Hi everyone, Im sure this might not be the best place to post this but I cant find any other spain expats reddit, and iwas wondering if i could get some help from spanish people. I (21M) moved to spain to study and work and rented a shared room in valencia, the landlord seemed nice and we made a contract which we both signed and the room i rented looked fine (He asked for a 1500€ deposit which I didnt think much of thinking the spanish law would protect me), after 3 months of living there (rent was 420€ and bringing my computer in, in the summer the room started getting super hot and the conditioner broke, i bought my own fan and said it was fine since the landlord didnt want to come check it out after messaging him every day for 2 weeks, after that the room started getting to 45 degrees celcius and it was unbarrable to live or sleep in (it had no windows inside nor outside), I informed the landlord that I was moving out (again just saw the message but no response, when the day of moving out came I tidied up the room and cleaned it and messaged the landlord about my deposit and ending of contract since i Informed him a month before I have lived there for almost 5 months at that point), he told me I need to sign a paper saying that I am leaving the room, he came saw the room and left, I asked him about my deposit and he said “until you sign the paper”, after 1 week I met him and signed it, and he stopped responding, I went to a lawyer and they told me since i signed the paper there’s nothing they can do, He scammed me of my deposit and stopped responding, and I apparently I cant do anything about it (according to lawyers I went to), this has completely ruined my time here in spain and I cant stop thinking about it. I am from morocco so not a very wealthy country but If he thought “oh its just another moro i can just scam him and leave” then it worked because I had too much trust in the spanish system, I have now moved to madrid but I can’t get it over my head how can someone easily scam people like that and why is that allowed in spanish law. 1 о

  • Nephht@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    That’s awful, I’m so sorry that happened to you. I can’t speak to the situation in Spain, but here in the Netherlands it’s super common for unethical landlords (which is many of them) to do their best to not pay back your deposit - it’s not about discrimination, it’s just greedy people trying to scam more money out of tenants in whatever way they can, regardless of where those tenants are from - though it is easier if they’re from anywhere abroad, as they are less likely to know the correct procedures and their rights.

    Horrible as it is, I hope you can find a way to let it go and enjoy the rest of your experience, don’t let him take more from you than he already has.

  • Primary-Bluejay-1594@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    You want r/AskSpain

    Rental law in Spain says that once you live somewhere for 6 months you can break the lease, but before that you’re at the whim of the landlord and whatever penalty they have for a broken lease. The law now also limits deposits to one month’s rent. It sounds like you signed a lease written to take advantage of foreigners who don’t know any better. You could speak to a lawyer (ask for recs in a Spanish sub) but not sure what can really be done now.

  • Todoslosplanetas@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    It is all over the media: Spanish people are not happy about having so much immigration from Morocco. However, that landlord is a complete jerk, no doubt. With the political and social situation in all of Spain the way it is now, you should be a lot more careful and less trusting, particularly in Madrid.