Advice on renting a property in Spain

If you’re planning a swift pre-Brexit move to Spain, you’ll find it easier to rent for a while before deciding to buy your forever home.

Prior to the 2016 referendum, it was common for Brits desperate for a warmer, cheaper and more pleasant life to buy a nearly new or off-plan property just prior to the move itself. Nowadays, with little time left to plan, avoiding the Brexit fall-out is easier if you rent an apartment in your chosen location and house-hunt once you’ve settled down. You many even decide to keep renting as you’re more than happy with your new home, especially if you have good relations with your landlord as well as a reasonable rental charge. Another advantage of renting is that it gives you time to find out all you need to know about the local property market as well as exploring other areas in the vicinity.

As in the UK, rental properties in Spain are normally accessed though an estate agent or sourced directly from the property owner. Checking online property rental sites can help, but care should be taken as scammers looking for marks are known to infest online property sites. Estate agents receive a commission from owners, with some requesting a month’s rent as an additional fee paid by the renter. Property types available for rent include apartments, townhouses, detached villas and even rural fincas set in the countryside and often including land. In coastal areas, unfurnished properties are rare as well as only available on long lets, and furnished properties should include an in-writing inventory stating what’s included and what belongs to the present tenants.

Once you’ve found a suitable property, you’ll need to pay a month’s rent to secure the tenancy, the which will be set against your first month’s rent when you move in. You’ll need to show your ID and/or passport, several personal references, your tax ID number if working and evidence of your ability to pay or a bank guarantee. Long-stay expat tenants have the right to an annual review of the tenancy for a period of not less than five years should the property be a permanent residence. Automatic reviews will happen unless you give one month’s notice to leave. After the five year reviews are over, you have the right to renew for a further three years unless the landlord gives four months’ notice or you give two months’.. Should your landlord decide to sell the property, the purchaser must honour the terms of your lease.