# Long-term rental commision: what do I get back ?



## wroliveira (Jul 22, 2019)

So I rented this house and paid the equivalent of one month rent to the agent.
Now I left and I am having trouble getting back the additional month I had paid to the owner (fianza).
Can the agent help me somehow ?... What is the procedure in case the owner fails to reimburse the fianza ?


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

By law, the deposit should have been held in a Government backed (escrow type) account - if you didn't do that (and it was down to you not the agent nor the landlord), then you may not get the deposit back.

People need to wake up and understand the laws in Spain


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

If you're actually talking about the agent's commission rather than the deposit, which as said is (supposed to be) returnable - commission isn't returnable.


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## wroliveira (Jul 22, 2019)

I am talking about the deposit (fianza), which was up to the landlord to put into some sort of government account.


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## angkag (Oct 29, 2013)

Only way to get the fianza back is to take him to court. In theory you can also get a judgment against him to pay for the legal fees, but more than likely, he'll invent/claim a ton of damages to the house that equals or exceeds the fianza, then its up to the court to decide who they want to side with.

As Snikpoh mentioned - if paying the fianza directly to the owner, its likely never to be returned, and that should be the expectation at outset. Only way to get it back is to not pay the final months rent, then the owner might grumble about it (losing out on keeping the fianza), but it would usually end there.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

wroliveira said:


> I am talking about the deposit (fianza), which was up to the landlord to put into some sort of government account.


The responsibility to do this actually lies with the tenant.

If you leave it to others, it may (almost certainly) not happen.

Unfortunately, it is very common in Spain for tenants to never get their deposits back


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## Phil Squares (Jan 13, 2017)

snikpoh said:


> The responsibility to do this actually lies with the tenant.
> 
> If you leave it to others, it may (almost certainly) not happen.
> 
> Unfortunately, it is very common in Spain for tenants to never get their deposits back


Are you sure? The reason I ask is the while I agree the tenant has an obligation to pay the deposit, the landlord has an obligation, under law to ensure the deposit is in a protected scheme. 

If the owner or landlord of the home fails to comply with his obligation to deposit the bond in the corresponding public body of the Autonomous Community and damages are caused to the tenant (no deduction of tax benefits), a liability may arise against the landlord for not depositing the surety. This is an extract from the Urban Leasing Law, in effect 6/3/2019.


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## wroliveira (Jul 22, 2019)

I also think it is quite weird that it is up to the tenant to protect the deposit, but hey, it's Spain, so I did not question.
So, long-term rental commission: what do I get in exchange ? Nothing. :-(


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

wroliveira said:


> So I rented this house and paid the equivalent of one month rent to the agent.
> Now I left and I am having trouble getting back the additional month I had paid to the owner (fianza).
> Can the agent help me somehow ?... What is the procedure in case the owner fails to reimburse the fianza ?


 Ask the agent in case s/he can help you
+


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

This is where culture meets law, and can be infuriating for people who expect law to win without actually going to court.

We rented a flat which we intended to live in for several years, but the opportunity to move to Thailand came up and we left it after only one year.

The landlord was really disappointed and said that we had been the perfect tenants and he was so sorry that we were leaving.

When it came to asking for the deposit back however he just said oh no, we won't be giving you that back, we need to cover the cost of repainting, the month it will be empty because you're leaving etc, and played on the fact that they were always looking for a "long term" tenant and we had "let them down".

They had no basis in contract or law to keep the deposit. In the end after basically threatening to take them to court, they returned half of it and we just took it and walked away.

But they really did believe that the money was theirs, they had no intention of ever giving it back. It's a cultural thing, but legally you could still win something back if you're prepared to fight.

But the commission is a service fee, you have paid that to the service provider and you will never recover that part and you have no right to.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

I learned from other posters' experiences so when, thirteen years ago, I rented a flat from a rogue agent and decided to leave after five months I knew I wouldn't get my 1800 euros two months' rent deposit back so I didn't pay the last two months rent.

Threats were issued and palabrotes in English and Spanish but nothing more came of it. A small rear window of my Discovery was smashed in my locked garage but I got my own back when my Rhodesian Ridgeback lunged at her car when she was yelling at me and his claws backed with 54kg of muscle caused a paint job on her 4x4 that would have cost her much more than the repair to my LR. She was Moroccan and terrified of all dogs so my RR put the fear of God up her.

She deserved what she got. I later discovered that she had been renting properties without the absentee owners' knowledge. She also charged us 900 euros a month for a two bed/bath unfurnished piso and we found out later the going rate was 500 euros maximum. it was 2008. We had just arrived and were as green as the proverbial grass, which we shouldn't have been after three years in Europe's rip-off capital, Prague.


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