I am looking to find a high end apartment in or around Barcelona.  I have a family of three, pets and am coming from a 2,500 square foot house in Canada. The apartment should be not less than 1,200 sq feet.

I would like something with access to public transport, near nice cafes and if possible parks and the university.

What would I pay, what is the availablity like and what are typical terms for such rentals.

As an alternate, what is the likely hood of finding a house to rent and what would it cost for something of 2500 square feet in a nice quiet neigbourhood?

cheers!

I am looking to find a high end apartment in or around Barcelona.  I have a family of three, pets and am coming from a 2,500 square foot house in Canada. The apartment should be not less than 1,200 sq feet.

You should be able to find tons of apartments like this, especially in some of the areas with a lot of newly constructed housing like Poble Nou (next to the beach) although you’ll find the transport isn’t as good. Otherwise check out Sant Gervasi, which is close to the University and full of massive family-style apartments.

The history of the Sant Gervasi district begins in the middle of the 19th Century, forty years before it officially joined Barcelona city in 1897. In 1846 there were only 376 inhabitants in the area compared to the 150.000 that were registered in 1991.
Today the Sant Gervasi/Santal? district is a friendly, upper class area of Barcelona, made up of quiet, relaxed streets and squares with a lots of parks and greenery. Where the streets of Santal? and Mariano Cubi cross, you will find a high concentration of fashionable shops and cafes. This area of Barcelona is well known for its many ?chic? bars and discotheques and you will find plenty of choice whatever your taste. At Plaza Francesc Maci? you will meet the cream of the crop of Barcelona?s nightlife.
It will take about 12 minutes to get from this area to Plaza Catalunya and the city center of Barcelona by train. It should be said that besides being one of the greenest and nicest districts of Barcelona it?s also one of the safest districts in Barcelona.

from http://www.oh-barcelona.com/en/accomm_descr_short/refnr_483321/

Also see: http://www.barcelonapoint.com/en/apartments/14/Sarria-Tibidabo.html

With these apartment rental agencies the terms are usually much more short term friendly, ie. lower deposit, terms of less than a year, etc. Otherwise normal terms for renting an apartment are 5 year contracts with 6 months of “aval bancario” which is a deposit that the bank holds, plus a security deposit on the place to cover damages of 1-3 months of rent. Doing it this way locks you in at a much lower rate.

As for the likelihood of finding a place of 2500 sq feet, it’s not totally unlikely, just very expensive. Buying a place like this would be over a million euros, possibly two. Be sure to see our information on renting an apartment in Spain.

Thanks for the info…there might have been a bit of confusion, as I was looking for 1,200 sq ft apartment but perhaps as large as 2,500 sq foot house. 

Can you guestimate what 1,200 sq feet apartment might cost ito rent n the Sant Gervasi/Santal? district?  A range is fine. 
what district would you look for a house in, the same or some other?

cheers

Thatmtnman

Hmm, my guestimate would be between 2000 - 3000 euro/month for 1200 sq feet, up to 8000/month for 2500 sq feet. Places like that are selling for 1-2 million though, so knowing that might help.