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On your arrival to Spain, the organisation or company you have been invited by has most likely arranged some form of accommodation for you. Should this not be the case, or if you are not satisfied with your accommodation, then you might find the following information on the accommodation and housing system in Spain very useful.
Guesthouses, hotels, apartment-hotels
Spain is predominantly a tourist country, so it has a wide variety of hotels
and guesthouses in terms of quality and price. The official Spanish Tourism
website, www.spain.info, provides information
on accommodation in any Spanish province. The Internet also offers plenty of
hotel search engines divides by cities and categories, such as www.redhoteles.com,
offering cheap hotels, www.viajar.com,
with an extensive offer of hotels located in tourist destinations, or www.hospedarse.com,
with popular hotels at discounted prices. NH and AC hotels are city hotels with
an excellent price/quality ratio. If you are planning to stay in the country
for a couple of months, you might want to consider staying at an aparthotel,
which is the most comfortable and practical choice for accommodation. The Tourist
Office in your place of residence can provide you with a list of accommodation
facilities available at short and medium term. The contact details of the Spanish
Institute of Tourism – Turespaña – are as follows:
C/Jose Lázaro Galdiano, 6
28071 Madrid
Tel.: 91 343 35 00
www.tourspain.es
There are also several Spanish Tourist Offices abroad. Check the following
web page to locate the Spanish Tourist Office in your home country:
www.softguides.com/guia_madrid/informacion/oficinas_extranjero.html
If you are intending to stay in Spain for more than one year, you might want to consider renting an unfurnished or furnished flat. All local and national newspapers have a real estate section. One of the most complete ones is www.segundamano.es, which has an online section dedicated exclusively to rental flats: (www.segundamano.es/sm/pisos.htm). For a full list of the most important Spanish newspapers, see chapter 11 “The Spanish Labour Market”. The following web pages might also be helpful in your search for accommodation in Spain: www.infoinmueble.com/buscar/pisos-alquiler.asp, www.easypiso.com and www.fotocasa.es. Notice boards at universities are also an excellent source of information, especially if you are interested in sharing a flat and reducing the cost of living. Or visit: www.campusanuncios.com/Ofertahabitacion-Madrid-4-6.html.
Most real estate agencies offer flats for rent. In the Yellow Pages, both the paper and online version (www.paginas-amarillas.es), you can find a large list of real estate agencies. Most agencies charge you a fee equal to one month’s rent while looking for a flat for you, and an additional one-month’s rent commission if they successfully find you a flat. If the contract is signed directly with the owner, one month’s rent (sometimes 2 months) is usually required as a security deposit. Sometimes (especially for new houses), the owner can ask for a copy of your payslip or a bank guarantee.
It is recommended that you draw up a rental contract. This can be done either verbally or in writing, though a written agreement is advisable. Standard rental contracts can be bought at the tobacconist’s (tobacco and stamp shops). When signing a rental contract, it is important to know whether maintenance and service costs (doorman, cleaning, etc…) are paid by owner or tenant, though they are usually paid for by the owner.
The web page of the National Institute of Consumption (www.consumo-inc.es/guiacons/interior/infpract.htm) provides legal and useful information on housing, and more specifically on house renting (contracts, deposit, types of renting, etc…). The web page www.civilia.es/vivienda/alquiler/alquiler.html also offers a lot of useful information and practical advice on renting a house.
PROVIVIENDA is a non-profit making association dedicated, since 1989, to the
development and promotion of housing programmes. It offers an information service
about house renting and has several regional offices across Spain.
http://www.provivienda.org
In case of rental problems, you can contact the Municipal Consumer Information Office, Consumers and Users Associations or Consumption Arbitration Boards. You can find a list of the local offices of these organisations on the web page of the National Institute of Consumption: www.consumo-inc.es/directorio/interior/omic/omic.htm.
If you are planning to stay for a long period or permanently in Spain, you might want to consider buying a house. Houses for sale are commonly advertised through the same media channels as rental houses (see previous paragraph). Take into account that the property you wish to buy must be professionally valued, which can cost up to 1% of the market price. Taxes, property deeds and notary costs must also be paid by the buyer.
The following web page of the Ministry of Justice provides detailed information on the necessary steps to take and precautions to keep in mind before buying a flat, apartment or house property: http://www.mjules/guia_compraventa_t.htm.
The Foundation Institute of Foreign Property Owners provides useful information
on legal and fiscal aspects, prices, the market situation and the most common
problems foreigners may be faced with when buying a property in Spain. This
information is only available to registered users (with an annual fee of 80€
the first year and 60€ for subsequent years).
Foundation Institute of Foreign Property Owners
Fundación Instituto de Propietarios Extranjeros
Carrer al Mar, 193
Apartado de Correos 418 – 03590 Altea (Alicante)
Tel.: 96 584 23 12
E-mail: info@fipe.org
Web: www.fipe.org
Telephone
Below you find a list of the most important Spanish telephone companies, in
case you do not yet have a telephone installed at your home. It usually takes
one to two weeks to have your telephone (both bought and rented) installed.
If the majority of your calls are local calls, you might want to consider buying
a mobile phone. If, on the contrary, you make a lot of calls abroad or need
Internet connection, you are better off with a fixed line (ADSL or Cable). For
a complete list of the telephony companies that operate in Spain, and their
rates and services, please visit the following web page: www.teltarifas.com.
Electricity
The Spanish electricity industry has recently been privatised, so you will have
to contact the company that supplies electricity to your area of residence.
The main electricity supply companies are Iberdola (www.iberdrola.com,
Tel.: 901 202 020), Endesa (www.endesa.es),
Unión Fenosa (www.unionfenosa.es)
and Hidroeléctrica del Cantábrico (www.h-c.es).
Your building most likely already has electricity from the local power distribution
company. For information on how to register with your electricity company, you
could ask your neighbours or the owner.
Gas and heating
Due to the extreme temperature differences in the majority of Spanish regions,
heating is a basic necessity. Natural Gas and electric heating are the most
commonly used heating systems, and they are usually supplied to an entire neighbourhood
by one and the same company. Also in this case, the owner, neighbours, doorman,
etc… can tell you which company to contact in your area. The use of bottled
butane gas is still common in some city neighbourhoods. Electric heating is
the most expensive form of heating, but night storage heaters can save a lot
of energy and money. Gas consumption is measured with a gas meter located inside
the house.
Water
Water is relatively cheap, despite the severe drought periods that hit the country
every year. Water supply companies usually operate at the local level. The Canal
de Isabel II (www.cyii.es,
Tel.: 901 516 516) and Aguas de Barcelona (www.agbar.es)
water distribution networks are the most important ones. All of the abovementioned
services issue bi-monthly bills.
Domestic service
It is relatively easy to find domestic service at affordable prices. Domestic
employees are usually paid by the hour. The work frequency and salary are negotiated
in advance and there are no specific guidelines in this regard. Some household
employees also take care of children or older people. Finding good domestic
service is usually based on recommendations from others who have used their
services.
Household effects
Furniture and personal effects imported from EU member states are not subject
to customs duties. For more information on how to bring your personal effects
to Spain, please contact the Spanish consulate in your home country.
