# Renting property questions: deposits - how to pay, what receipts to get?



## alpinist (Feb 8, 2009)

Hi,

We're looking to rent our first property in Spain and having read a bit I've realised that the main thing to do is NOT pay the last month's rent as you probably won't get the deposit back...

My questions are actually about paying the deposit in the first place though; our bank hasn't given us chequebooks so are we supposed to hand over a large wedge or cash, or perhaps insist on a bank transfer to the landlord? 

What sort of receipt are we meant to get for it, I mean is a simple hand written note legally valid or does it have to go in the rental contract?

Lastly, I saw mention of getting 'monthly receipts' for the rental payments - I've never asked for these in any other country; is it normal practice in Spain?

Thanks!


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

That advice is often given about not paying the last months rent but it is both bad advice and not legal although I imagine it is common practice.

The deposit should be held in a independent account, the local government housing department should offer this service as can other places.
You will also need to make sure the rental contract is legal and properly registered, don't take an 11month contract for example.

Bank transfers are the best way to pay the rent and it will leave a paper trail as well and there is really no good reason not to accept this method of payment but many ask for cash.

We have just had part of our deposit released, the landlord took what they needed and gave us proper bills for what they did as well. To us it seemed entirely fair and to be honest we didn't expect to see any of it back and after some terrible experiences in the past with deposits(not in Spain however) this was about as smooth and fair as it comes.

If you do things correctly the law should protect both of you(unlike elsewhere) however you pay a deposit for a reason and normally there will be a reason for it to be used either partially or fully.


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## alpinist (Feb 8, 2009)

Pazcat said:


> The deposit should be held in a independent account, the local government housing department should offer this service as can other places.
> You will also need to make sure the rental contract is legal and properly registered, don't take an 11month contract for example.


Thank you, I hadn't seen that information anywhere else. Would you have the name of the housing office that in Spanish please, so I may find ours and get more info on this service?


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

I think there may well be far more instances of landlords retaining the deposit for no valid reason than of landlords behaving honourably and making only legitimate deductions.
We were very well aware that we had no chance of getting back our 1800 euro deposit on our last rental so we lived out the last two months. Our current landlord advised us to do so.
So he is obviously not expecting to return the deposit he holds for us when we decide to move.
As for paying rent....we pay by bank transfer. I would prefer not to enter into a contract with a landlord who wanted cash in hand to avoid a paper trail.
But each to his own...


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## bgregory01 (Jun 22, 2015)

*11 month contract*

What's the catch with an 11 month contract?

(I've just signed one and was told that it was the norm)


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

bgregory01 said:


> What's the catch with an 11 month contract?
> 
> (I've just signed one and was told that it was the norm)


The ' catch' is that what you have signed has no legal status.
There are no eleven month contracts. There are six month contracts, twelve month contracts, three year contracts with a two year renew option and holiday lets.
Snikpoh will correct me if I'm wrong.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

_Si_ said:


> Thank you, I hadn't seen that information anywhere else. Would you have the name of the housing office that in Spanish please, so I may find ours and get more info on this service?


Righto, sorry for the delay.
I had to look it up so I think this is the name of the office but happy to be corrected. 
"Consejeria de la Vivienda"


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## Gazeebo (Jan 23, 2015)

_Si_ said:


> Hi,
> 
> We're looking to rent our first property in Spain and having read a bit I've realised that the main thing to do is NOT pay the last month's rent as you probably won't get the deposit back...
> 
> ...


We have signed a 6 month contract and have done ours through a local letting agent. We have paid one month's deposit to secure the property and will pay another month's deposit when we get there as it is furnished. Apparently this is normal. We will also be paying monthly in advance. Quite a lot of money to hand over! Will everything go smoothly? We will just have to wait and see, but we do hope it is going to be relatively hassle free. :fingerscrossed:


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## Gazeebo (Jan 23, 2015)

Ooh and I forgot, we will expect receipts, although the first deposit is mentioned in the contract.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

mrypg9 said:


> The ' catch' is that what you have signed has no legal status.
> There are no eleven month contracts. There are six month contracts, twelve month contracts, three year contracts with a two year renew option and holiday lets.
> Snikpoh will correct me if I'm wrong.


Correct.

If things go wrong, then the courts won't accept them and it is like living without a contract.

Many agents/landlords still believe they are the norm but they never have been. Stupidly, many agents/landlords think that these contracts used to give them extra protection - they didn't. With the change in law (within last couple of years) long-term contracts must now be 6 or 12 months (automatically) renewable for up to an additional 3 years.

Holiday lets are different again but don't have to comply with the same rental laws.

Just make sure that the contract you have signed DOES state the applicable laws.


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## alpinist (Feb 8, 2009)

Very useful info, thank you. We are looking to get a 12 month contract but we have seen lots of 9 month ones on the rental websites (presumably as the town attracts students who will leave for the summer). We fully intend to get a Spanish colleague or two to look over the contract before we'll sign, but I'm more than aware that just being a national doesn't make one an expert in that country's laws so always useful to know the details!


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

Whilst the 'norm' now is, as stated earlier, 6 or 12 month contracts, if a contract is drawn up for any other length and is agreed by both parties then it is legal. The 11 month contract length existed because if a tenant stayed at a property for 12 months then certain tenants rights came into effect. So, landlords figured if they only gave an 11 month contract the tenant wouldn't get those rights. Wrong. If the tenant then signed another 11 month contract after the first month of the new contract they would have been living at the property for 12 months and therefore received those rights. The law has now changed and the tenants rights are still there but not quite as good as they used to be. If you know in advance you want to stay at the property for 20 months and the landlord agrees there is nothing in law (as far as I know) that says the two of you cannot agree to a 20 month contract. A correct contract will still have the period of notice either tenant or landlord must give to vacate the property; the tenant will only be liable to small rental increases each year etc etc...


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

In practice, landlords have very little protection against rogue tenants, whatever the law may say. It can take a very long time to evict a tenant and there is no chance of getting back money owed for rent, utilities or damages.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

mrypg9 said:


> In practice, landlords have very little protection against rogue tenants, whatever the law may say. It can take a very long time to evict a tenant and there is no chance of getting back money owed for rent, utilities or damages.


You are, of course, absolutely correct. But I was posting in regard to a perfect world where nobody steals from anyone else. Our landlord has told us we can stay as long as we want as he really likes us and the only time he will sell the place is if we buy it.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

thrax said:


> You are, of course, absolutely correct. But I was posting in regard to a perfect world where nobody steals from anyone else. Our landlord has told us we can stay as long as we want as he really likes us and the only time he will sell the place is if we buy it.


You and I are both lucky....as I told our landlord Adelbert as I drove him to his adosado when he arrived at the airport from his home in Austria last year, 'I know from personal experience only one landlord with good, reliable tenants and that, Adelbert, is you'.

The problem with the Tenancy laws it seems is that like so many laws in Spain they are great on paper but difficult and expensive to enforce. The guy who helps in our garden and does odd jobs works also for a posh five star hotel. He gets paid a pittance and gets no pay if he wants time off for a holiday. When I pointed out that it was his legal right to have a paid holiday he said the law was a piece of paper.
When his car broke down and he couldn't visit clients one or two of them found someone else.

Life for many people, too many, is so different from ours in so many ways.....


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