How to Find Short Term Accommodation in Barcelona: Tips for Digital Nomads
Swapoffi
05 Sep
This post was written as part of a collaboration between Swapoffi and the Facebook group Barcelona Digital Nomads. Learn more about collaborating with Swapoffi.
On August 28th 2023, Swapoffi was delighted to have James Ferguson, long term Barcelona resident and Admin from the Facebook Barcelona Digital Nomads group, as our guest on a live Facebook chat.
In 2021, Barcelona became the first city in Europe to ban short term private accommodation in a bid to stop locals being priced out of their own homes. Or, as the New York Times described it Barcelona takes on Airbnb, going on to say:
The ban, which took effect on August 6th 2021, sets Barcelona apart as the only major city in Europe to have forbidden short-term private room rentals, even as it continues to allow the renting of entire apartments — so long as the owner of the property holds the appropriate license.
James was a member of the Barcelona Digital Nomads group on Facebook when he grew tired of seeing ‘scammers’ trying to rent short term accommodation without tourist licences to digital nomads who were new to the city and unaware of the change in law. “There was a lot of good information on the group, so I didn’t want to stop that. I offered to become an Admin to protect people”.
That’s when I came across Swapoffi and thought, what a good idea! Swap homes instead of paying for them. Once you take money out of the equation, scammers disappear.
What is the Ban on Short Term Private Accommodation?
“If you rent a property such as a short term apartment in Barcelona for less than 32 days, you need a tourist licence” James explains. “If you rent a property without the tourist visa, you could be fined up to €60,000. An additional problem is that a tenant might sublet a property without the owner’s permission. The new tenant is not covered for insurance if anything goes wrong and the landlord could incur the fine although they didn’t know anything about it!”
“It’s tempting for people to try accommodation scams. The average wage in Barcelona is €1050 per month yet it costs €600 to rent a room. People in their 30s and 40s cannot afford to leave home due to the cost of rent and house prices, so you can see why this law has come into play.”
What does this mean for digital nomads and remote workers who want to rent a cheap apartment in Barcelona and work remotely?
“It’s safer to use Airbnb and Booking.com for short stay apartments in Barcelona so you are covered” James recommends. “If you see an ad for property, check with Airbnb if the property is registered with them. Be wary of people letting on behalf of other people. Also be wary of people who will only communicate via email and not telephone. My main advice though is just don’t rent property in Barcelona for less than 32 days.”
We are grateful to James for sharing his advice and expertise on this topic for any digital nomad looking for a short term apartment in Barcelona.
And just to make your search a little easier, here are a few more tips on how to find short stay apartments in Barcelona, Spain:
- Try a Home Exchange
- Try House Sitting
- Check out the Facebook Barcelona Digital Nomads Group
- Rent a Room Instead of an Entire Home
- Travel Out of Season
Why pay for accommodation when you can join the Swapoffi home exchange community and find homes or apartments in Barcelona for free!
Swapoffi is the perfect solution for remote workers planning to work in Barcelona as it is a verified home swap community for people who work as they travel. Members prefer to swap homes with each other instead of paying for accommodation. A condition of being accepted into the Swapoffi community is that all homes, regardless of size or location, must have a workspace and Wi-Fi. So whenever you swap homes within Swapoffi, you save money, not just on accommodation, but on coworking costs too. Experienced digital nomads enjoy saving all this money so they can travel more. If you are new to the digital nomad lifestyle and would like to use a co-working space for socialising, our tip for you is to book them by the day rather than by the month. That way you get to work productively from your Swapoffi home and socialise and save money. Swapoffi is currently free to join.
Like home swapping, house sitting is another great way to access free accommodation. Pet sitting is more in demand than house sitting for obvious reasons. When the homeowner is away, the pet, or pets, left at home require looking after. However, to become a successful house sitter, you need good reviews, and a relevant background will help. You have to start somewhere though and building up reviews takes time. Our tip to you before you look for house sits in Barcelona, is to gain reviews with house sits in less popular destinations. You can bet that any house sitting gigs in Barcelona will be in demand, so it's really important your application is strong!
It's more likely that you will get pet-sitting opportunities instead of purely house sitting. Pet-sitting does mean free accommodation, but read the requirements carefully. Some pets need a lot of care and attention, and perhaps even medication. Other pets might not like to be left alone for a long time. Generally pet-sitting ties you to a house, leaving you less free time to explore.
Few things beat local experience! The Barcelona Digital Nomads Facebook group has over 26,000 members so is a great place to go, to join, and to ask questions from those who have gone before you. Ask about apartments in Barcelona, short term apartments in Barcelona, or short stay apartments in Barcelona. Remember James's advice above and you won't go too far wrong.
With Swapoffi, you get to swap an entire home (although we have recently introduced a new feature to swap a room only, giving you the choice of both). Many digital nomads like privacy and the luxury of living alone without sharing kitchens and bathrooms. However if accommodation is scarce, it might suit you to have a room rather than not travelling at all.
You will find it much easier to find any sort of accommodation, such as cheap apartments in Barcelona, if you travel when others don’t! Look at peak times for travel in Barcelona and try to avoid them. This is an obvious tip, but still worth pointing out.
Got any questions on short term accommodation in Barcelona? Check out the Facebook group Barcelona Digital Nomads.
Want free accommodation every time you travel? Join Swapoffi, the world’s first home swap community for remote workers. All homes and members are fully verified for your peace of mind.
No catch, no commitment!
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