Couple of questions about long term rentals

[nikad]

Thanks for the replies. So what's the normal process when you want to negotiate with the owner. Do you have to do the reservation plus deposit BEFORE you can negotiate?

You should have only put down the reserva and made sure it mentioned it was ad referendum. Then negotiate. But by paying the deposit you shot yourself in the foot.

 

[Davidglen77]

Honestly, the whole thing about paying a "reserva" to start negociating a rental contract is CRAP!!!!!!! You are free to back out of any deal you want, as long as you don't sign papers that you are going forward. Those are risks of any sales job, people will enquire, you'll have to spend time negotiating, and sometimes deals close and sometimes they do not. Unfortunately some inmobiliarias think they can charge you just for talking to them!!

 

[ndcj]

For the OP, there's nothing to stop you offering a contract that allows you to leave with X days notice with no penalty at the reserva stage. If you and the landlord cannot agree on the terms of the contract within the time frame provided in the document, then the reserva is canceled and you are entitled to your money back.

The rental law does not say anywhere you cannot terminate your contract, so I am not sure what you mean here. The fact that people are used to standard contracts does not mean you cannot have a different one written. This is a private negotiation and none of what the OP mentions is against any law...

Right, you can make an agreement to be permitted to terminate the contract early. I was correcting the blanket proposition that it's a private negotiation and the two parties can agree to whatever they want. There are legal minimums that you cannot contract out of.

For instance, the OP can make an agreement with the landlord to be able to leave on one day's notice. However, an agreement that said he had to pay 4 months rent to leave after 6 months would be unenforceable because you cannot contract out of the law.

 

[Bajo_cero2]

If you want to rent an apartment through a real state agent, to try to pay less to them is an awful strategy.

Be careful, there is a common fraud regarding reservas. If they ask for too much money, like they did, for reserva, they don t care about renting the apartment later because they already have your money.

When you ask the money back, they start a criminal prosecution denouncing threats.

So, if you made a reserva then you have to pay the real state agency the 2 months they asked you. Otherwise, you shouldn´t made it.
Nowadays it is normal, but still abusive, that they ask for 2 months of commission.

You don´t need to have a clause regarding finishing before the 2 years the contract because it is on the law. The renting law is a "public order" law. It means that any clause against it, it´s considered not written. It also means that even a clause is not in the contract, it is enforceable if it is in the law.

You can leave any time just notifying the owner with some time in advance by carta documento. If you leave before the 6 months, you have to pay until the 6th month even you are not there. If you leave later, you loose the deposit. That´s why you shouldn´t give them more than 1 month deposit.

Regards