Housing rentals in Spain

What is a housing rental?

A rental property is a dwelling that you rent instead of buying. It can be an apartment, a house, a room, or a townhouse. It is a flexible solution that allows you to live in a specific area without committing to purchasing a property.

When you rent a property, you pay a monthly rent depending on the size, location, and other factors. When renting, it's crucial to read the lease agreement thoroughly, so you know what is included in the rent and what obligations you have as a tenant.

There are many advantages to renting a property. Firstly, it can be cheaper compared to other forms of housing, meaning you can save money and spend it on other things. Secondly, it can be easier to move when you rent, as you don’t need to sell your property before moving. Thirdly, in many rental properties, you receive assistance from the landlord or the property company if there are issues with the rental, such as burst water pipes, blocked drains, etc.

All in all, renting is a good solution for those who want flexibility and do not want to commit to one place. A rental can be a cheaper solution than other forms of housing, and it is easy and flexible to move again when you rent, as you do not need to find a buyer, but simply need to terminate the lease and move to a new property when the rental period expires.

There are many different types of properties one can rent, including:

Apartment for rent in Spain

An apartment is a private dwelling in a multi-story building. Renting an apartment can be a good choice if you want to be close to the city, have access to public transport, and live close to other people. Read more about apartment for rent by clicking the link.

House for rent in Spain

A house is a building that serves as a home or residence for individuals or families, where the resident has the right to use the land on which the building is located. A house usually has an associated garden and other outdoor areas such as a driveway. Read more about house for rent by clicking the link.

Room for rent in Spain

A room for rent is a room that is rented out – typically as a sublet. Renting rooms is often time-limited, and one will typically sublet a room for rent for a shorter period, which can be from a few days to several months. Read more about room for rent by clicking the link.

How do you find a rental property in Spain?

Finding a rental property can be a time-consuming and, at times, challenging process, depending on the current housing market situation in the area you are looking in. Start by defining your needs and desires. Then, explore the market for available rental properties, for example, by searching on housing portals like Boligdeal.dk or by contacting property companies, property managers, or housing associations. Next, arrange viewings for relevant rental properties, and make an agreement with the landlord once you have found the right rental property. 

You can see a detailed description of how to find and rent your new rental property via our guides for searching for apartments for rent, searching for rooms for rent, searching for houses for rent.

Find a rental accommodation for rent in Spain online

The first and most important step in your search process is to gain an overview of available rental properties that suit you.  

Housingtarget.com gives you access to a wide range of available rental properties throughout Europe. Whether you are looking for a small rental, a larger rental property, an affordable rental, or a luxury rental, there are good chances to find the property you are looking for on Housingtarget.com.

You can filter your search and set up automatic search agents for housing rentals, which notify you about new rental properties that match your criteria. This saves time and allows you to quickly contact landlords who have rental properties that suit you.

Find an affordable long term rental

If you wish to find an economically affordable rental property, it's important to have as many options as possible to choose from. This is achieved by contacting various landlords of rental properties and scheduling viewings of the different available properties.

Once you have received the various landlords' price proposals, you can try to negotiate the price by presenting your own offer. By keeping several options open and contacting multiple landlords, you increase the chance of finding a landlord who is willing to match your offer.

The price you can negotiate depends a lot on supply and demand. So, by choosing an area with many available rental properties, you can increase the likelihood of finding a rental property at a favorable price.

Find a home for rent with the right size and layout

When you are looking for a new rental property, it is crucial that it can accommodate both your current and future needs. In other words, the rental property should be spacious enough for your current daily activities and plans you have for the near future. Are you expecting to expand your family, plan to live in the rental property for many years, or need space for a subtenant for a period?

The layout and floor plan of a home can significantly impact whether the property can meet your needs. Even if a rental property seems too small, optimizing the use of space through layout and good planning can often resolve this issue.

You can find inspiration for decorating your rental through these guides: Guide to furnishing your apartment, Guide to furnishing your house, and Guide to furnishing your room.

Moving into a rental home in Spain

Once you have found your future rental property, the next step is the move. It is essential that the moving process is well organized, and you focus on all aspects of the move.

Moving varies significantly depending on whether you are moving to a room or apartment or moving to a house. 

We have developed these guides to help you when moving into a rental property: Guide to moving into an apartment, Guide to moving into a house, and Guide to moving into a room.

Would you like to rent out a property?

If you have properties available for rent, you can find your new tenant via Housingtarget.com, one of the leading online platforms for renting out private properties in Europe. We are used by many landlords for property rentals, including property companies, housing associations, real estate agents, and administrators, etc., for renting out properties.

Housingtarget.com is visited daily by hundreds of people looking for available rental properties. When you advertise your available properties for rent on Housingtarget.com, they are exposed to a wide range of tenants, from students to families to seniors.

If you have a property for rent, you can always create an ad directly here. You can also actively search for potential tenants here. Additionally, you are more than welcome to contact us via email at [email protected] – we are ready to assist you with advice and help in creating your property ad.

We have created a guide that describes the rental process from A-Z for you: Rent out your property through 10 simple steps.

Use your common sense when looking for housing rental

When renting a property, it is crucial to check the landlord before transferring any money to them. Always get legal help to review your lease agreement before signing it. Arrange a viewing of the property, check the landlord's background, and get documentation verifying the landlord's right to rent out the property before signing anything or transferring money to the landlord. Most importantly: Use your common sense.

We have collected several tips on what to pay attention to in this guide: Check the landlord before renting a property.

Nice to know when you are searching for rental housing in Spain

Spain is difficult to describe in a broad sense, as the country is very diverse in both landscaping, culture, food and traditions. It has everything you could ask for in a single country; long summers, rich past with ancient architecture and last but not least the southern European tendency to always find a way to incorporate pleasure or leisure into the gray everyday. This amongst other things attracts millions of tourists every year from all over the world to Spain, but especially from the countries further north in Europe. 

Apart from being a focal point of culture, types of landscapes and cuisine, Spain is the fourth largest country in Europe and the biggest southern European country of 47,450,795 inhabitants (2020 census). It’s located on the Iberial peninsula, bordering Portugal, the Mediterranean sea and France. It’s said that the first humans arrived to the Iberian peninsula over 42,000 years ago, which means Spain has a rich past and history under many different reigns and rules like the Roman Empire, the Visigothic Kingdom and many more. At the moment however they are under the rule of The Spanish Kingdom, which is defined as both a constitutional monarchy and a secular parliamentary democracy.

Spain is parted into 17 different Autonomous communities which all vary in landscape, culture, traditions etc. Some of them are defined as regions, and others as nationalities, as the Spaniards generally feel more connected to the local area in terms of traditions and culture than the country as a whole. 

The capital of Spain is called Madrid, and is located almost exactly in the middle of the country in the region called the Community of Madrid. Many people travel here because of the busy city-life as well as great job opportunities in both new and more mature businesses.

The most populous state is called Andalusia and is located in the very south of the country. Most of the tourists gather here to enjoy the sun-filled days in the warm tempered sea.

A lot of people visit the city of Barcelona as well though, which is located in the region of Catalonia. In fact around 8 million international tourists traveled to Barcelona in 2018, to experience the many sights of the city. Barcelona is known to be Spain’s center of architecture and art in general. There are many beautiful relics of the past in the form of architecture and art in Spain in general, and you won’t be able to go far until you meet yet another old cathedral or church kept intact since the 1700’s and onwards. 

If you are considering moving to Spain, and the tourism scares you, there are plenty of housing options in the smaller regions and towns, where you’ll be welcomed with open arms by the locals. The Spaniards are known as a very open people, and love it when you try to speak their language, cook their food and are curious of their traditions and culture in general.