Renting Guide

Guide to Renting

Guide to renting a property on the Catalan coast, Barcelona, Castelldefels, Garraf, Maresme or the Balearic Islands

This guide is designed to help you through the search process from start to finish giving you the peace of mind you deserve when working with us.

The first step is to choose a professional who knows Barcelona, is multilingual, has all the information on the properties and above all is an officially accredited Estate Agent on the register of estate agents in Catalonia. Then you know you will be working with a professional governed by a code of conduct, subject to current legislation and up to date with all the latest developments, legislation and publications. You can also be sure of transparent fees.

The most common questions

Our website gives you 24/7 access to all the information needed to decide what type of property suits your needs best and where, with photographic reports, floor plans and in some cases videos on our YouTube Channel. All the properties published on our website are available.

We offer all types of rental agreements unrelated to holiday rentals, in the form of long-term rentals or short-term and flexible rentals, to suit the needs of customers and owners.

Property for short-term rental is fully furnished and is a good option for short stays in terms of value for money. This type of rental agreement is freely agreed between the two parties, and after the period of compulsory compliance it can be renewed by months or by another period depending on the length of your stay for work or other reasons.

Long-term rentals last 3 years, with the possibility of renewing for another year, although the obligatory compliance period is 6 months. It is a longer term product, with the guarantee of continuity but also stricter conditions. In this case you will also find furnished or unfurnished flats, so that you can decide whether or not to furnish them to your own taste.

We currently have more than 14.000 properties in our portfolio that cover all needs and tastes. Our property search department is prepared to find what you are looking for if there is nothing suitable already on our books. Currently over 70% of our customers are from abroad. Our experience in the rental market started in 1999 and ever since then our customers have continued to rely on us. Thousands of real estate transactions are a testament to our professional approach.

We offer all types of rental agreements unrelated to holiday rentals, in the form of long-term rentals or short-term and flexible rentals, to suit the needs of customers and owners.

Property for short-term rental is fully furnished and is a good option for short stays in terms of value for money. This type of rental agreement is freely agreed between the two parties, and after the period of compulsory compliance it can be renewed by months or by another period depending on the length of your stay for work or other reasons.

Long-term rentals last 3 years, with the possibility of renewing for another year, although the obligatory compliance period is 6 months. It is a longer term product, with the guarantee of continuity but also stricter conditions. In this case you will also find furnished or unfurnished flats, so that you can decide whether or not to furnish them to your own taste.

If you are looking for a company to find solutions for your staff working abroad, with us you have found a specialist agency.

You will be assigned a person to attend to your needs and organise the visits. This approach will enable you to optimise your own time and that of your employees.

We will give you advice on the real estate market, prices and the best area according to the requirements of the company and the future tenant.

All our agents are multilingual. We adapt to our customers’ languages.

We fit in with your schedule. We organise visits with the utmost diligence and optimum efficiency.

We send you a preliminary presentation, if you want one, with all the information on the property so you can assess and access this information whenever you need it.

A member of our team will visit you in person. All the visits are individualised. We give you time to visit the property and for the agent to answer your questions. Communication is essential for understanding and getting what you want, to find the closest match to your needs.

If you are interested you must follow a series of steps in order to rent the property.

Prepare the documents we ask for. Send them to us by e-mail or fax so we can reserve the flat as soon as possible.

If you are an individual:

Last two payslips
Contract of employment if it is not permanent
Proof of identity (National ID card, Foreigner ID card, Passport)
References from your previous landlord if you have rented before

If you are a student:

University registration
Permanent address in your home country
National ID card, Foreigner ID card, Passport

If the rental is for an employee of a multinational company:

letter from the company certifying the post and details of the terms and conditions of employment
Contact person in the company
Last two payslips
Contract of employment if it is not permanent
Proof of identity (National ID card, Foreigner ID card, Passport)

If the person renting is a company:

Presentation or website
Powers of attorney and documentation from the representative who will sign the contract
Articles of incorporation
Corporation tax
VAT returns
Last balance sheet

You must reserve a property so that we and the owner stop advertising it. The reservation is one month’s rent and will be deducted from the total amount you hand over when you sign the contract.

ATIPIKA will notify the owner of your interest in reserving the property together with your supporting documents and will confirm the definitive terms and conditions as soon as possible.

When the financial conditions have been agreed, you can reserve the property. With this step the property stops being available and visits with other interested parties are cancelled.

The conditions for renting a property are not always the same. They are established by the owner together with ATIPIKA and will mainly depend on the documents provided and the type of customer.

The standard conditions for reserving a property are:

Two months’ deposit: this deposit is to guarantee any damage to the property and to guarantee all the obligations under the contract. This amount shall not serve as payment of the last two months of rent under any circumstances. The owner is obliged to place the deposit and the contract with the Land Registry.

ATIPIKA fees: They correspond to 10% of the yearly rental + VAT and include drafting and personalising the contract and all of the steps carried out until it is signed.

The owner may ask for an additional deposit or bank guarantee depending on the documents delivered to ensure compliance with all the contractual obligations.

One month’s rent in cash at our offices or by bank transfer is required to formalise reservation of the property when the terms and conditions have been agreed. This amount will be deducted from the total amount to be delivered on the day the contract is signed. If you want to reserve a flat that you have seen in our website, please contact our commercial department with the reference number and we tell you how to proceed.

When you have reserved the property we will give you a document with the terms and conditions of tenancy. You will have to pay the following:

One month’s rent in advance when you sign the contract, or if you sign after the 5th of the month, the proportional part.
The deposit agreed for the reservation.
The intermediation fees corresponding to 10% of the yearly rental plus the current VAT rate.
You also have to provide Spanish bank account details so that the rent, water, gas and electricity bills can be paid by direct debit.

The contract is always between you and the landlord and in general any questions or incidents must be reported to the landlord or the contact person designated in the contract. Nevertheless, we continue to be at your disposal to help you with anything you may be unsure about.

If the property is administered by ATIPIKA you can contact our administration department with any questions or incidents. ATIPIKA will be at your side throughout the life of the contract and will manage termination of the contract and the return of the deposit.

If the property is administered by ATIPIKA you can contact our administration department with any questions or incidents. ATIPIKA will be at your side throughout the life of the contract and will manage termination of the contract and the return of the deposit.

To end a rental agreement you must give advance notice in writing or by e-mail as indicated in the contract, usually one or two months before termination.

The advance notice period will end with settlement of any payments, handing over of the keys and the signing of a document cancelling the contract. The cancellation document is a guarantee for the landlord and tenant that all the contractual obligations have finished.

In this section we want to provide a series of recommendations so you can leave the property as quickly and as easily as possible.

The period for returning the deposit stipulated by law is 30 days from handing over the keys after which the legal interest rate can be claimed. The Barcelona Land Registry takes 7 to 15 days to return deposits after receiving the application accompanied by the contract cancellation.

The bank guarantee ceases to be valid when the cancellation document has been signed. The landlord has to return the original copy so the tenant can give it to the bank and cancel the guarantee. The flat must be in a perfect condition, or there must be a list of the damage and cleaning and the deposit must cover the cost. Otherwise, the landlord may retain the guarantee to cover any damage.

The tenant must maintain the air conditioning and boiler. It is advisable, although not compulsory, to take out civil liability insurance. Notify any damage as soon as possible and if you cannot be there, ensure that the landlord or person in charge of resolving the incident can access the property.

Check out our purchasing guide

You can also click on the button below to get more information on our purchasing guide.

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