How it all works

NIE: the foreigner's identity number

The NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero) is a personal number without which almost nothing gets done in Spain: without it you cannot open a bank account, set up internet, transfer the electricity and water accounts into your name, sign a long-term rental contract, buy property, or file residence-permit paperwork.

There are three ways to get an NIE: at the foreigners' police station once you are in Spain; at your country's consulate before you move (for example, when buying property); or it is issued automatically when a visa or residence-permit decision is granted. In the first two cases, most of the time goes not into the application itself but into waiting for an available appointment.

• Sort out your NIE before the deal, not after - the bank, the internet provider and the notary will all ask for it right away.
• Landlords renting out a flat almost always ask for an NIE, though some contracts are signed against a passport instead.
• Police appointments are booked online, and free slots appear irregularly.

Fianza y garantía adicional: rental deposits

Fianza is the mandatory deposit you pay when signing a rental contract. Under Spanish rental law it is one month's rent for a home, two for non-residential use. The landlord must deposit it with the region's housing authority (PROP, in the Valencian Community) and return it once the contract ends, minus any confirmed damage.

On top of the fianza, the landlord can ask for an additional guarantee (garantía adicional) - for long-term contracts it is capped at two months' rent, and in practice that cap is what most landlords use.

By law, PROP is supposed to return the fianza within a month of handing over the keys, but in practice it often takes longer - up to a month and a half.

• The fianza is returned; the booking/reservation payment is not - it counts toward the first rent payment instead.
• PROP's legal deadline is one month after the keys are returned; in practice it can stretch to a month and a half.
• Write the fianza amount and the refund details into the contract as their own line.

Aval: the guarantor

A Spanish landlord almost always asks you to prove your income: typically the household's combined income needs to be at least three times the rent (income ×3) - shown with an employment contract, recent payslips, a tax return, or a bank statement.

If the income falls short, a guarantor (avalista) is added to the contract instead - with proof of their own financial stability. A bank aval (a sum frozen in an account, which the bank guarantees to the landlord) is also possible: the money stays yours and is released once the contract ends, but without income in Spain it is usually not an option, since it needs an already-open local account with a track record.

If the landlord does agree to a bank aval instead of a guarantor, the typical amount in Valencia is three to six months' rent; the exact figure depends on the landlord and on the agency representing the property. Sometimes an aval is replaced by paying several months in advance, or by rent-payment insurance the landlord takes out.

• An aval is not a legal requirement but a deal term - it can be negotiated.
• Income at ×3 the rent is the most common threshold landlords set in Valencia; a guarantor is the more accessible alternative to a bank aval if you don't have income in Spain yet.
• The three-to-six-month range for a bank aval is common practice, not a guarantee - some properties need no aval at all.

Agency commission

By law, the landlord pays the agency fee when renting out a home - it cannot be passed on to the tenant. In practice, though, most agencies in Valencia still charge it to the tenant: they frame it as a separate service, because most landlords are not willing to pay the agency themselves.

That fee is typically one month's rent plus 21% IVA, and the electricity and water accounts are usually transferred into the tenant's name on top of it.

For a purchase, the agency's fee is traditionally a percentage of the property price and is usually built into the selling side's commission. Services unrelated to the deal itself are billed separately - residency support, insurance, opening a bank account, choosing a school. We quote those costs upfront, before starting the work.

• In practice the commission is billed to the tenant as a separate service rather than as brokerage between the two sides - most landlords are unwilling to pay the agency themselves.
• The typical amount is one month's rent + 21% IVA, plus transferring the electricity and water accounts into the tenant's name.
• Ask for a document for any amount you pay - a contract, an invoice or a receipt.

Timescales

Finding a rental in Valencia usually takes 2–3 weeks. Long-term rental prices are not seasonal, but the market does have "dead seasons" when supply and activity drop: August, the Christmas break (20 December - 7 January), Las Fallas in Valencia (1-19 March), and the Easter holidays (floating dates, March-April).

A suitable flat gets booked on the day of the viewing, so it pays to have your documents ready beforehand. After the booking, a few more days go into approving the tenant's profile, arranging non-payment insurance and preparing the contract - about a week on average from reservation to signing. A purchase takes longer: reserving the property and signing at the notary is usually one to three months apart, and if the buyer takes out a mortgage, the bank sets the pace.

• Renting: 2–3 weeks to find a place, about a week on average from reservation to signing.
• Market dead seasons: August, 20 Dec-7 Jan, 1-19 March (Las Fallas) and Easter - supply and the pace of deals drop in these windows.
• Buying: reservation, deposit contract, then the notary - usually one to three months.

Reserving a rental property

Once you have picked a property, you need to secure it with a reservation payment - a viewing alone guarantees nothing: a good flat in Valencia gets booked on the day it is viewed, and the next interested tenant can move faster.

The reservation payment is not refunded if you change your mind - it counts toward the first rent payment instead. That is different from the fianza, the guarantee deposit that is returned once the contract ends.

• A reservation is not a fianza: the fianza is returned after you move out, the reservation payment is not - it becomes part of the first rent payment.
• After the reservation, a few days go into approving the tenant's profile, arranging non-payment insurance, and preparing the contract.
• The exact amount and terms of the reservation are agreed with the agency before you pay it.

Non-payment insurance

Non-payment insurance (seguro de impago) protects the landlord against the risk of a tenant who stops paying: if that happens, the insurer takes over the payments and deals with the debtor.

The policy costs around 55% of one month's rent per year. The landlord usually pays for it, but that cost is sometimes passed on to the tenant instead - the exact terms are agreed individually when the contract is signed.

• Arranging the insurance is part of getting ready to sign, alongside approving the tenant's profile.
• By default the landlord pays for the policy, but it can be passed on to the tenant instead - check the terms for that specific property.

The process: renting

The sequence barely changes from one property to the next.

1. 1Enquiry: budget, district, dates, who is moving, pets, furniture requirements.
2. 2Shortlist: we send properties with the price, the terms and the documents the owner asks for.
3. 3Viewings - in person, or by video if you are not in Spain yet.
4. 4Reservation: the holding payment secures the property and counts towards the first payment.
5. 5Contract check: term, indexation, who pays the community fees and the IBI tax, termination terms.
6. 6Signing and handover: an inventory of the condition of the property and the meter readings.
7. 7After moving in: transferring the utility contracts and registering at the new address.

The process: buying

Buying takes longer than renting - two extra checks, legal and financial.

1. 1Choosing and checking the property: land registry extract (nota simple), charges, debts to the community, floor area matching the cadastre.
2. 2Making an offer and reserving the property.
3. 3Deposit contract (contrato de arras): it fixes the price, the deadline for going to the notary and the liability of each side.
4. 4Money and documents: NIE, a Spanish bank account and, where needed, mortgage approval.
5. 5Signing the deed before the notary (escritura pública) and handing over the keys.
6. 6After the deal: registering ownership, paying the taxes, transferring the utility contracts.

What we take care of

We work on the side of the client and never push a property: our job is to make sure you are not moving again a year from now. The catalogue on this site is built from our own Telegram channel and updates automatically, so it reflects the real market rather than a curated shop window.

• Selecting properties for your situation and checking the owner's terms before a viewing.
• Viewings, including by video while you are still outside Spain.
• Negotiating the price, the aval and the move-in dates.
• Going through the contract and explaining every clause before you sign.
• Support at the signing: with the owner when renting, at the notary when buying.
• Everything around the move: residency, Sanitas insurance, a bank account, schools and courses, town hall registration.