Know what rights you have when renting a student room
Every year many students move away from their habitual residence to begin their university studies. There are those who have the option of being able to live in the house of a relative who lives in the city where they are going to move, however, many of them have to look for a rental apartment or rent a room in a shared apartment.
From Legálitas we remind you of the most important aspects that you must take into account when formalizing the rental contract in each of the cases, and we review what rights you have when renting a room.
Tenants: Doubts about renting rooms
Can you be kicked out of a rented room? What rights do you have when you rent a room? We have consulted the General Consumers Association, ASGECO Confederation, which recommends protecting the rights of both tenants and owners in the event of renting rooms and thus protecting both against any doubts that may arise during the contracting process.
Owners: How to rent a room in my house
If you need to increase your income, either to save, to go on vacation, to not get so close to the end of the month or to treat yourself, you can rent a room in your house and earn money month after month . So if you don’t like the idea of living with another person in your own home and you have a room or living room that you don’t use , you can put it up for rent to get more out of it and an economic benefit.
Renting a room is a trend that helps both families and young people to earn extra income and share the costs of a home that, if not, they would not get the most out of. And although in this article we refer to renting a room in a house, everything we detail is valid whether you rent one or several rooms in your home, as long as it is your habitual residence. If you rent it to several people because you have two or three free rooms, you must make a contract for each of the rentals .
Although if your situation is different and you do not live in the house you want to rent, we recommend that you visit this other guide where we explain everything that tenants and owners need to know about renting a home .
How to choose the tenant
If you have made the decision to introduce a new tenant to your house, you have to publish the ad and make your offer known . To do this, you have several possibilities:
- You can put the ad on an Internet portal or specific room rental applications , advertise it on social networks or go to a company to manage it for you.
- Although, on the other hand, if you know someone who is interested in renting and you consider that they are a good candidate, you can propose the offer directly , without intermediaries.
The way in which you make your offer known will determine the profile of the tenant . You’re not going to find the same audience if you put your ad on a youth-specific internet application as you would if you did it through a real estate company or through word of mouth among friends and family. What you must bear in mind is that when renting a room there are two fundamental aspects, one is the rental contract and the other is the choice of your new tenant .
Think that you are going to live with this person practically 24 hours a day, so do not be in a hurry and make the decision evaluating all possible aspects. A bad choice can turn coexistence into an ordeal . Therefore, to choose the candidate with whom you can best get along and live, you must consider all the pros and cons of each age group and the different profiles. That is, you have to think about what it would be like to live with a 21-year-old, a 30-year-old or a 45-year-old depending on the possible profiles of candidates who have responded to your offer.
Before making any decision, it is important that you have a first face-to-face contact with the candidate(s). The objective of this first meeting is for you to get an idea of his lifestyle, whether he studies or works, his hobbies and what his day-to-day life is like.
rental type
Depending on your needs and the profile of people to whom you are willing to rent a room, we can distinguish two types of leases :
- If you only need a little money on an occasional basis because an unforeseen event has arisen, you can temporarily rent your room to tourists who come on vacation for one or two weeks. Or do it only during the school year, between the months of September and June, for students.
- On the other hand, you can rent a room to people who have moved to your city or who want to rent for a longer period of time , but do not have enough money to pay the free market rent.
Room in a shared apartment: Rental contract for a home between several
A single lease agreement must be formalized between all the tenants and the property, which may be temporary if it is for a single school year or for habitual residence, when the purpose of this is to satisfy the permanent housing need of the tenants.
In this sense, an express solidarity agreement is not necessary when the content of the contract shows that this is the will of the contracting parties. For example, if there is an agreed rental unit, it is not necessary for the contract to contemplate the distribution of the dwelling so that its use is presented as unique and indivisible.
Right to use common areas
If you rent a room with the right to use common areas, a separate lease contract will be formalized from that of the rest of the occupants of the house, whose obligations and rights will bind you solely and exclusively to the landlord.
In either case, it is essential that you bear in mind that the formalization of the lease contract in writing is essential to be able to defend your rights in addition to recognizing your obligations.
What should the rental contract contain?
In the rental contract must appear:
- Identification data of the parties (lessor and lessee).
- Address for notification purposes.
- Address and description of the object of the contract (flat, chalet, room…).
- Supplies and similar expenses that will be passed on to the tenant (ordinary community fee, rubbish fee, etc.).
- Rental price.
- Duration of the contract. If it is temporary in response to the study period or is going to be more permanent, so that a regular home lease can be considered.
Other aspects that can be included in the rental contract
In the event that furniture is included in the rent of the room, it is advisable to include an annex, signed by the parties, that exactly lists the furniture and fixtures, describing them in detail if they have a special value or are new, such as, for example, in the case of household appliances.
It is also common for the owner to include a specific clause that regulates certain rules of coexistence in relation to the use of common rooms with the rest of the occupants, even expressly mentioning the prohibition of access to the home or room by from third parties (relatives, partner, friends) who are not part of the contract. The purpose is to avoid possible conflicts motivated by coexistence during the term of the rental , although the validity of this type of limitation is doubtful.
As an additional guarantee, the lessor requires a deposit from the tenant of the room, in addition to the payment of a bond in accordance with current legislation, as well as that the parents or guardians respond as joint guarantors with their assets and present rights and in future, in order to guarantee compliance with the economic obligations of the contract.