Some advice on renting a flat in Madrid

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The cost of living in Madrid is between 700-800 euros, of course depending on your way of living. As for the apartment, here’s some advice.

1. Don’t rent it through internet; it is better to come here first, stay at a hostel and dedicate the first week for searching the flat that will be convenient for you. If you want to share, the cost of renting one room vary between 250 (that is the cheapest that I saw) and 400 euros (there are some more expensive than this, but for this amount of money you can find something of a really good quality and in the city center; it is not really worth paying more).
2. Sometimes a good way to find a flat is just to take a walk through the street and call the number on the announcements you find when you pass by the buildings.
3. Ask the owner about everything. Most of the flats don’t have internet, and you have to contract it on your own. You will need a Spanish bank account for it, and for the bank account you will need your NIE (Spanish identification number for foreigners) or your passport. If you are from the European Union, it is not such a problem – you should be able to open a bank account with just your passport, but if you are from outside the EU they will most probably ask for your NIE. It is definitely easier to just ask the owner to contract the internet himself and add the monthly bill for it to the price of the rent. Also, don’t forget to ask for the bills – the monthly cost of water, electricity and gas is about 20 euros per person. Another important thing are the night buses; try to get to know if any of them stop near your house.
4. Make sure that all the things that you agreed to with your landlord are included in the contract before you sign it. Most of the people rent flats for a whole year and ask for a one month deposit before you move in, which they will give back to you when you move out, if you don’t break the conditions of the contract. If you want the apartment for just a few months, make sure how much time before moving you have to tell the owner – usually it is one month in advance, so that gives them time to look for somebody else and they will give you back your deposit.
5. When you make the payment, make sure that you keep the receipt. Believe me, in some cases it might save your skin.

As for me, personally I was looking for an apartment that would be located relatively close to the center, because it is simply more comfortable. And of course, the closer to the center you are, the higher are the prices. A piece of advice: try to avoid the main streets; sometimes if you go just two blocks away from the main street, the price might drop even about 200 euros.

Usually it takes a few days to find a good place, so don’t get impatient and don’t give up – eventually you will find something great!

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