Getting a rental apartment has become a contest: here's what you need to do to win it.

BarcelonaThe experience of renting an apartment in Barcelona is stifling. But it's especially so for one party, who sees how the enormous imbalance between the scarce available supply and the infinite demand leaves them with zero negotiating power and, therefore, less room to avoid excessive or even abusive clauses.

For legal purposes, nothing has changed: tenant and owner sign mutually agreed-upon terms, but in practice, the balance is clearly unbalanced: while the tenant strives to simply visit the apartment, the owner can impose endless requirements on applicants, often pushed by an intermediary with the incentive of profit. The plummeting number of contract signings has also placed agencies in a difficult situation: with a less dynamic market—curbed by price regulations—they have less income, and each new transaction is an opportunity to maximize profits.

"Even if you know the owner, if there's anything wrong, you should let us know. Because you hired us, and we wouldn't want any misunderstandings about things not working properly," says a real estate agent on the day of the contract signing. For half an hour, she'll break down a series of requirements that the tenant must sign, and which they may not be aware of, such as the impact of the property tax (IBI) on the tenant, one of the few ways to increase the price of a rent subject to the cap. Or the purchase of mandatory insurance. "We ask you to sign it," says the agent.

However, none of this is legally binding—forcing the tenant to sign the insurance is downright illegal—but the tenant is generally not in a position to refuse: if they do, they know they'll lose the apartment. These are just some of the surprises that the process of looking for a rental apartment holds.Companies He's experienced it firsthand and made it to the end. Here's all you need to do to maximize your chances:

Set alerts and have your documentation ready.

"When we publish a rental ad, there are 2,000 or 3,000 people who receive it because they have the alert activated," Gaëlle Esqué of the Flat Hunter Barcelona real estate agency explains to ARA. Portals like Idealista warn candidates of what awaits them: a wave of applications that will possibly result in the ad remaining on the platform for only a few hours. The best apartments don't last long, but they don't even hang: real estate agencies place them with previous candidates who already meet the owners' demands. This opens up another, more direct avenue: presenting themselves to an agency in person is an option worth considering.

If you find an ad that fits your needs, it's best to call right away and ask to see it as soon as the series of visits begins. Esqué therefore recommends sending a cover letter so that the initial selection can be made before visiting the apartment. "Messages should be very explanatory and positive, introducing yourself a little," says this real estate agent, who suggests including habits, customs, and tastes.

It's also advisable to prepare all the required documentation for this type of process in advance: photocopies of your ID, your last two or three pay stubs, and your employment contract. This allows you to be at work when you visit the apartment: if you like it and want to keep it, you can send all the documentation immediately. "Adjust to the hours, as they can take you right away. Agencies plan their schedules around several apartments they have, and if viewings are from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., it's best to adapt," she adds.

Prepare for a casting

In the two processes in which he has participated,CompaniesThe apartments were priced at less than €1,100 and had a surface area of less than 50 square meters, with only one bedroom and one bathroom. Both were in Barcelona. One of them had a kitchen integrated into the dining room but also had parking and a storage room, allowing its price to exceed a thousand euros per month. On the day of the viewing of the latter, a weekday early in the morning, the real estate agent was waiting for us accompanied by two other people who happened to be the owners. The viewing was not only a showing of the property, but also an assessment of us, the candidates.

"If you're a couple, show what's relevant: that you've shared long periods of time or trips together. If you live separately, sharing a flat, you can say that one of you has been mostly living at the other's house for the past six months. You need to see stability. Explain who you are, what you do, where you're from. Search. Search. Coincidentally, one of our grandmothers was from the owner's hometown. Point for us. We didn't know, but we were competing with five other couples.

During the visit, Esqué recommends being proactive. "You can ask questions without making demands or complaints, such as: 'This isn't painted. Are you planning to paint it?' or 'Is the existing furniture important to the owners?'" she explains. And when you decide you want the flat, you can discuss it assertively and let them know that you already have the dossier with the documentation prepared. "You can always ask questions about the owner: it's good to want to know who they are or even meet them. If he's not there, you can offer to meet him," Esqué says.

Two months' deposit and a penalty for leaving

The day after visiting the apartment that had parking and a storage room, we were scheduled to meet at the real estate agency to discuss the terms of the contract: "How long have you been living together? Why did you choose Sant Andreu?" asked the agent who helped us. They added one:

This process took about half an hour. After answering the usual questions to give the agency even more confidence, the details (and also the surprises) arrived. The first was the deposit: Article 36 of the Urban Leasing Law limits it to one month, but also opens the door to additional guarantees "freely" agreed between the parties, equivalent to two months at most. That's what they asked for.

Article 11 of this law sets out another obligation for the tenant: at least six months of permanence in the apartment and a minimum 30-day notice of departure. Now, for practical purposes, this obligation of permanence The rent ends up being higher because the regulations themselves allow for tenant penalties: for each year of the contract remaining, they must pay a monthly rent. For a €1,000 rental, if the tenant is forced to leave, the landlord can demand €4,500. "It depends a lot on the landlord; they may not end up asking for it," he explained.

Other demands

"I think the owners liked you, but in the other, better-positioned couple, he's a policeman, a civil servant, and that puts him in a good position. That's why we wanted to ask if you'd be willing to put up a guarantor," the real estate agent told us. Our combined net salary was four times the monthly rent. "If you're self-employed, you should prepare the last three years of earnings and your tax return. I was about to rent a temporary apartment to a DJ, but he'd been getting a lot of traction for three months. The owner asked for a guarantor, and the DJ didn't like it," Esqué adds.

Keep in mind that from the day you sign the contract, you can be charged for the rent, even if you don't move in until the following month. Some agencies also charge a proportional share of the gas, water, and electricity bills. "You'll have to pay for the water and electricity bills for the remaining 12 days of the month. You'll be charged the proportional amount of the bill," they explained to us during the final check-in process for the other apartment, located in Poblenou. Even if you don't live there, you'll be responsible for them. The cost of tenant liability insurance starts at around 70 euros a year and up, depending on the size of the apartment, its location, and the surroundings.

Sign the contract and file a claim later.

If the urgency of renting the apartment forces you to make a quick decision, keep in mind that signing the contract doesn't mean you lose any rights. For example, if you sign a rental contract with a higher price than the one required for the apartment type, you can file a claim after the legal rent is applied.

With keys in hand, as the real estate agent who accompanied us to view the apartment in Poblenou advised, you have the right, within a certain period of time—usually stated in the contract and about 30 days—to report any damage to the apartment, or even a damaged bell tower. If you don't do so, these items can be claimed when you leave the property, and their repair will be deducted from your deposit. Another factor to consider is whether the locks have been changed since the previous tenant left. If so, some people prefer to renew it.