Renting in Spain: Laws and Contracts

From 2018 to 2019, Spain is host to almost 200,000 international students. Fortunately, there are different accommodation options for international students in Spain. In fact, you can choose to live on-campus, or off-campus. 

If you are planning to stay at an off-campus accommodation, you are most likely going to transact with private individuals to rent. In that case, you must be familiar with renting in Spain, including some of its laws, especially ones about tenancy agreements.  

Read below to know more about them. 

Tenancy Agreements in Spain

Know that when it comes to renting in Spain, tenancy agreements can be both verbal and written. However, for the sake of protecting your rights as a tenant, and as a foreign national, insist on having everything in writing. 

This way, you will get to fully understand the content of the contract. Also, in case you need help translating or understanding some parts of it, you can ask either your institution or other legal bodies for help. 

Common tenancy agreements for students can last at least 12 months, which tenants can renew annually. Long-term contracts, on the other hand, last at least three years.

In some cases, if the student will only be staying in Spain for less than a year, they can opt for a short-term lease. However, this is not usual—thus, students may have to show proof they are only staying for a short time so landlords may allow this. 

About Deposits 

As a renter, you are also required to pay for a deposit, usually, along with your first month’s rent. 

Legally, a deposit is equivalent to your one month’s rent and is refundable at the end of your tenancy period. 

Usually, during the end of your tenancy period, you and your landlord would check the property if there are any damages to it. In case there are some damages, your deposit may get deductions depending on the level of damage. 

Other instances where you may not get your deposit is if you were not able to pay a rental fee, or if you still have outstanding bills. If you left your accommodation earlier than was anticipated, you may also not get your deposit. 

As a rule, you must give at least 30 days’ notice before you leave your accommodation. 

How to Get Your Deposit Back? 

The best way to get your deposit back at the end of your tenancy period is by not doing any damage to the house, and by paying your rent and bills timely. 

However, if you’ve done all those things but your landlord insists on not refunding you your deposit, you should ask for evidence from your landlord. 

That evidence should show the reasons why you are not eligible for the refund. Evidence may include receipts for the repairs if there are any, outstanding bills, and so on. 

In case your landlord keeps on insisting to not refund your deposit despite not having any evidence, you can ask your institution for legal assistance. They can either directly help you or connect you with someone who can help you with it.

Those are the basic things you need to know about laws and contracts related to renting in Spain.

If you want to learn other useful tips about living and studying in Spain, check out our other articles at MSM Unify.