Tenant Guide to assist you

Jimena-Gaucin Property short rental guide for tenants in Andalusia, Spain

This Guide to Renting a Property in Spain is intended as a general overview of the process and costs involved in letting a property in Spain.

The Spanish property renting guide consists of the following sections:

  • Reservation
  • Cancellation policy
  • Required documents
  • Deposit
  • Types of rental contracts
  • Agency fees

We hope that you find this tenancy guide useful. Please contact us by CLICKING below if you require further information.

Reservation

Once you have chosen a property and the rental price has been agreed, the first stage is to leave a reservation deposit. This reserve payment can vary depending on when the moving-in date is but is normally equivalent to one month’s rent and afterwards will become the deposit held against damages or unpaid bills, however, cannot be used as rent.

Cancellation policy a reservation is as follows:

  • Reservation cancelled within 60 days of confirmation, full refund.
  • Reservation cancelled within 30 days of confirmation, 50% charged.
  • Reservation cancelled after 30 days of confirmation, 100% charged.

Required documents

To rent a property in Spain it is essential to open a Spanish bank account in order to set up direct debits for all of the utilities (water, gas, electricity, phone & internet). Some owners prefer to keep these contracts in their own name, in which case a tenant will either pay the bills directly in the bank or reimburse the owner against a copy of the invoice.

You will also need to bring along your passport/ID card and if you are going to be working in Spain you will be required to apply for a NIE number (Tax Identification number for foreigners: http://www.practicalspain.com/NIE.htm )

The owners will normally also ask for some references such as an employment contract, pay slips or other references; to show that you will be a good tenant and to qualify your financial status and ability to cover the rent payments.

Deposit

By law, on the day of signing, the tenant is obliged to give the owner a minimum cash deposit of one month’s rent.

The deposit is returned after the tenancy agreement is terminated and the owner has 30 days to verify that everything is in a good state, except for normal wear and tear.

If the deposit is not returned when the contract is terminated, the tenant can claim not only the return of the amount but also the interest it has generated.

However, it is very common that landlords ask tenants for different deposit amounts or additional guarantees. This is perfectly legal and should be negotiated between the tenant and landlord.

In some cases, landlords will ask for a bank guarantee (or aval bancario) to protect them against the possible non-payment of rent. If the tenant defaults on his payments, the bank can be addressed by the court to release the amount held under bank guarantee to the tenant.

Jimena-Gaucin Property is not responsible for the deposit or for making the changeover of the utilities.

Types of contracts

In Spain, there are four types of rental contracts:

  • Short term rental contracts less than 2 months, these are classified as holiday lets and requires to have a licence as a “Casa Rural” or “Casa Vivienda” in place.
  • Temporary rental contracts of more than 2 months, but less than 1 year.
  • Long term rental contracts: 1 year minimum obligatory with the right to stay up to 3 years. After the first year, if you wish to terminate the contract you need to give two months’ notice to the owner and send a written notification.

Insurance

We would strongly recommend that tenants take out an insurance policy to cover any possible damages in the property. In any case, the tenant should ask the landlord to display the insurance policy he has.

Agency fees payable by tenants

Any client renting through Jimena-Gaucin Property will not be charged any fees.

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