You have made the decision to do an internship in Barcelona, Spain, but now its time to think about your accommodation.

Moving to Barcelona to do an internship

Finding a housing in Barcelona  is actually not so easy, so we will try to help you and give you some advices. There are some factors you should consider before booking your apartment!

Barcelona offers multiple options for student accommodation, depending on your needs. So first, you should decide what do you prefer, for instance, halls of residence, apartments, rooms in shared flats, accommodation with families, youth hostels, etc.

If you want to live with fellow students from around the world and enjoy the freedom of living in an independent apartment in Barcelona below are some recommendations for long-term rental  in Barcelona. Some of the rental websites listed are  specialized in short-term accommodation, but they're listed here because they also offer flats for a long-term and have monthly rentals.

Most apartments in Barcelona are rented through an agency ("inmobiliaria"), however renting from the owner generally saves tenants a lot of money in agency fees. Both agencies and owners usually require the first month’s rent plus a deposit in advance. Most agencies also charge an additional month’s rent as their fee. Other deposits may also be required, but never more than three months’ rent. Remember that when looking for an apartment, it is important to clearly understand the terms and conditions of the rental agreement. If you do not speak Spanish, have a native speaker accompany you. Do not sign anything until the conditions of your lease are understood by both you and your landlord.

Renting rooms in shared flats

Renting rooms in shared flats is very common in Barcelona because many young people in cannot afford their own flat. For young foreigners, who come to Barcelona to work or study, renting a room in a shared flat is an easy, fast and cheap solution. The contract for a room in a shared flat will normally be a quite informal agreement with the flat owner. The monthly rent is always paid in advance. The normal rental room deposit is 1 months rent - sometimes half a month only. So when you move in, you would normally have to pay 2 months rent and you will get the deposit amount back when you vacate the room assuming that you leave the room in the same condition as it was when you moved in. Rented rooms are almost always furnished. The furnished rooms are usually quite spartan, but you can always visit one of the three IKEA stores to buy extra things.

If you live in a shared flat you often share it  with 2-4 other tenants. There is a good chance some of them are native Spanish speakers either from Spain or Latin America, which will help you practice  Spanish. Sharing with other tenants means your roommates can also help you with lots of other practical things in Barcelona.

Websites which offer affordable living student accommodation options in Barcelona

Idealista is a website which lists properties for rent for the long-term. Many property agents and owners advertise their flats here. It has property listings throughout Spain and the Barcelona section is very comprehensive. You can search within each district in Barcelona, and for rental properties by size, price, number of rooms, etc. Each property listing usually includes several photos and sometimes even a video. You may  need some level of Spanish though when phoning to enquire about flats or to make viewing appointments but most of the agents will speak English.

Fotocasa is another very good website for finding long-term accommodation. However, the site is in Spanish and you will need to be able to speak at least some Spanish in order to talk to the owners and agents that post properties here or by using Google Translate you may understand a lot.
Many estate agents use this site (as well as idealista.com) to promote their properties rather than maintaining their own websites. Detailed information is given on each flat for rent, including photos.

Melon District Barcelona student apartments with the same cosmopolitan, creative and sophisticated spirit from the city.  Melon District Residence Hall offers you rooms with modern installations boasting contemporary interior design and a complete range of services so that everything you need is at hand.

You can rent a room in a Barcelona student apartment with en-suite bathrooms and a shared Cooking Lounge, Refreshing Lounge, Meeting Lounge and launderette. Share your life with others like you!

Barcelona Room, they are an intermediary team between customers and owners. They offer and search furnished accommodations in Barcelona. Their accommodations are divided in flats or rooms in shared flats.

Apartment Barcelona take a look at their wide selection of monthly rental apartments in Barcelona. With great offers on a variety of long-term apartments in Barcelona, all fully-equipped, you will be sure to find your perfect accommodation with them. Their long-term rental apartments in Barcelona are situated in the best locations in Barcelona, and they have a fantastic selection of monthly to yearly rental apartments by the beach in La Barceloneta, as well as in the Eixample and the Gothic Quarter neighborhoods.Have in mind that this is an agency which requires more fees than renting directly by an owner.

Spotahome offers one of the easies ways to book online.Get your housing solved before moving to Barcelona. Spotahome is a platform designed for direct booking of accommodation of more than one month, taking away one of the biggest headaches for people planning to move abroad.

They offer tenants accurate property descriptions and photos, allowing them to make an informed decision about housing before even arriving to the country. They play a pivotal role in eliminating communication and language barriers between local landlords and foreign tenants by offering excellent customer support in several languages on both sides.

Rooms Barcelona offers rooms in shared apartments with a young and international atmosphere.

Loquo is definitely the best one for finding flats, particularly if you're looking for shared accommodation– rooms for rent, but it also list flats for rent.