There are two distinct rental markets in Spain: the long term rental market and the holiday (or short term) market. Below you can find further information about long and short term rental.

Long Term Rental
A number of combined factors account for the fact that the long term rental market in Spain is not very attractive at the moment.

While this can be partially explained by Spaniards’ personal preference of owning – as opposed to renting – their property, several market conditions also contribute to Spain’s weak long term rental market.

A sign of this ailing market are the many thousandsof square meters in apartment space in Spain currently sitting vacant and unused, waiting for certain conditions to take a more favorable swing. This is due mainly to the slow judiciary process involved in the eviction process; a situation where tenants refuse to both pay or move out can easily drag on for a year or more.

This scenario plays out often enough to drive many owners to the conclusion that leaving their properties vacant until market conditions improve is a more convenient option than getting involved in a potentially complicated and drawn-out legal battle with uncooperative tenants.

Measures have recently been taken in order to reanimate the long term rental market, such as the addition of new courts in Madrid and Barcelona to expedite the eviction process in the case of nonpaying tenants down to three months.

Holiday & Short Term Rental
The holiday or short term rental market in Spain is an altogether different case than the long term rental market. This market is healthy and has remained strong even as the property ownership side of the real estate sector has begun to cool down after its impressive ten year boom.

Of the more than 50 million tourists that visit Spain each year a growing number are choosing vacation rentals over accommodation in hotels, especially in the case of groups that travel together and prefer the conveniences of private lodging.

What differentiates the holiday rental market from the long term rental market is primarily the duration of contracts: short term contracts last a maximum of eleven months while long term contracts last a minimum of one year, with the right of the tenant to extend it to a maximum of five years.

There is a vast selection of holiday rental in Spain troughout, from apartments in urban settings to remote countryside cottages to luxurious sea-side villas.