Student housing in Spain
How student housing works in Spain, including providers, queues, deposits, contracts and practical risks to check before signing.
Read the complete Spain study abroad guide.
Housing
Most students share a flat, a piso compartido, and rooms are advertised and filled quickly in September. Madrid and Barcelona are tight and expensive; Valencia, Seville, Granada and Salamanca are neither.
University residences and colegios mayores exist, are more expensive than a shared room, and include meals. Apply early if you want one.
Expect a deposit, the fianza, of one or two months rent. Insist on a written contract, and insist that your landlord will register you on the padron. A landlord who refuses the empadronamiento is a landlord who will cost you your TIE appointment, and this is common enough that you should ask before you view.
Never transfer money for a flat you have not seen. Fake listings appear every August in Madrid and Barcelona, aimed precisely at arriving international students.
Source: https://www.inclusion.gob.es/
Common questions
What should international students know about housing in Spain?
Shared flats are the norm. Insist the landlord will register you on the padron before you sign.