ACCOMMODATION IN BARCELONA – RENTING A LONG-TERM FLAT
Before you start looking for a long-term accommodation in Barcelona (regardless of whether you decide to use a relocation agency or not) you have to keep a couple of things in mind.
You have to prepare all the documents necessary for renting a flat in Spain: the documents that you are asked for might vary. This is normal because every agency or owner has different procedures and ways of working. But there are certain documents that you will need for sure in order to be able to rent a flat in Spain.
Which are these documents?
- Original and copy of your Passport/ ID card and original and copy of the NIE (in general the documents which prove who you are and that you are legally staying in Spain. In theory if you are an EU citizen you should be able to rent a flat only with passport, but in many cases the owners would require from you to have a NIE too. This gives them an extra guarantee of your legal situation.
- Copy of your work contract (“contrato de trabajo”) and at least the last 3 paychecks (“nominas”). In case of people moving to Barcelona who do not have pay checks issued in Spain they usually ask you for extra deposits, or for “aval bancario” (bank guarantee). Aval bancario means that you will have to deposit a certain amount of rents in the bank and in case you don’t pay your rent the owner will be able to withdraw this money. This is not common when a good work contract is present (by good contract we mean a permanent one and where the rent is not exceeding 30-40% of your month salary) they would rent you a flat with no problems.
Another important question we get from our clients is about the deposits.
You should expect that almost all owners will ask for 2 months deposit. The deposits are returned when you leave the apartment (if everything is left the way it was before you moved in).
In the same time you have to bear in mind that almost all flat owners use agencies, so there is also an agency commission you have to be prepared for. It might vary, but usually it is around 10% of the 1 year`s rents plus IVA. And some flat owners might require you to obtain an insurance for the flat.
In case you enter in a flat on the 15th of the month, you shouldn´t worry that they will ask you for a full month rent. Most agencies here don`t have this as a practice. If you move in on 15th – you only have to pay half month.
Of course you should always be prepared for exceptions depending on the person you are dealing with, but this is the common case.
And last but not least remember always to try to negotiate the price of the rent. Sometimes it will work, sometimes not, but its always worth the try.