Are you going to rent an apartment while studying? Know your rights

If you are going to rent a shared apartment while you are studying, make sure you know your rights as a tenant so you don't get deceived.

The perfect moment

From the second year of college (in the first year it is usually better to live in auniversity residence until we have a good number of friends and contacts), it is very common to rent an apartment with other roommates to pay less and share expenses, but some landlords take advantage of their tenants' inexperience and abuse them. Being well informed about what they can demand from us and what they can't will make us less vulnerable to opportunistic landlords. Renting an apartment is quite an experience and, if we share it with people we like, even better.

Handle with care

Regardless of the tenant's rights registered in Spanish law, which we will see below, it is always good to keep in mind that the better we get along with our landlord and the more communication we have, the easier things will be for us. If the conditions are agreed upon in advance and we speak with respect and calmness, there usually won't be any problems (unless we have a terrible landlord). Remember that both parties are interested in reaching an agreement and that in a good negotiation, everyone wins.

Duration of the contract

The legal duration of a contract is one year, renewable up to five years at the tenant's will. This does not mean that we have to stay in the house for five years obligatorily. We are not even obliged to stay the entire year, but it is a protection so that, if the tenant wishes, they can stay in the property for five years without having to move frequently. However, no matter when we decide to leave, we have the obligation to give thirty days' notice if we want to recover the security deposit. The landlord can only demand the tenant to leave the property before that period (the five-year period) if they themselves, their spouse, or their direct relatives need to live there; in other words, it has to be a demonstrable need to reside there, not because they want to rent it to someone else.

Illegal or non-existent contracts

If we are not given a rental contract or if we have an illegal one (because it is abusive or does not meet the formal requirements), we may have problems if we later want to demand certain guarantees. However, if that is the case and we have a conflict with the landlord, we can report it with complete tranquility, because without a legal contract in place, the landlord has everything to lose. One important thing to remember: whether we have a contract or not, our rights as a tenant remain the same. Don't let them deceive you.

Inviolability of the home

If, once the apartment is rented, our landlord decides to walk around to check and see how we take care of the house, opening it with their own keys and without our prior consent, they are committing a crime. We must be very clear that even though we live in their house, the landlord cannot access the property at will. For all intents and purposes, the property is ours until the contract ends.

Condition of the property before renting

It is important that we protect ourselves (even if the landlord is a charming person) for whatever may happen. If we notice any type of leak, peeling paint, breakdown, or furniture damage when we enter the property, we must inform the landlord (preferably by email for the sake of evidence) and take photos with our phone, keeping the document with the date and time. This way, if the landlord loses their mind at the end of the contract and tries to charge us for damages that are not our responsibility, we can prove that they were already there when we moved in.

Security deposit

The law states that it is mandatory to ask for one month's security deposit as a guarantee, but some landlords ask for more. We must keep in mind that the money we give is not for the landlord to spend on parties, but rather they must provide us with a receipt for the payment and deposit that money in the bank specified by the autonomous community where the property is located. If they ask for more than one month's deposit, it may be more convenient for us to do it through a bank guarantee, but for that, we will have to negotiate with our parents, because unfortunately, banks do not guarantee students without income.

Renting a room

Subleasing is legal as long as there is written consent from the owner. If we only want to rent a room in an apartment that is already rented by other tenants, then we will have to ask the landlord to make a personal sublease contract for the room so that they cannot charge us for areas we do not use and so that we are legally protected if we have any problems with our roommates.

Breakdowns and damages

As tenants, it is necessary for us to be responsible and respectful towards the property where we live and the neighbors we live with if we want everything to go well. But apart from that, it is important for us to know that we will only be financially responsible for what we break ourselves due to misuse or vandalism. If, for example, the washing machine breaks down on its own, it is the landlord's obligation (provided that the washing machine was included in the apartment's furnishings) to cover the repair costs. If, on the other hand, we have decided to conduct scientific experiments with it and we have damaged it, the repair or replacement will be our responsibility.

Return of the security deposit

When we want to leave the apartment, if everything is in order, the deterioration of the property is due to normal use, and we have given one month's notice, the landlord will be obligated to return the security deposit within one month. However, as we mentioned before, things are often resolved better by informal agreement, so if the landlord and the tenant agree on something else, it is not problematic: it is very common for instead of returning the security deposit, it is agreed that the last month's rent will be deducted from that money. Moving out for the first time is a very exciting experience, and until we get our eTítulo, all these cohabitation trials, living away from the family home, learning to manage our own money, and truly starting adult life will also be valuable lessons for our personal growth.