Renting an Apartment in Llanes This Summer Will Cost Approximately €1200 for Two Weeks

-- Renting a House in Ribadesella May Cost €3000 a Month and up to €6,000 Next to the Beach

-- To Rent a House in the Principal Communities of the Oriente Region in Asturias for the Entire Year Costs between €300 to €500 per Month
Source: Article in El Comercio, by Guillermo Buergo

Nearly a thousand people in Llanes and Ribadesella need apartments, and the question is to buy them or rent them. A great factor that inhibits a purchase is the price: it is impossible to find an apartment of 600 ft.² for sale for less than €180,000. And yet renting is also difficult because not many apartments are on the market.

Purchasing

For the last couple of years the town government in Llanes has maintained a list of people employed in the town who are looking for an apartment. Right now that lists contains 399 names. Some need apartments quite urgently. This situation is similar in Ribadesella.
The typical profile of someone looking for an apartment is: less than 35 years in age, single, no plans of marriage and with an income between €600 to €800. Such numbers have led to the situation in Llanes where at the moment 3,309 apartments are being built and there are short-term plans full 1,640 more. Yet among all these new apartments only 3% of the buyers come from Llanes. There are entire blocks of apartments without a single local owning an apartment in the building.

Renting

Real estate agents in Llanes admit that there are not many apartments to rent and explain that there are two ways of renting apartments: renting by season or renting for the entire year.
It is difficult to find an apartment of 600 ft.² that rents for less than €500 a month and single room apartments are difficult to find at €300 per month. For the summer season, the price is approximately €1,200 for two weeks during the months of July and August.
In Ribadesella the numbers are somewhat lower. An apartment of 600 ft.² rented out for the entire year generally costs €400 a month and for an efficiency of one room €200 to €300 per month. Not Ribadesella is the jewel in the crown by national standards, and to rent a small mansion for the summer such as those in Tezangos or Ardines can cost €3000 a month. To rent a small house in the beach area and cost between €4,200 and €6,000 per month.
And if these of the problems that face those who want to rent an apartment, there are no fewer problems for the owners of an apartment who would like to rent them out. Sometimes the memories cause them to grimace. One owner recalls very bad experiences, with the apartment destroyed and unable to collect the rent, after the renters had abandoned property.
Rental agencies charge owners a commission of between 10 and 20% depending on the volume of business. These agencies generally require the renters to pre-pay their rent.
The great number of apartments that are being built right now also means that there are many contractors in the community. In Llanes and Ribadesella legions of skilled craftsmen have arrived. They are Spanish, Portuguese, Moroccan, Polish, Chinese, and Nigerian. But no matter what their mother tongue, every day they face the problem of putting a roof over their heads. Sometimes they have to sleep on construction sites or drive many kilometers two distant communities.