To rent an apartment without a job

Hi,

i am new here and don't know your rules yet :). But i realy need your help... We are french couple and we plan to move to Spain, to Tarragona. We look for apartment. We plan to rent from June for 3-4 months. But i have some questions and maybe you will help me with them:

1. We plan to rent apartment fron the middle of the month (let's say from the 26th od June). Is it possible in Spain? Or all rentals must be from the 1st of every month?

2. We are freelancers that means that we can not show employment contract. Can it work if we show bank statement that proves that we can pay the rent? If yes, will they require that it is a Spanish bank? Or will they accept French bank. We can not open an account with spanish bank without being registered in Spain.

3 Maybe you can advice relyable agency where we can rent an apartment :)

Thanks in advance for everyone who knows something ;)

Each apartment owner will have their own rules. Ususally in the summer months, only Saturday to Saturday for some, but you are talking long term (months), so it will be different (and possibly expensive). I have taken cheques from French couples before as security deposit (I believe it is illegal to issue a French cheque knowing it will bounce?) and they have paid funds direct into my Spanish account from their French account with no issues. If it is 3 or 4 months, it would be no different to my mind to having some people in over the winter for the winter months, and many of them have no permanent employment .

Mark

There cannot be any official rule that one must have employment or be required  to produce any form of proof of income/savings etc be able to rent an apartment  

When in the month you  can rent from and until,  would be a matter for you and the owner

i would suspect that in most jurisdiction it is a criminal offence to issue a cheque which one knows will bounce.  It certainly is in U.K.

Marksfish, johnzx thanks for your quick replies! Yes, unfortunately time when we come is not perfect....summer :(.  I know, that to show employment contract is not an obligation. But as far as i know in Spain the law protects tenant more and i can understand that the owner of the apartment will want secutity before he rents it out... Well, we will try with bank statement

If you only intend renting for around 3 months... You will be classed as a holiday maker (on vacation you don't require a NIE /Spanish bank account /Residence) ... Any  owner of a property would ask you to pay in advance for 1 month at a time... as a holiday maker does...the chances of any owner's giving anyone a rental contract with.. no employment /no Spanish bank account / no NIE would be Nil and against the law ...this due to. International Terrorist /  illegal immigration ... the Spanish police have got to be notified and passport's details taken of holiday maker's and long term renter's...this is also the Law all over the EU..all this information is on the NET.

Under European Union banking rules geographical or national borders don't exist. A French bank is just as valid in Spain as a Spanish bank. I am sure you won't have any difficulties renting for the period you want with or without employment proof.

Mickyfinn thanks! I was also thinking like this :)

Mickyfinn of course borders don't exist within the EU Banking industry... But unfortunately inter bank charges do...  or have I been missing out on something by using the likes of money corp / XE money exchange...they will still have to pay up front for the rent as a holiday makers ..with no NIE or Residents card ...you will also find that you need a Spanish Bank account to obtain them ...also in Spain you need proof of income ( money laundering ) /NIE/Spanish Bank account to obtain a rental contract .

It is against the law for EU banks to charge transaction charges between Eurozone banks. I transfer money all the time between French and Spanish banks without cost. It's one of the great benefits of living in the Eurozone.

Of course if you use Sterling charges always apply.

It would depend on the owner of the property the OP wishes to rent. Spanish institutions such as bank that rent for 3 years will always require proof of income. However if the rental is short term most private owners I suspect would not ask for proof of income. A deposit will of course always be charged.

To open a Spanish bank account an NIE is usually required but an address in France or anywhere else is normally accepted.

Mickyfinn  ...I don't think so I recently transferred £185 ,000 from my UK bank ..into my Spanish bank I used Money corp to do the exchange and saved £3,000 on the deal....I also recently  sold one of my properties in the UK and it cost £85 just to transfer the money from the UK lawyers bank over to my bank in the UK  ...so I really don't understand how you can transfer money from a French bank account or any other EU bank without being ripped off with bank charge's.

Windtalker your avatar is so appropriate. I think you simply like an argument. Have you not heard of SEPA?

As of November 21, 2017, bank transfers will be immediate and free for users who have bank accounts within the European Union. The European Central Bank (ECB) had planned to introduce the TIPS (Target Instant Payment Settlement) system by November 2018 but it will finally be launched a year earlier.

be. Brussels Express.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Euro_Payments_Area

SEPA (Single European Payment Area) Funds Transfers enable you to makepayments in Euros fee-free to anywhere within the Single European Payment Area. SEPA Funds Transfers are available across 32 countries in and around Europe.

Sepa EU payment ..is only for small amounts of money and is only available to euro country's...so if you are British  OAP  paid in £££ ..or you have a large amount of money to transfer fro anywhere in the EU Sepa is as good as chocolate watch....now let's get back on track how are these renter's going to pay the electric / water bill / IBI without a Spanish bank account /NIE.

Windtalker. They can pay all bills in cash to the owner or the agent

My son has allowed a friend to live rent free in an apartment.  For five years the friend has paid the utility bills in cash each month 

Or, as I do for winter renters, you include the bills in your prices . I know it is difficult to know if they will leave the air con on all day while out and with windows oopen, but you can factor some of that in. If I had a guaranteed 4 month rental, I would forego a couple of hundred Euro if need be.

Windy

I started a reply to this topic by trying to assist the OP who wants to rent in Spain and by referring to bank transactions involving France and Spain within the Eurozone as being free of charge with French banks having equal status in Spain.

It is you who have gone off topic and enlarged the subject giving us the dubious benefit of your own experience, mentioning British OAP's  pensions and irrelevantly beginning to discuss large Sterling property transactions between UK and Spain and informing us how much they cost you. 

The limit for free SEPA transactions is currently €15k. More than sufficient I suspect for the OP to rent for 3 months, even in Catalonia.

The OP does not need an NIE to rent a property in Spain for this period. The utilities will remain in the property owners title and form part of the contract arrangement. Transferring utility titles costs in excess of €900.

That's the way to do it ...no passports / no N IE / no Bank account / no ID..just a suitcase full of money and no questions asked ...you have got to be joking...in the UK it is against the Law ..as it is in Spain to rent a property out to  illegal immigrant's... in the EU and the UK the Landlord is held responsible for background checks and so on ...the UK is going one step further ...and are in the process of introducing a Law ...to seize the properties of rouge Landlords under the proceeds of crime ...it is now Law in the UK that all Landlord's and the properties that they have for rent are on a national  registered ..with government approved companies....(Markfish I think you should get your head looked at).

I think a reliable agency help you a lot about renting an apartment and also solve the problem of banking.