in the real estate market, the type of object, its location, area and other factors. The rental rate for the tenant should not exceed the cost of maintaining a loan from the bank for the purchase of any property.
Common questions about renting a home in Spain
Below we will answer the most popular questions from our readers.
Is the tenant required to pay property tax and insurance
By default, a person renting a home in Spain must pay all bills issued by utility providers, as well as IBI - property tax and insurance. Otherwise, it is possible if this is previously stipulated in the lease agreement.
Will the landlord return the deposit if the tenant moves out early on their own initiative?
If an agreement was concluded between the landlord and the tenant, then by moving out earlier than the time prescribed there on his own initiative, the tenant violates the terms of the contract. In this case, the owner of the apartment has the right not to return the deposit.
In a situation where the landlord himself requires the tenant to move out before the expiration date of the contract, he is obliged to return the insurance contract and give the tenant time to collect and search for new apartments.
Is it possible to rent an apartment in Barcelona for a month
Yes. You can rent an apartment in Barcelona for a month. And also for any other necessary period, more or less long. A separate apartment, unlike a hotel, will allow you not to depend on anyone and feel at home. To choose the appropriate option, you can visit one of the sites listed in the article, or contact a specialized agency.
Let's summarize: is it profitable to rent a house in Spain?
For tourists traveling to Spain, renting an apartment has many advantages over a hotel room.
- Renting an apartment is often cheaper than a hotel room.
- Renting an apartment is possible in any area you like.
- In a rented apartment, you can feel like at home, which cannot be said about a hotel room.
Of the disadvantages of renting housing, one can only note cases of fraud, which can happen when booking an object from unverified sources. Also, when ordering real estate online, sometimes there are situations when the picture on the site does not correspond to reality at all. To prevent such troubles from happening, pay for the reservation only if you are completely confident in your choice. Read reviews about the owners, or entrust the choice of apartments to professional real estate agencies.
