You found a classified ad offering a flat (business premise) you like. This is a good start; however, the first thing you have to do is to find out about the most basic aspects. People tend to ignore essential points just because they assume they are not important, but that’s when unpleasant surprises come into play.

The most basic questions you should ask yourself are:

• The flat is located exactly where I want, but is it easy for my partner, my children or my flatmates to get to work/school from there?
• If you have family living out of town and you often pay them a visit, or some people depend on you visiting them, how will you manage to go see them?
• If you work at night or have special working hours, are there good transport connections at that time of the day? Is traffic or the noise from the nearby commercial activity compatible with your working/sleeping hours?
• The way the property faces is crucial if you are looking for a place with lots of sunshine. Check if the flat is compatible with your search criteria.
• Tenancy agreements are not cheap as they entail many expenses: the first rent, a security deposit, a technical inspection of the property, PTT, handling fees, moving costs, furniture… All together equals at least a total of 3 or 4 months of rent. Do you have enough savings? Will you bring your own furniture? How much will new items cost? And don’t forget all utility fees (electricity, water). Fortunately, utilities are connected when you move into the property - all we do is transfer the account to your name at no additional cost.
• Experts and online forums state that your rent should not exceed a third of your income. You decide how you wish to spend your money; however, you must analyse thoroughly if you can really afford to pay the rent and additional living costs.

Tenancy agreements can vary. It depends on the flat, your requirements and the landlord’s requirements. However, most tenancy agreements include similar provisions. You can find a tenancy agreement sample in the section “I am looking for a flat” by clicking on “Documents of interest”. You can download it and open it with Adobe to read all the comments we have added to explain the most important points.

Every business premise is different from the rest. It all depends on its location, layout, the use you want to make of it, local permits… It depends on too many different things and, therefore, it is very difficult to give tenants general guidelines to follow. If you have a specific question, do not hesitate to email us and we will help you in every possible way we can. You can also give us a call or, if necessary, we can make an appointment to clear up all your doubts.

In the properties we lease water and electricity are on when you move in. We arrange for utilities to be transferred into your name and notify the utility company of the change in tenant so the charges are deducted from your bank account from that point on. The whole transfer process is free of charge.

Do not forget: utilities were connected at the start of the tenancy, so please leave the utility accounts open when vacating the property.

Utilities are not on in business premises (and some homes under exceptional circumstances). Ask the sales representative showing you the property. You can also give us a call or email us. We will give you all the details about the flat/business space you like.

The minimum legal security deposit is one month of rent for homes and two months of rent for business premises. However, the landlord is entitled to charge more in order to lease his/her property or business space. That means that you will have to pay at least a one-month security deposit for homes and a two-month deposit for business premises. All exceeding amounts required by the landlord must be agreed by both parties in advance.

We will ask you to pay a two-month deposit. Ask the real estate sales representative showing you the flat/business premises.

Your security deposit will be kept by Incasol, the government body in charge of refunding the amount to the landlord at the end of the tenancy. The landlord will then return it back to your account as long as you have paid all your rents, you return the flat in the same good condition you found it when you moved in and all utility bills have been paid.  

Incasol will refund the deposit free of interests or CPI. They just refund the same amount that you paid when you entered into the tenancy agreement.

Every tenancy agreement is different from the rest, and this is an important aspect to bear in mind. The homes we rent usually include maintenance and repair services, Property Tax and other services such as concierge service, so the price we usually advertise is the total price of the rent you will have to pay.

Do not forget that VAT must be added to all business premises.

Check the agreement because fees might increase due to changes in CPI after the first year of tenancy.

In principle, tenants must pay their rent from day one. We give you the property in a perfect condition, with all utilities on, so it is ready to be “occupied from day one”. Therefore, the rent will be charged from the beginning of the tenancy.

However, we are here to help you. Tell us what you need and we will tell you what we can offer. Now, don’t forget that negotiations can lead to either “yes” or “no” so perhaps you might not achieve what you want.

When you move into the flat, it is always in a good condition and everything is working properly. However, incidents occur. Therefore, we will repair the defects  you detect the first month of tenancy. The agreement includes a provision to clear up all your doubts in that respect.

You will have to pay for the damage and defects if they appear after one month of tenancy or are the result of the normal wear and tear, the incorrect use or lack of maintenance.

The most common cases you have to consider are: broken glass, leaking taps, water leak in electrical appliances or electrical faults when you exceed the maximum power limit due to the use of electric stoves or other devices plugged into the same outlet.

Moisture issues or damaged built-in pipes will be corrected and paid by the owner.
 
Water heaters and heating boilers are quite controversial. It is hard to distinguish between misuse and a fortuitous breakdown. Consequently, we'll ask you to hire a professional to do an annual maintenance check. It is cheap and leaves no room for doubts in case of incident.

Pets are allowed in the property unless otherwise specified in the agreement or the building’s rules.

As a tenant you must ensure your pet does not cause any nuisance to your neighbours (e.g. dogs barking when they are alone), scare them or make them feel uncomfortable (unleashed dogs in communal areas, unpleasant odours, pet faeces…) or damage the property (scratched parquet flooring/doors, smelly flat…).

Inform us about the fault as soon as possible. Take the measures within your reach to avoid further damage. The sooner you report it, the faster we will help you.

If there is a water leak, turn the water off at the mains. You will find a mains stopcock in your flat marked with a blue sticker depicting a tap and another one in the building’s meter room. Turn off either of them.

CPI is usually added to your rent upon notice after the first year of tenancy depending on the agreement you signed.  

Increases in CPI are applied one year after the date of signature of the agreement, so it will be imposed either the same month your agreement was formalised or the following one.

Yes, it is normal. When the contract expires and no one raises an objection, it is extended automatically as established by law. There are several options; however, tenancy agreements are usually extended for a further year.

You don’t need any permission to paint the unit. However, you should read your tenancy agreement to check if you are obliged to paint the property white (or a similar colour) before you move out. Therefore, before you paint it with bright colours, you should consider the costs, since it is possible that you have to repaint it when you vacate the property.

No, you can’t. The use of the roof is not included in the tenancy agreement. Therefore, you can neither use it nor carry out any activity on it, even if it is just occasionally.

It depends. You don’t require permission to live with other people (as long as you don’t exceed the number of people that may safely occupy the property as established in the certificate of occupancy). However, living together is not the same as subleasing a room or a part of the flat (e.g. shared student flats). To do so, you do need permission - most tenancy agreements estipulate that sublet is not allowed.

Pets are allowed in the property unless otherwise specified in the agreement or the building’s rules.

As a tenant you must ensure your pet does not cause any nuisance to your neighbours (e.g. dogs barking when they are alone), scare them or make them feel uncomfortable (unleashed dogs in communal areas, unpleasant odours, pet faeces…) or damage the property (scratched parquet flooring or doors, smelly flat…).

If you want to keep a pet in the property, you must take care of it accordingly.

You need permission. You can’t carry out any alteration/improvement to the property without the prior written consent of the owner or the administrator. Let us know if you would like to make some sort of physical change to your flat.

The first thing you have to do is read your tenancy agreement again to see what clauses you accepted when you entered into the binding contract. Special break clauses are usually included at the beginning of the contract.
Moving out also requires a written notice (letter, email…) stating the day you intend to vacate de property.

Do not forget that you can only terminate the agreement after the first six months. Notice must be given one month in advance.

We will get in touch with you as soon as we receive your notice. We will let you know if there is a problem and we will make an appointment to examine the property, deal with the keys and sign all documentation necessary to formally terminate the agreement.

Your security deposit is kept by Incasol, so we have to recover it from them first. You should normally get your deposit back within one month of your tenancy ending, although it can also take less time if everything runs smoothly.

Sometimes it may take longer for you to get your deposit back when there is a problem, e.g. we have to repair damages you have caused, request estimates to correct the defects, calculate the amount to be deducted from your deposit… All this slows down the recovery of your deposit and makes the whole process rather unpleasant.

In the section “Documents of interest” you will find a wonderful comic by brilliant draughtsman Alfonso López. It explains the things you have to take care of before you vacate the property. Take a look! It really helps you remember what you have to do to get the property back in good shape.

When moving out, you must return the property in the same good condition you found it when you moved in: clean and free of damages. You must also ensure that utilities are connected and rents have been paid.

If you rented an unfurnished flat, you must remove your own furniture when you move out, that is, you must return the property empty. However, if you rented a furnished unit, you must leave all the furniture items you found when you arrived and check they are not damaged.

If all goes smoothly, we will send you a reference letter without you having to ask – we take great pleasure in sending them because it means that we have all done our part. It is really nice to write a letter explaining how fantastic and suitable you are, that we were very lucky to have found you and that your future landlord won’t make any mistake by renting you the property. If someone calls asking for a reference, we will definitely confirm the content of the letter we sent you.

The best you can do is to report it by giving us a call or sending us an email, SMS, Whatsapp… If you detect a fault, you report it – it is easy as that. We will then look for the best solution to correct the defect, hire a repair service and, if necessary, notify the president of the association.

You can also choose to inform the president straightaway. However, it will take longer and be more complicated. First of all, you have to coincide with him/her… and then the president will get in touch with us. Let’s make things easy!

If a meeting is held and you are appointed as the new president, your job is to act as the representative of the community of property owners and our intermediary from that point on. Do not worry - we will work hard to make it easy for you. We regularly hold meetings for presidents in which we provide relevant information and go through every single detail. Give us a call. See you at the next meeting for presidents.

First and foremost, you must never pay anyone for the service provided. We will pay all invoices corresponding to the repair/maintenance services carried out in the building (with the president’s approval). Distrust people who demand the immediate payment of a bill and don’t pay for the expenses if you are not sure. You can always get in touch with us – phone calls are better than making unnecessary and inappropriate payments.

The funds used for the proper functioning of the community are kept by us. We deal with all financial contributions from the owners to the community and we pay for the service provided by repairers, technicians, utility and insurance companies, elevator operators… By year end, we present the community accounts and the property owners decide what to do with the surplus: to return it to the owners, add it to the reserve fund (and save the money) or carry the surplus forward to the following year.

The community must set up a reserve fund to keep the savings. The fund is only used when there is an emergency or extraordinary alterations/improvements must be carried out or similar measures must be taken. The reserve fund is kept in a bank account in the name of the community.

Important points are dealt with at the General Assembly, which is held once a year. However, the president may call for an extraordinary meeting in case of important and urgent matters.
Only the items on the agenda shall be discussed and voted on at the meeting. The president is the one in charge of including the items on the agenda considering our suggestions. Let us know if you wish to put forward a proposal. We will submit your message to the president and he/she will assess whether it can be included on the agenda for the next meeting and, if necessary, call for an extraordinary meeting.