Let's talk about apartment hunting in Madrid
A few weeks ago, I got a comment on Tiktok in one of the videos that I posted about the English Language Assistant program. It's all about my experience with house hunting in Madrid.
First off, let me just say that looking for apartments and moving sucks. It's probably one of my most hated part of living abroad. It's stressful. There are landlords who don't reply and apartments that look good only in the pictures. Plus, doing it in the early days of summer, especially when there's a heat wave, makes it so much worse.
I've moved apartments several times because of location, price and overall condition of the place. In this post, I'll share about the places that I've lived in with as much detail as possible.
Before I moved to Spain last 2020, I met other people who were also participating in the program and they became my room mates. Luckily for us, they have friends who are already in Madrid at that time. They did the apartment viewing for us and all we had to do when we arrived was sign the contract, pay the deposit and rent, and then settle in.
We lived in a tiny apartment in Puerta del Angel for nine months. I paid 330€ for rent and utilities. The utilities were fixed so we made the most out of what we paid for, especially the heating during winter. We had a bathtub! Taking baths after the end of a stressful week was a nice treat.
The apartment came furnished but we didn't like most of it because they were old. I bought bedsheets and pillow covers for my own comfort. The electricity got cut off for several days too. The apartment manager let us stay in another apartment (that was owned by the same landlord) while they fix the issue. It made us think about the last time the apartment was checked and upgraded.
(The makeshift living and dining area leading to the small kitchen.)
We didn't have a proper living and dining space too. It was a balcony that was covered in glass windows. The kitchen was small and there was an existing mold issue that took months to fix.
Despite the issues, our friends came over a lot and we managed to fit a number of people. It was also the apartment where we got locked in because of the snowstorm that apparently was a super rare occurrence in Madrid.
We made so many memories in that apartment, but it was definitely too small and had a lot of issues that we all decided to move out.
(Unfortunately, I don't have photos of our second apartment but I have videos that I've stitched in this Tiktok post.)
When we moved out of our previous apartment, two of my room mates moved to other areas in the city. It was only me and one other room mate who decided to move together in a bigger apartment in Plaza Eliptica, which is in the south western part of Madrid. We lived with two other Auxes who we know.
I paid 300€ for rent every month. The apartment was bright and airy. The common areas, except for the kitchen, was spacious. The place had a proper living and dining area.
What I disliked about the apartment was the commute. It took longer for me to go to my school and back. I renewed in my school in Alcobendas and I had to switch to different lines three times. The area was also busy and a bit sketchy.
I think the only winning point for me was that the apartment was bigger. We hosted more people and some of them had no problems staying overnight. That's it.
The apartment was also fully furnished and there were extra dinnerware and blankets since it was the landlord's family apartment. He lived there with his family growing up. Some of the furnishings were pretty new and from Ikea. The landlord was nice, reasonable, and understanding, but he missed several of our requests.
We eventually moved out because of several reasons. Three of us moved to the south of Madrid to sublet some rooms for the summer.
The third apartment that I've lived in is problem my favorite. It's a three-bedroom apartment in Getafe, which is in the southern part of Madrid. The size was okay for three people. My room mates and I still had a proper living and dining area. The kitchen was spacious enough but definitely tight for when we did cooking parties with friends.
I had the biggest room in the apartment so I paid more for the space. I think it's only fair because I had a double bed, a big wardrobe with huge mirrors, and more than enough space for my stuff. It had an interior window and because we were on the top floor, light still comes in.
(I changed the layout of my room to its original placement because I figured this is better haha!)
The apartment was also furnished but there were some missing items. We had a TV! Haha Most of the stuff came from Ikea and we bought additional kitchen items from there. Of course, my room mate took it with him after we moved because it would be a shame to leave them behind.
(Most of the furnishings are from Ikea and they are relatively new. The landlords recently made some upgrades to the place and we were the first ones to rent it after.)
(We had a smart TV! that doesn't work sometimes lol)
Although the apartment was in Getafe, the commute, at least for me, was better than my previous years since my new school was in Atocha. I only had to switch twice. The metro was five minutes away by walking and the building was in between two bus stops. My commute took only more or less 35-45 minutes on good days when the Renfe isn't delayed. The grocery store is also a couple of minutes away by walking.
I paid 347€ for rent (water included) and 6.67€ for wifi. Electricity varied month per month because of usage and the season. We didn't pay for gas because our stove and heating were all electric.
If I renewed for another year, changed to a school in the south, and the rent remained the same, I would've stayed in this apartment.
The only downside to it was that it didn't have an elevator and we were on the top floor. It was a struggle moving in and out, and getting groceries too.
If you've watched my previous videos about the program, I mentioned about how Auxes don't get our stipends over the summer. It meant that I couldn't afford my rent for 3 months. So what my other room mate and I did was to find a "summer flat" where we stayed from June to September.
Depending on the area, rent during this time is cheaper. Utilities are cheaper too because gas and electricity are not used as much. There are plenty of listings available too because June is usually the month when students and some workers move out of the city. It was just hard to find a place that allows you to rent over the summer only.
(I had the biggest room in the apartment with an interior window. It was spacious but very hot during the summer.)
Anyway, our first summer apartment was close to our first apartment. The only catch was that the building didn't have an elevator and we were on the fourth floor. It was a pain moving all of our stuff. That's when I realized that I shouldn't have bought so many things during my first year haha I paid about 220 a month excluding utilities. When we moved out though, the landlord messed us up with the utilities. We got our deposits back but with a lot of ridiculous deductions. He was a sneaky dude.
My second summer apartment was a sublet in Getafe, which is in the southern part of Madrid. I only stayed there for June to July since I flew to Canada and stayed there for a month. I think I paid about 200€ including the utilities that I have consumed for a month.
For privacy reasons, I don't have pictures of the sublet because it's somebody's room and they're still renting it now.
My room mates and I mainly used Idealista to look for apartments. Most landlords put their WhatsApp numbers on their ads. It's best to send them a message and then call them because they usually don't answer messages through the Idealista chat or even WhatsApp. If you have limited Spanish like me, sit down in front of your laptop while on a call and use Deepl to translate. I find it to be more accurate than Google Translate.
Avoid agencies as much as you can because they usually charge an agency fee that is equivalent to a month's rent. You can't get that money back. If you go with an agency, you will be paying the non-refundable agency fee, the deposit, and the rent. If you are new to Spain, you will need more money to pay for all of this because again, the first stipend doesn't come out until the last week of October or sometimes even later.
The best times to look for an apartment is around June to July because so many people leave the city for the summer, especially university students and some workers. August is still an okay month but mind you, the competition is tight because it's when people start coming back. September is super late because classes start already.
Make sure to view the apartment first before committing to anything! It's important to see the nook and crannies in every room. You get to talk to your landlord and ask questions. Plus, you get to see the neighborhood. If the vibe is off, then move on to the next apartment.
Have a contract and make sure everything is clear before you sign it. Use a translator or ask a friend to interpret the terms for you. I once viewed two rooms in an apartment with landlords who are okay with verbal agreements. It was an immediate "nope" for me because they can always kick you out without warning or accuse you of anything.
Make sure that you can get an empadronamiento for your apartment. It's basically a legal document stating that you live in that apartment. You need it for your Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjeros (TIE) or your Foreigner's Identity Card.
Take pictures and videos of your room and the apartment before you move in. It's important to have visual evidence of the place just in case the landlord charges you of damages that were there before you moved in.
Contracts are usually for a year. Since Auxes don't receive their stipend of the summer, some landlords would allow you to sublet your room. It depends on what you and your landlord will on.
Don't buy too many things! The key to living abroad, especially if you move around a lot, is to be as minimalist as possible.
And that's it! I hope you picked up some tips from this post. If you have any questions about the English Language Assistant program, send me a message.
