Renting a flat in Spain: the Spanish you need

The ad says piso exterior, luminoso, a estrenar, sin amueblar, 3º sin ascensor, and you have twenty minutes to decide whether to call. You call, the owner talks fast, asks whether you have nóminas, and by the time you have worked the word out the flat is gone. Renting in Spain is decided in Spanish, on the phone, in the first two minutes.

How to read the ad

• exterior — windows on the street. interior — windows on the patio de luces, the inner courtyard: quieter, darker.
• luminoso — bright. A seller's word; answer it with ¿Qué orientación tiene? — Which way does it face?
• a estrenar — never lived in. Compare reformado, a reformar (needs work), para entrar a vivir (move-in ready).
• sin amueblar — unfurnished, though electrodomésticos and armarios empotrados (fitted wardrobes) often stay.
• bajo — ground floor. Older buildings often add an entresuelo and a principal before the primero, so a 3º can be five flights up.
• ático — top floor, usually with a terrace. finca — the building itself: finca de 1930.
• ascensor — lift. 4º sin ascensor is a daily decision, not a detail.
• Also gastos no incluidos, imprescindible nómina y aval, trastero (storage cage).

Phoning about the flat

• Buenos días, llamo por el anuncio del piso de la calle Goya. ¿Sigue disponible? — Is it still available?
• ¿Es usted el propietario o una agencia? — Are you the owner or an agency?
• ¿Cuánto es la renta y qué incluye? — How much is the rent and what does it include?
• ¿Los gastos de comunidad van aparte? — Are the community fees paid on top?
• ¿Qué documentación piden? — What paperwork do you ask for?
• ¿Podría verlo esta semana? Me viene bien el jueves por la tarde. — Thursday afternoon suits me.

At the viewing

• ¿La calefacción es central o individual? — Is the heating communal or per flat?
• ¿El agua caliente es de caldera o de termo eléctrico? — boiler or electric tank?
• ¿Hay alguna derrama prevista? — Any levy planned? (derrama — a one-off payment the owners vote for building works. It shows the state of the building.)
• ¿Puedo empadronarme en esta dirección? — Can I register on the padrón here? Most business with the ayuntamiento starts there, so ask before signing.
• Busco algo de larga duración, no de temporada. — Long-term, not seasonal: two different things in law.

What they will ask you

• ¿A qué se dedica? — What do you do for a living?
• ¿Tiene contrato indefinido o temporal? — Permanent or fixed-term job contract?
• ¿Me puede enviar las tres últimas nóminas? — your last three payslips.
• ¿Tiene quien le avale? — Do you have a guarantor?

Your side:

• Trabajo en una empresa con contrato indefinido. Le envío las nóminas y la vida laboral. (vida laboral — your Seguridad Social work record.)
• Soy autónomo. Puedo enviarle las declaraciones trimestrales. — I'm self-employed; here are the quarterly tax returns.
• Tengo NIE y cuenta en un banco español. Somos dos, no fumadores y sin mascotas.
• Acabo de llegar y todavía no tengo nóminas aquí. ¿Qué garantía necesitaría? — What guarantee would you need? What can stand in for payslips is partly law, partly negotiation.

The words in the contract

fianza — the deposit paid at signing. In most autonomous communities the landlord must lodge it with a regional body whose name differs by region. How much it is, and how it comes back, is what your contract and the rental law say.

aval / avalista — a guarantee. An aval bancario is money frozen at a bank in the owner's favour; an avalista is a person who answers for your debts.

arras — money handed over to hold a property. Strictly the word belongs to buying and selling; in rentals you hear señal or reserva. Ask: ¿Qué pasa con la señal si al final no firmamos?

prórroga — the extension when the initial term runs out; a prórroga tácita renews itself unless someone gives notice. The periods sit in the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, amended more than once: what counts is the wording in force when you sign.

actualización con el IPC — the yearly rent update tied to the price index published by the INE. Recent legislation has changed the reference index, so read which one your contract names.

subrogación — someone stepping into an existing contract: a relative continuing it, or a new owner inheriting your tenancy when the flat is sold.

preaviso — notice: ¿Con cuánto tiempo tengo que avisar si me voy?

And on the day you get the keys: ¿Podemos firmar un inventario con fotos?

Community fees and the bills

Gastos de comunidad are the building's shared costs, voted by the comunidad de propietarios: cleaning, lift maintenance, light in the common areas, insurance, the portero where there is one, sometimes water, heating, pool and garden. Nothing inside your own flat is covered. Whether the fees sit inside the rent or on top of it is a contract question: ¿La comunidad está incluida en la renta?

Suministros are what you contract yourself: la luz, el agua, el gas — mains gas natural or a bombona de butano — and internet. On a power bill the comercializadora bills you; the distribuidora owns the cables and fixes faults.

• Quiero hacer un cambio de titular de la luz. — I want the electricity put in my name. (An alta, by contrast, is a brand-new connection.)
• ¿Me puede dar el CUPS del contrato actual? — the supply point code, printed on every bill.
• ¿Qué potencia tiene contratada el piso? — What power rating is contracted?
• Quiero domiciliar el pago en esta cuenta. — by direct debit from this account.

Never leave the supplies in the last tenant's name, and photograph the meter on moving day.

When something breaks

The word is avería, a fault.

• Le escribo para informarle de una avería en el piso. — I'm writing to report a fault.
• La caldera no calienta el agua. — The boiler isn't heating the water.
• Hay una fuga de agua debajo del fregadero. — a leak under the kitchen sink.
• Ha aparecido una gotera en el techo del baño. — water coming through the bathroom ceiling. (humedades — damp patches.)
• Ha saltado el diferencial y no vuelve a subir. — The trip switch has gone and won't reset.
• El desagüe está atascado. — The drain is blocked.
• La persiana del salón no sube. — The blind won't go up.
• Le adjunto unas fotos. ¿Podría enviar a un técnico esta semana? — Could you send a technician this week?
• ¿Me confirma quién se hace cargo de la reparación? — who is covering the repair?

Which repairs fall to the owner and which to you is set out in the rental law and in your contract, so read the clause you signed. Write rather than phone: WhatsApp carries a timestamp. And when the answer matters: ¿Me lo puede confirmar por escrito?