# Renting an apartment in Spain for six months



## h99 (Apr 21, 2016)

Hi there

New poster here. My girlfriend and I are in the process of moving from London to Spain (A Coruna) for six months, and will very soon be trying to find an apartment.

From initial enquiries to estate agents, it seems that they frequently require not only a deposit and a guarantor (both expected, and not a problem), but also proof of salary. However, since we have both recently quit our jobs in London, and are planning to work in Spain on a freelance basis (we have enough savings to see us out for the six months if required), we are wondering whether there is any other guarantee/documentation that landlords or agents wil accept in lieu of proof of salary.

Also, is there a website where the ads are primarily directly from landlords, rather than agents?

Thanks in advance for any advice!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

h99 said:


> Hi there
> 
> New poster here. My girlfriend and I are in the process of moving from London to Spain (A Coruna) for six months, and will very soon be trying to find an apartment.
> 
> ...


:welcome:

Most agents & owners will be fine if you can prove that you have funds if you don't have a job. I've actually never been asked for either.

Take a look at the rental section here - there are links to rental websites which have a mix of agents & private adverts http://www.expatforum.com/expats/spain-expat-forum-expats-living-spain/2725-faqs-lots-useful-info.html


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## h99 (Apr 21, 2016)

Thanks so much - that's very useful to know.

I'll take a look at those links now...


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

h99 said:


> Hi there
> 
> New poster here. My girlfriend and I are in the process of moving from London to Spain (A Coruna) for six months, and will very soon be trying to find an apartment.
> 
> ...


Quite often with landlords in most countries, offering several months' rent in advance is a key to opening many doors. Don't worry, too much about using agents, look out for "Se Alquila" or similar signs in areas that appeal, then just ring the bell/call the number.


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## GreenGreen88 (Apr 22, 2016)

In my experience, being that you are English and can show proof of funds you'll have no problem. Spanish relators/building managers can be quite racist towards certain foreigners and quite accommodating towards others. My best friend I lived with is Hungarian. He's lived here for 9 years and is a year away from a Spanish passport. We were instantly turned down many times for apartments despite him having an indefinite work contract with his job and proof of funds. I was told by my English friend when he and his partner rented their apartment they never got asked twice for proof of anything other than the ability to pay the deposit. 

You should be fine.


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## kdsb (May 3, 2015)

I have been watching idealista.com to get a sense of the real estate scene in Spain. I think that is a mix of owners and agents.

There is also:
fotocasa.es: Alquiler de pisos, compra y venta
Pisos en alquiler en España, Madrid y Barcelona - Enalquiler.com

The latter two I think are more dominated by agents.

I've noticed a lot of the same listings still there several months later so either property moves very slowly or listers aren't great about keeping things updated (I suspect the latter).


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

kdsb said:


> I have been watching idealista.com to get a sense of the real estate scene in Spain. I think that is a mix of owners and agents.
> 
> There is also:
> fotocasa.es: Alquiler de pisos, compra y venta
> ...


Some landlords also ask too much, just as some people who are selling have an over-inflated idea about what their place is worth.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

I really like the site that kdsb posted, Pisos en alquiler en España, Madrid y Barcelona - Enalquiler.com. That's where I found my apt. It has what you're looking for, to not use an estate agent. That will save you a month's rent, but you're taking a risk, of course. What you do is go to the top right where it says "Anunciante" and select "particular." The best thing about this site is that it offers a lot of filters. When you enter the site, select on the top right "mas filtros," and you can nail down exactly what you're looking for.

I wasn't asked at all for proof of income.


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## GreenGreen88 (Apr 22, 2016)

Personally I think idealista is the best website to use. Idealista is marketed to Spanish people looking for apartments. Other sites marketing to extranjeros often have inflated prices above market rate just because they can.


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## Ash Jez (Feb 17, 2013)

GreenGreen88 said:


> Personally I think idealista is the best website to use. Idealista is marketed to Spanish people looking for apartments. Other sites marketing to extranjeros often have inflated prices above market rate just because they can.


An interesting point as I'm looking myself at the moment. Thanks for the tip.


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## h99 (Apr 21, 2016)

Thanks everyone for the responses. I forgot to reply at the time, but perhaps my experiences can help someone in the future, so:

idealista.com or vibbo.com on the web (vibbo has more private landlords advertising, whereas idealista is mostly estate agents, or at least it was in this region of the country). 

After replying to lots of ads, we found it less of a grind to rely on a handful of decent(ish) estate agents, than to continuously monitor the websites.

The place we eventually rented in A Coruña is very nice, slightly above what we had been planning to pay, but worth it. Our experience was that a lot of agents/landlords would give us very short shrift - both my girlfriend and I are working freelance out here, so our sin nomina/salary-less status, desire to stay for only six months, and lack of any formal ID numbers etc in Spain, acted against us.

In the end though, there were enough who were willing to rent to us, that this all acted as a useful kind of natural selection process. It also seems that the apartments on the lower end of the price scale, and those on the higher end, would be more likely to take a chance (the latter as there are so few locals with the money to rent relatively expensive apartments - but ludicrously cheap by UK standards - given Spain's economic woes)

Last thing - we paid two months' deposit, and didn't need a guarantor.


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## Caz.I (Mar 21, 2009)

GreenGreen88 said:


> In my experience, being that you are English and can show proof of funds you'll have no problem. Spanish relators/building managers can be quite racist towards certain foreigners and quite accommodating towards others. My best friend I lived with is Hungarian. He's lived here for 9 years and is a year away from a Spanish passport. We were instantly turned down many times for apartments despite him having an indefinite work contract with his job and proof of funds. I was told by my English friend when he and his partner rented their apartment they never got asked twice for proof of anything other than the ability to pay the deposit.
> 
> You should be fine.


I think it can vary from area to area, and also depends on individual agents/private owners. Down here on the CDS, since a lot of landlords have had issues renting to Brits, they are reluctant to rent to anyone without an employment contract. Although if you have the money, they might insist you pay for the full six months in advance instead.


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