Finding a flat in Spain: portals, rents, deposit and traps

In short: The rental market in Andalusia and the Canary Islands is fast and tight, especially on the coast. If you have your documents and deposit ready, recognise the right type of contract and ask about registering at the town hall before you sign, you will still find a flat. On paper, a 70 m² flat costs between around 580 € in Jaén and over 1,600 € in Marbella (Idealista, September 2026).

Where is the best place to search?

Almost all flats are listed on a handful of portals. On top of that, there are local estate agents who let some flats before they ever go online.

• Idealista (idealista.com) and Fotocasa (fotocasa.es): the two most important portals for renting and buying.
• Habitaclia, Pisos.com, Milanuncios: additional listings, with many private advertisers on Milanuncios and correspondingly more dubious offers.
• Rooms and flatshares: Idealista Habitaciones, Badi, Spotahome, Uniplaces.

Set up a search alert on the portals and call instead of only writing. Many landlords and agents don’t answer messages, but they do pick up the phone. A few prepared sentences in Spanish are enough to start with.

How much is rent in Andalusia and the Canary Islands?

The figures come from Idealista’s price reports for September 2026. They are asking prices from listings, not signed contracts. The 70 m² column is our own calculation (price per m² times 70); small flats are usually more expensive per m².

The pattern is clear: the Costa del Sol and the south of Tenerife are the most expensive, the interior (Jaén, Córdoba, Granada) and Almería the cheapest. Just a few kilometres back from the coast or beyond the city limits, rents drop noticeably: Motril is at 8.3 €/m², Armilla near Granada at 9.6 €/m², Telde on Gran Canaria at 11.6 €/m². For Lanzarote, Idealista’s rental report doesn’t show figures by municipality.

In the first quarter of 2026, a room in a flatshare cost 430 € a month on average in Spain, and 437 € in Málaga. Jaén was the cheapest provincial capital at 245 € (Idealista). You can work out how rent fits into your overall budget in the article on the cost of living in Spain. Which region suits you is shown in the comparison Andalusia or the Canary Islands.

What rights do you have as a tenant?

The basis is the Spanish tenancy law, the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (LAU). A flat you live in permanently (vivienda habitual) is strongly protected.

• Term: It can be freely agreed. If it is shorter than 5 years and your landlord is a private individual, the contract renews automatically every year until at least 5 years are reached (Art. 9 LAU).
• After that: If nobody gives notice, the contract runs for one more year at a time, for up to 3 additional years. The landlord must give 4 months’ notice, you 2 months’ notice (Art. 10 LAU).
• Ending the contract yourself: after 6 months at the earliest, with at least 30 days’ notice. The contract may include compensation: one month’s rent per remaining year of the contract, pro rata (Art. 11 LAU).
• Rent increase: only once a year on the contract anniversary and only if agreed in the contract (Art. 18 LAU). For contracts from 26 May 2023 onwards, the IRAV index of the statistics office INE is the upper limit. In August 2026 it stood at 2.47 %.

Who pays the agent’s commission is set out in Art. 20 LAU. Before you sign, get it in writing which costs apply in addition to rent and deposit, and don’t pay anything that isn’t in the contract.

Deposit: amount and lodging

The deposit (fianza) is a legal requirement: one month’s rent for residential lets, two months’ rent for other uses, which includes seasonal contracts. Many landlords also ask for an additional guarantee; the law limits it for residential contracts (Art. 36 LAU).

• Andalusia: The landlord’s obligation to lodge the deposit with the regional agency AVRA was abolished by the new Andalusian housing law (Ley 5/2025), in force since 24 January 2026. The deposit itself is still mandatory, and the landlord holds it. Older guides still mention the lodging.
• Canary Islands: The landlord must still lodge the deposit with the Instituto Canario de la Vivienda. After the contract ends, it is refunded on application.

In both regions, record the amount of the deposit in the contract and get a receipt for the payment.

What do landlords ask of newcomers?

Landlords want to see that the rent will be paid reliably. Without a Spanish payslip, you have to prove this in other ways. The usual documents are:

• ID card or passport and the NIE (tax identification number for foreigners)
• Employment contract and your latest payslips, tax assessments if you’re self-employed, your pension statement if you’re retired
• Bank statements as proof of savings
• A Spanish bank account for the standing order

If you have no Spanish income, you will often be asked for more security: a bank guarantee (aval), a guarantor, rent default insurance or several months’ rent in advance. Translate your most important documents into Spanish or English beforehand and have them ready as a single PDF. If you can send everything on the day of the viewing, you’re more likely to get the flat.

Seasonal contract or residential contract?

On the coast and on the islands, many flats are only offered as seasonal lets (alquiler de temporada). Legally, this is not a residential tenancy but a “use for other purposes” (Art. 3.2 LAU). What this means for you:

• no renewal up to 5 years
• no cap on rent increases through the IRAV
• 2 months’ rent as deposit
• mainly, whatever is in the contract applies

For a few months while you settle in, that’s fine. For living somewhere permanently, it’s the wrong contract: typical are contracts for 11 months or clauses saying you have to move out before the summer. Since 1 July 2025, short-term and seasonal lets also need a registration number that must appear in the online listing. If it’s missing, ask about it.

The most important question: can I register here?

Ask this question before you sign, ideally in writing. The Padrón (registration at the town hall) is the basis for your health card, school, car and many other steps. Some landlords, especially with seasonal contracts, don’t want anyone registered at their flat. In that case the flat is unsuitable for a move to Spain, no matter how nice it is. For registration, the town hall usually asks for the rental contract in your name.

How do you spot a scam?

Scammers exploit the time pressure on the market. These patterns come up again and again:

• You’re asked to transfer a deposit or reservation fee before you’ve seen the flat.
• The landlord is supposedly abroad and will send the keys by courier.
• Payment is supposed to go through a link that looks like Airbnb or Booking.
• The rent is well below the figures in the table above.
• A fee is charged for the viewing.
• You’re asked to pay cash, without a contract and without a receipt.

Checklist for the viewing

Allow ten minutes more for each viewing than the agent has planned, and go through these points.

• Contract type: residential (vivienda habitual) or seasonal (temporada)?
• Is registration at the town hall possible?
• What’s included in the rent: community fees (comunidad), water, rubbish collection, property tax?
• Are electricity and water in the landlord’s name, or do you have to take over the contracts? More on this under Setting up electricity and internet.
• Heating and air conditioning: present and working? In inland Andalusia, winters are cold in poorly insulated flats.
• Damp and mould on ceilings, window frames and in the bathroom
• Water pressure, hot water (boiler, gas boiler or butane gas bottle), mobile reception, fibre connection
• Noise: street, bars, neighbours, ideally also walk past once in the evening
• Furniture and appliances: list as an annex to the contract (inventario)
• Record the condition on moving in with photos and date, and send them to the landlord

Frequently asked questions

Cover image: Tyk · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0