9 Best Housing Platforms in Barcelona for Students & Expats
March 6, 2023
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Finding a home to rent depends highly on location, the real estate market situation, and the supply of available rental properties.
We wish someone would do this job for us and that overnight, we would have a perfect match, and we would not have to spend endless hours searching, calling, saving links, and going to visits that waste our time.
I’m here to help you make your process more pleasant and change your mind about finding a flat in Barcelona since it is the beginning of a beautiful experience in your new home.
So, please, don’t be overwhelmed by all the comments from friends and the experiences of others who say that finding a flat is the worst thing that has ever happened to them.
In this article, I’ll tell you the best platforms to find a flat and all my best tips on how to use them. If you follow these recommendations and do your due diligence before forming your search, everything will be better!
And one more, you will be ready to enjoy Barcelona, the beautiful city that will welcome you with open arms and host many experiences!
Table of Contents ▼ ▶
1. Idealista
| Type of Platform | Intermediary |
|---|---|
| Languages | 18 |
| Minimum Price | 100€ |
| Maximum Price | 25,000€ |
| App | Yes |
Idealista is one of the best platforms for finding flats in Barcelona. You can filter by your budget limit, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, square meters, and location.
These filters allow your search to be much smoother, you can even filter by apartments with terraces, elevators, and if they have an exterior or interior view.
And you can even enable notifications for the specific filters you have set. They are essential to have since apartments come and go.
There is a lot of demand, and it is “a nightmare” to look for an apartment here, as in most of the big cities in the world, because you learn that you have to grab the opportunities at the moment.
After all, if you don’t, they’ll be gone quickly! You learn this as you gain more experience and get more confident in knowing what to look for in an apartment.
I recommend you to be on top. Whenever you see a potential match, call immediately and schedule a visit. Please show interest in renting as soon as possible so that they don’t keep showing the apartment to more people, and you can win the offer.
⚠️ However, only pay a deposit after seeing the contract and the landlord’s title deed.
2. Fotocasa
| Type of Platform | Intermediary |
|---|---|
| Languages | 4 |
| Minimum Price | 100€ |
| Maximum Price | 6,000€ |
| App | Yes |
Fotocasa is another well-known online real estate platform for finding a property in Barcelona. It offers a wide range of apartments for sale or rent in different regions of Spain.
Fotocasa is one of Spain’s largest real estate portals, with over 1 million listings and a network of over 10,000 real estate agencies and professionals.
It has a high reputation. You would want to navigate it constantly when looking for an apartment since many people I know have found their place there.
3. Habitaclia
| Type of Platform | Intermediary |
|---|---|
| Languages | 6 |
| Minimum Price | 300€ |
| Maximum Price | 5,000€ |
| App | Yes |
Habitaclia is a reputable and reliable platform that will help you find the best properties for sale or rent in Spain.
It has a user-friendly interface, and a range of features make the process easy to use and navigate. It is intuitive and offers tools such as advanced search filters, maps, and alerts.
You can look for an apartment by location, price, and many other criteria and have the option to save a search and set up alerts. You get notified if a new opportunity or property with your desired criteria enters the platform.
Also, it has a network of over 1,600 real estate agencies and professionals that use its platform for marketing their properties. Therefore, this platform is excellent for real estate professionals since it offers advertising, lead management, and data analytics.
4. Badi
| Type of platform | Intermediary |
|---|---|
| Languages | 2 |
| Min price | 970€ |
| Max price | 2,770€ |
| App | Yes |
Badi Homes offers personalized turn-key apartments. Instead of generic accommodation, each Badi Homes apartment is custom-designed and includes everything you need with intentional design and prime locations.
You can rent any room for at least 32 nights, as long as 11 months, renewable at the end of your contract, and the entire pre-booking process can be done online.
This means you can live with other people. And Badi selects your potential roomate during a personalized application process to ensure every roommate fits in according to interests, lifestyle, and age.
Also, Badi takes care of every extra service you can have. Finding a cozy shared apartment in a great location in Barcelona is very convenient.
5. Erasmusu by Spot a Home
| Type of platform | Intermediary |
|---|---|
| Languages | 8 |
| Min price | 220€ |
| Max price | 500€ |
| App | No |
This application is very convenient because you can find apartments, Studios, Student Residences, and Rooms for rent in Barcelona.
This platform might be helpful since the company has been customer-oriented since its beginnings. Erasmusu solves problems for the student community as the company has emerged very curiously.
It originated when Emilio and Javier, two friends from high school in Murcia, decided to start a social network for Erasmus students in the summer of 2008. Then, an entire online community was created that later received the support of large investors and is now part of Spotahome.
From there, Erasmusu became the largest international online student community in Europe. 📚
6. Uniplaces
| Type of platform | Intermediary |
|---|---|
| Languages | 9 |
| Min price | 270€ |
| Max price | 9,000€ |
| App | Yes |
This platform offers many different kinds of properties, and their listings include authentic photos and videos of verified places. You can search their intuitive website by price, property type, house features, and rules, so you don’t necessarily have to visit them.
You can choose between sharing a room with flatmates, getting your private bedroom in a shared apartment, getting a studio to have the whole place to yourself, or renting an entire apartment.
The great thing about Uniplaces is that it makes you choose the accommodation you want depending on who you are and your preference.
You can specify if you’re a student, a digital nomad, a professional, a group, or a family. This way, Uniplaces can ensure they offer you the best options according to your profile.
7. Sh Barcelona
| Type of platform | Real State Agency |
|---|---|
| Languages | 11 |
| Min price | 1,450€ |
| Max price | 10,000€ |
| App | No |
ShBarcelona is a real estate agency that offers a catalog of quality tourist apartments on its website for a comfortable stay in Barcelona.
They have various services, such as:
- Seasonal rental apartments available from 32 days to 11 months, including fully furnished and equipped apartments, lofts, and penthouses with flexible and renewable contracts.
- Tourist accommodations to book from 3 to 32 nights.
- Long-term rentals, from 6 months to 5 or 7 years.
- Buy and sell apartments.
It is an ideal platform to keep an eye on since I always suggest having as many options as possible. Whether in specialized agencies, intermediaries, and owners. Everything works!
The good thing about hiring an agency service is that when you communicate with them, you define the characteristics of the apartment you are looking for, and they show you the options they have, guide you a little, and help you to close the contracts with the owner.
The downside is that they have limited offers because they only show you their properties even if they know other similar apartments from other agencies. In addition, the agency is more prone to give the owner the security that the tenant can fulfill the economic effort of renting an apartment rather than focusing on helping and doing the work for you.
And lastly, agencies have higher fees than usual, and you pay more upfront than when contacting a landowner.
Still, I recommend doing a mix of everything, from contacting agencies to looking into the portals. So you have more chances of finding the perfect flat for you.
FAQs
What documents do I need to rent in Barcelona?
The real estate agency in charge of the rental management will generally ask you for these three documents:
- Identity document. It can be the DNI, the NIE, the passport, or the residence card, but it must be in force.
- Last three pay slips. To prove that you have had regularity in your payments and to prevent delinquency. If you are an entrepreneur, previous income tax return.
- Indefinite contract / Employment relationship that proves that you have cash flow.
BUT: If you still need to get your NIE, explain to the agency that you are in the process. They usually understand since it is widely known that this type of institutional process takes much time. Although it depends on the agency, some will not rent you with your passport.
BUT: If you are a student and don’t have a permanent contract, you will be asked for your parents’ income guarantee.
BUT: If you are starting to work and still don’t have three payslips, be prepared to be asked for more deposit or to pay a full year’s rent, some agencies ask for this. You don’t have to do it, and it is not advisable. Just keep this in mind if left with no options.
Also, by law, the agencies must ask you for a one or two months deposit as a guarantee in case something is damaged; if you can’t pay for a month or another circumstance happens. At the end of the rental contract, if everything is ok, you get your money back (around three months later).
How Much Does it Cost to Rent in Barcelona?
You will hardly find rents between less than 600 euros, the minimum, for a decent apartment in a great neighborhood, moderate size and average furnished.
The more central you are, the higher the value will be. The minimum is 600 - 800 euros in good city neighborhoods, with access to the subway and decent characteristics.
Many people rent rooms. Some do it through Facebook, others through bady; Idealista also publishes rooms to lower costs if you live alone.
You also need to know what is the downpayment. Agencies usually ask for:
- Two months of rent.
- The current month of rent.
- Then, 10% of the total value of the rent for one year + VAT.
If we do the math, it results in almost four months and a half to enter the apartment.
Does rent usually include service charge in Barcelona?
Some apartments have hired services, and there are others you must contact on your own in your name.
Please take into account electricity costs since they are considerably high. Specifically in the months of a lot of heat when you must turn on the air and in the winter months, the heating. Then there are also community expenses and additional building maintenance fees, which vary depending on the building)
Lastly, you must have a Spanish account for other services like wifi, telephone, electricity, and water.
I hope this article has enlightened you on looking for apartments in Barcelona. I know it might be a tedious process. But Barcelona always has room and a spot for everyone. And if not, let us know in the comments which other questions you have. We’ll be happy to help you!
We also have other articles regarding looking for apartments in other Spanish cities, in case you’re interested:
