Barcelona apartments

A commercial contract is established between the owner and aspasios in which the first party entrusts to the last one the management of his property and authorises him to sign rental contracts with the leaseholders in his name. At any moment the owner may cancel the contract, with as only obligation to respect future reservations that have been made till that moment.

The following expenses are to be covered by the owner: the commission of aspasios, as well provisions (water, gas, electricity and possibly telephone) and community costs.

A temporary rental contract is set up between the owner, represented by aspasios, and the leaseholder; it concerns a type of contract that has been established in the Urban Rents Act. Given law excludes in this case the contracts of obligatory extension, a norm that in "standard" rental contracts assumes, in practice, the stipulation of a minimum duration of 5 years.

aspasios will charge the damages that might have been done to the leaseholder, using the deposit paid at the check-in into the apartment. The leaseholder won’t be charged for normal wear and tear, such as stains on the wall and floor or breakage of crockery.

The use of any apartment creates small practical problems, like a water escape or a breakdown of an electrical household appliance. They must immediately been taken care of, because this is exactly what a leaseholder expects when paying a similar price as in a hotel.

aspasios takes care of these themes through it domus service, which is an optional service for the owner. The domus service includes taking out a household insurance covering the value of the apartment content, water escapes and window breakage. Domus also manages the guarantee contracts of electrical household appliances and the required repair orders, but not the cost of reparations that aren’t included in the mentioned guarantee contracts. With domus, aspasios also takes care of any administrative formalities relating to the apartment.

aspasion short rentals s.l. is entered in the Tourist Companies and Activities Register of Catalonia with the number EB-00232.

An owner currently doesn't need any licence to rent an apartment for a short period, because this falls under the powers inherent to the ownership of the apartment. The limits of property law lie, for instance, in respecting the rights of the neighbours. That is why aspasios aims its offers at select customers and establishes a strict regulation governing use for the apartments it manages.

aspasios fixes the prices of each apartment, partially, according to its category, dimensions and location. The rate is valid for days, weeks or months, according to the length of the stay. The number of guests in the apartment comes into account as well, with an extra charge per extra guest, starting with two. Finally, there is also a surcharge of 10-20% in high season.

Daily rates vary, according to the apartment and the season, from 75 to 150 euros, apart from the extras. A weekly stay comes down to 450 to 900 euros and the rent for one or more months is between 1.250 and 3.000 euros.

With every reservation the owner will receive an email providing full information on this matter. Besides, at any moment he will have access to his personal page through the aspasios website and be able to check the reservation status of his apartment. This page also gives him the possibility, whenever he wants, to block those periods in which he prefers to keep the apartment at his own disposal (when blocking a period no reservations can be made anymore for this specific period).

On the other hand, every month the owner will be informed about the accomplished operations and he will, be it in cash or by bank transfer, receive the amount he is entitled to for the rents of the previous month.

The regulations of the Generalitat of Catalonia on tourist apartments stipulate the following minimum parameters:

• individual bedroom: 6 m2
• double bedroom: 10 m2
• livingroom: 13,5 m2 + 1,5m2 for each occupying person starting with the third one
• bathroom: 3,5 m2
• kitchen: 5 m2
• minimum total surface: 32 m2

Studios without separate bedrooms are also allowed, at least if they have a livingroom of 12 m2 and another 3 m2 for each occupying person starting with the third one. Studios require a total minimum surface of 20 m2.

The owners who let aspasios manage their apartments need to equip them with the following:

• appropriate and solid furniture
• comfortable beds (European size: 190/200 cm)
• water and gas heating
• soundproof windows
• completely furnished kitchen
• wardrobes with hangers
• 1 lockable cupboard
• electrical appliances: TV, DVD, radio-CD, washing machine
• vacuum cleaner, iron and cleaning material

aspasios markets its apartments with different prices, according to the categories related to the characteristics of the apartment:

(1) only local phone calls. It is possible with Telefónica to limit the telephone use so only local phone calls can be made.