# Rental Contract in Spanish



## Lanula (Jan 3, 2011)

We are going to have a rental contract for an apartment in Marbella area tomorrow. Although we are dealing with an agent the landlord wants to prepare his own contract for us to sign.

The problem is we do not speak any Spanish and we are told by them that contracts can only be written in Spanish which is very understandable as we are in Spain and it is their official language.

The agent seems to be a really nice person and she told us that she can translate the contract for us but as you can imagine this will not be an official translation.

One factor which pushes us to get the contract signed is the time frame as we need the place as early as possible.

We just wonder whether there is a way to get the contract seen and explained by someone or not. Also who would this person be? A lawyer? A gestor? or just a translator so that we can understand what we are signing.

We would be pleased if anybody with any relevant experience or information enlighten us.

I guess we are being a little bit too cautious but at the same time we also know a contract is a legally binding document and signing without understanding may expose us to certain risks later.


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

Lanula said:


> We are going to have a rental contract for an apartment in Marbella area tomorrow. Although we are dealing with an agent the landlord wants to prepare his own contract for us to sign.
> 
> The problem is we do not speak any Spanish and we are told by them that contracts can only be written in Spanish which is very understandable as we are in Spain and it is their official language.
> 
> ...


If you have no command of the language it is always a good idea to get someone to give the contract a once over. You mentioned abogado, gestor, or translator... the truth is that either will suffice. A translator will simply translate the document for you to read. This may of course not give you the answers to the legal queries you may have. A gestor will be the next most cost effective method and these people enerally have a good understanding of most things in spain BUT are not qualified lawyers. In my opinion the safest bet would be to get an abogado to look at the contract.

When I first came to Spain and rented a property I used a lawyer and I simply scanned and emailed it to them along with a list of questions and they responded with answers and a few pointers of advice. It was all done by email and I think thhey charged me about 100€.. but worth it for peace of mind!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

This does happen from time to time. some owners feel that the "bog standard" contract that the agents use doesnt cover them enough and will prepare their own. I've got a friend (who posts on here occasionally) and the same thing happened to her. She got it translated and then amended one or two points that she wasnt happy with and the owner was fine with that. So all was well. TOP TIP: get it translated by an in dependent person before you sign it, just in case. And if there is anything you object to, get it removed or amended.

Jo xxx


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## lynn (Sep 25, 2008)

I second all the advice already given, but would add that if you do go along with the rental, it makes things much easier going forward having a contract in Spanish. We needed this for purchasing a car and also for registering on the Padron. The English contract we had originally was not acceptable for either of these.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

lynn said:


> I second all the advice already given, but would add that if you do go along with the rental, it makes things much easier going forward having a contract in Spanish. We needed this for purchasing a car and also for registering on the Padron. The English contract we had originally was not acceptable for either of these.


also, if ever anything went wrong & the worst came to the worst - a contract in english has no legal standing


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> also, if ever anything went wrong & the worst came to the worst - a contract in english has no legal standing


Even if it was done by a sworn translator?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Even if it was done by a sworn translator?


that I don't know - but then surely the original or the copy would be in Spanish?


which is the point - there has to be a spanish version signed


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

I have a spanish copy that I signed and is considered the original and I have a translated version that my english agent gave me (for our own reference). We checked it with a bilingual friend who made sure it was accurate

Jo xxx


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## natalieml (May 9, 2010)

Yes this is what happened to us. We had the translated and Spanish versions given to us, there were a few clauses that we got amended and changed before we signed so def well worth the extra time to wait for the translation.

I would suggest you find an independent translator - search online as really you don't to pay a gestor just to translate as it will be quite expensive. 

Our changes were all made on our contract and the Spanish document amended before we signed.

Best of luck xx


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## fourgotospain (May 4, 2009)

Our contract is in Spanish with the english translations written in italics under each paragraph. Very easy to compare and translate, and find the bit in the contract you are arguing about in the future! At the end it clearly states that the spanish parts are legallly biniding not the english.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

fourgotospain said:


> Our contract is in Spanish with the english translations written in italics under each paragraph. Very easy to compare and translate, and find the bit in the contract you are arguing about in the future! At the end it clearly states that the spanish parts are legallly biniding not the english.


............which is why you need an independent translation


I've seen contracts which looked fine in english, but the english bore very little relation to the spanish!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> ............which is why you need an independent translation
> 
> 
> I've seen contracts which looked fine in english, but the english bore very little relation to the spanish!


Which is why I asked about using a sworn translator because at least their standard of translation is recognised and they are a body that can be called upon if there are any problems later. Of course, as everyone has said, only the Spanish version is legally binding, but it's vital to know what you are signing I would have thought...


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Which is why I asked about using a sworn translator because at least their standard of translation is recognised and they are a body that can be called upon if there are any problems later. Of course, as everyone has said, only the Spanish version is legally binding, but it's vital to know what you are signing I would have thought...


absolutely!!!


sworn translators do come pricey though - so I guess you have to weigh it up


when I think back 7 years to the Spanish rental contract we signed - I had had about 3 months of lessons by then - it's pretty amazing that I actually did understand it correctly


it was a really stupid thing to do in retrospect..................


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## johnthe bear (Apr 3, 2012)

I found a website www.spanishdict.com-translation I typed the contract in wordpad and bit by bit copied and pasted it. The end result All the Spanish words I highlighted red and the translation underneath in black.It's not word for word so you have to keep tweeting it till it makes sense.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

johnthe bear said:


> I found a website www.spanishdict.com-translation I typed the contract in wordpad and bit by bit copied and pasted it. The end result All the Spanish words I highlighted red and the translation underneath in black.It's not word for word so you have to keep tweeting it till it makes sense.



You'll need to edit that link as it isn't correct.


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## johnthe bear (Apr 3, 2012)

snikpoh said:


> You'll need to edit that link as it isn't correct.


TRY SpanishDict | English to Spanish Translation, Dictionary and Translator | Diccionario y traductor inglés español or GOOGLE spanish translation and scroll down the list.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

johnthe bear said:


> TRY SpanishDict | English to Spanish Translation, Dictionary and Translator | Diccionario y traductor inglés español or GOOGLE spanish translation and scroll down the list.


I just put a few sentences into it & it's not that good actually - googletranslate did a better job on some of them - I haven't yet come across an online translator that is any good really 

OK for odd words & phrases, but I certainly wouldn't trust it for something as important as a rental contract


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