Believe it or not, finding decent and affordable housing is quite a feat in Spain. If you’re obviously a foreigner (read: you don’t speak fluent Spanish) houseowners and prospective flatmates will try to screw you over quite often. Of course, this is not a RULE, but it’s quite possible that this will happen in the form of:
-”Special (overpriced) deals” just for you, in virtually unliveable conditions
-No contracts (meaning that if they decide to change the lock and kick you out, you’re homeless)
-The houseowner trying to ease out of his/her responsabilities (not fixing problems in your flat)
-Sucky flatmates
-and mostly anything horrible you can imagine…
In addition, for semi-decent living conditions in big cities such as Madrid or Barcelona, be prepared to fork out at least 300 euros per month, plus expenses, plus an initial deposit of the same amount.
And remember, the worst month to look for a room in a shared apartment (because that’s pretty much what any normal person can expect to afford, with studios starting at 600 euros) is September, while the best is June or July. Why? Students. They move out in June/July and they all room-hunt in September.
So, let’s imagine you found a nice ad, with decent pictures of a room, at a good price and centrally located (HA! Good luck!). Then, you contact the author of this ad, usually the prospective flatmates. If they like the idea of you (state age, nationality, what you’re doing, if you don’t have a job make one up because NOBODY wants somebody unemployed as a housemate: too risky), they will ask you to come over to take a look at the flat and somehow “interview” you. If after this “interview” they tell you “We’ll call you”, forget about it. They probably won’t. Instead, if they ask you “When can you move in?”, pop open the champagne: you made it through the wilderness of house-hunting in Spain.
So where to find said ads? Check out the following:
Loquo
Idealista
LingoBongo (Madrid and Barcelona only)
CraigsList
Angloinfo (Madrid and other cities available)
In Madrid (Madrid only)
Segundamano (last resort honestly)
What else to expect?
-Rooms usually come furnished
-Ask things about bills, if smoking is allowed or not, if pets are allowed or not, if guests are allowed or not BEFOREHAND, because it kindda sucks to have an awesome apartment and not even be able to invite your friends over for dinner.
-Watch out for good public transport connections. It’s imperative to have them when you stumble back home at 4 am.
-Most of all, make sure you double check with a local to see if you are getting screwed over or not.
A last resort is to do this through the assurance that the Dirección General de la Juventud provides. It’s a government branch geared towards helping young people find jobs and apartments. They also give out money to help you pay for your apartment, if you qualify. You don’t have to be Spanish, just a EU citizen. For example, in Madrid you would go here. Each city has its own, and any local would be able to point you the right way.
Questions? Comments? Feel free to post and I’ll get back to you dear readers.
