How do I find a place to rent?

Most homes in Spain are found on a few big property websites and viewed in person with the owner or an agent. The market is tight in the big cities, so arrive with your paperwork ready and expect to move fast.

How tight is the market?

idealista, Spain’s biggest property portal, says asking rents rose 5.6% in the year to September 2026, although they fell 0.4% in the last quarter. Its spokesperson said the supply of homes to rent keeps shrinking. Expect few homes, many viewers and quick decisions in Madrid, Barcelona, Palma and Málaga.

The 2-bed figures are the mid-range rents our calculators use. See Cost of living and Choosing a city for neighbourhoods.

Where homes are listed

• idealista, Fotocasa and Habitaclia carry most homes let by agencies and private owners. Filter by area, price, bedrooms, lift (ascensor), air conditioning and pets
• Rents are per month. Check whether community fees (gastos de comunidad) and bills are included
• idealista’s ads can be read in English and other languages
• Agencies (inmobiliarias) also list homes on their own sites and in their shop windows
• Rooms in shared flats are listed on the same portals and on flat-share sites

Who pays the agent?

Since the Housing Law (Ley 12/2023) came into force on 26 May 2023, the costs of finding a tenant and drawing up the contract must be paid by the landlord. The LAU (the Urban Leases Act) now says these costs can’t be passed to you “directly or indirectly”, under any name. An agency may only charge you for an optional extra service you asked for in writing, after being told it was optional and what it costs. If an agent asks for a fee “for the paperwork”, ask what law allows it.

What landlords ask for

• ID: your passport, and your NIE (foreigner identity number) or TIE (residence card) once you have one. idealista has said you can sign with just a passport. See NIE, TIE and padrón
• Your Spanish employment contract and recent payslips (nóminas); some ask for your last tax return too
• If you’re self-employed or not yet working, savings statements, or a bank-backed security (aval bancario) or a personal backer (avalista)
• A Spanish bank account for the rent: it must be paid by electronic means, such as a bank transfer. See Opening a bank account

What the law limits. The deposit (fianza) is one month’s rent on a long let. A landlord can add an extra security of up to two months’ rent (one month on a temporary let). Since 8 October 2026 a landlord can’t make you take out rent-default insurance (seguro de impago). They can’t ask for more than one month’s rent in advance either. Details are in Renting: deposits and contracts.

Viewings and offers

Viewings are arranged with the owner or the agent. Check heating and air conditioning, damp, noise, the lift, internet coverage and the energy certificate. Then ask for the draft contract and the community fees. Never pay to “reserve” a home you haven’t seen: see Rental scams.

Temporary or long-term let?

A long let for your main home (vivienda habitual) gives you up to 5 years of security, or 7 if the landlord is a company. Many landlords prefer short “seasonal” lets. Since 8 October 2026 a temporary let must be for a real temporary reason, such as a work posting or study away from your usual home, written into the contract. It lasts more than 31 days and normally no more than 12 months. If there is no genuine reason, the law treats it as a long let. This rule comes from an emergency decree that Parliament must still confirm If you are moving to Spain to live, you are usually looking for a long let.

Stressed areas and rent caps

A region can ask the Housing Ministry to declare a “stressed residential market area” (zona de mercado residencial tensionado). There, the rent on a new contract can’t be higher than the last contract on the same home in the past 5 years, plus its annual update. Large landlords (grandes tenedores) are capped by a state reference price index. Adverts must now show the reference index in these areas.

• Catalonia: the Generalitat’s list covers 302 municipalities and about 6.1 million people after its July 2026 review
• Basque Country, Navarre, Galicia (A Coruña, Santiago de Compostela) and parts of Asturias also have declared areas
• The lists we checked had none in the Madrid, Valencia, Andalusia or Balearic regions. Check the Ministry’s quarterly list before you sign

Tenants in stressed areas can also ask for up to 3 extra years when the contract ends.