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RENTING

The rules and small print for a rental contract for a room in Spain

Renting a room in Spain can often be easier and cheaper than trying to rent a whole apartment or house for yourself, but there are still several things you need to look out for in your rental contract and small print clauses you need to be aware of.

Published: 17 September 2024 09:28 CEST
The rules and small print for a rental contract for a room in Spain
Make sure you know the rules regarding rental contracts for rooms in shared accommodation in Spain before you move into a flat. (Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP)

Sharing a flat in Spain may of course not be your first choice; in 55 percent of cases people here do so because they can’t afford their own place. 

Renting a room is now almost 10 percent more expensive than a year ago, according to recent data published by property portal Idealista, costing almost double in 2024 than it did nine years ago.

The national average for renting a room is now €488 per month.

If you’ve come here to be a student or to learn Spanish though, renting a room can be excellent choice.

Due to Spain’s housing crisis and financial constraints, renting a room is no longer only an option for young people in Spain. In fact, in 2022 Idealista found that the average of a person sharing a home in Spain was 34. 

READ ALSO: Renting a room in Spain costs 90% more than in 2015

Renting a room is increasingly popular in Spain, especially in those cities where rent is very high, such as in regional capitals. 

While your contract for renting a room may not be extensive as renting a whole property, it’s still very important that you have one to make sure that you’re protected.

A room rental agreement not only ensures that both parties are clear about their rights and responsibilities, but also avoids potential misunderstandings and conflicts.

Typically, when you are renting una habitación, your room will be your space, but you will have shared access common areas such as the kitchen, living room and bathroom. 

READ ALSO – Aval: How to get a bank guarantee to rent a property in Spain

Factors to keep in mind when renting a room in Spain:

Tenants do not have the right to continue to live in the home beyond what is stipulated in the contract, so your landlord will have greater control over the property.

It is important that the room rental contract specifies the purpose of renting the room and how long it’s for. Generally, this type of rental is regulated by the Civil Code, but it could also be subject to the Urban Lease Law (LAU), even though the existence of this type of lease is not specified.

The room should include basic furniture, and the landlord is responsible for paying the bills initially, although they may be included in the rent.

There’s no minimum legal content that room rental contracts must contain, and it is not even mandatory for it to be in writing. But it is still advisable to get one in writing in order avoid future problems.

READ ALSO: The pros and cons of signing a temporary rental contract in Spain 

According to property website Idealista, room rental contracts should contain these following elements:

  • The duration of the contract.
  • A statement saying exactly which room is being rented out.
  • The rental price, as well as the payment method with which the tenant will pay the rent and when it will be due each month.
  • The services that are included, such as the use of the kitchen and being able to connect to the internet.
  • It’s also important that there’s a clause to say how payments should be divided in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
  • It must be indicated if subletting the room is allowed or not. As stated in the Civil Code this may be possible if your contract doesn’t specifically state that you can’t.
  • If the property is rented by several people, the contract must be formalised between all tenants through a single rental contract and tenants will appear in the same contract.

READ ALSO: Is subletting legal in Spain? 

How to tell if a room rental contract is legal in Spain

For a room rental agreement to be legal, it must contain the following information:

  • Full names, DNI or NIE number, address and telephone number of both the landlord and the tenant.
  • Specify the exact address of the home, the rented room and the common areas the tenant has access to.
  • The start and end date of the contract.
  • The amount of the deposit and the return conditions. It is not mandatory to provide a deposit, but landlords can request it.
  • The monthly rent, the payment method and how to make the payment.
  • It must state who is responsible for the necessary works and repairs in the home.
  • A clause must be included stating who responsible for community expenses, water, electricity, gas, etc.
  • The text must state the conditions for termination of the contract, such as non-payment of rent or failure to comply with the rules or the landlord selling the property.

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PROPERTY

Spain’s plan to limit temporary accommodation rejected

Spain's left-wing government had planned to tighten its grip on temporary accommodation rentals as a potential means of making more long-term rentals available, but the country's right-wing parties on Tuesday rejected the proposal in parliament.

Published: 18 September 2024 11:53 CEST
Spain's plan to limit temporary accommodation rejected

If passed, the new law would have meant that anyone who wanted to temporarily rent a property would have to explain why and provide a valid reason.

For example, students or researchers would have to show the research contract or course booking to show it would only last a few months.

It would have also meant that if more than six months passed or more than two consecutive contracts issued, it will have automatically become a long-term habitual residence instead.

On Tuesday September 17th, the proposal was ultimately rejected in the Spanish Congress, voted against by Spain’s three main right-wing parties – Catalan nationalists Junts, Spain’s main opposition party the PP and far-right Vox.

The aim in part was to try and rectify the controversial Housing Law, which came into effect in 2023.

In most people’s eyes, the legislation has failed as landlords have found several loopholes to get around the restrictions, prices have continued to increase and the stock of rental properties is even more diminished.

READ ALSO: Has Spain’s Housing Law completely failed to control rents?

As a result of the fear of heightened regulation for landlords, many have left the traditional market and turned to tourist rentals or temporary accommodation instead, which are far more lucrative. 

This has had the opposite effect, increasing rental prices instead of stabilising or decreasing them.

READ MORE: Why landlords in Spain leave their flats empty rather than rent long-term

Seasonal contracts and room rentals allow landlords to raise prices every six or nine months and they not subject to the price limitations of the housing law.

The idea of this new law was to try and set the maximum duration of a temporary rental contracts at six months in order to avoid this, but it could have potentially also caused problems for many who need this type accommodation such as students, digital nomads, those living here on a short term basis etc. 

During the debate, Sumar’s spokesperson, Íñigo Errejón, defended the law saying that it is a “solvent”, “fair” and “precise” proposal, which will help “correct an abuse” and “close the gap through which “Landlords can use to avoid the LAU (Urban Leasing Law) and rent regulation”.  

Far-left party Podemos blamed the ruling PSOE for having left this “hole” in the housing law, but also agreed that the restrictions on temporary accommodation were needed to try and rectify this.

READ ALSO: Has Spain’s Housing Law completely failed to control rents?

Junts (Catalonia’s main pro-independence party) and the PNV, the Basque nationalist party, were firmly against it. They agreed that the problem must be solved and that “accessible decent housing was needed”, but raised the situation of students, interns, residents or workers who need housing for flexible periods.

Junts party member Marta Madrenas warned of the harmful effects that this limitation on temporary rentals can have for university cities such as Girona.

Vox and the PP meanwhile argued that they don’t want to help cover up the mistakes made by the left with regards to the Housing Law.

Vox deputy Ignacio Hoces stated that the increase in seasonal rentals has occurred due to the “failure” of the Housing Law, since this has caused rental prices to “skyrocketed” by 13 percent and the supply to be reduced by 15 percent.

Temporary accommodation, referred to as alquiler temporal or alquiler de temporada in Spanish, is considered to be anything that’s longer than a month but shorter than a year, middle ground between short-term and long-term rentals. It is also referred to as monthly accommodation or seasonal accommodation.

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