Last semester I did my exchange at the ESADE Business School in Barcelona. I found a flat on the ESADE student exchange group on Facebook.  However, the flat was a nightmare and my overall exchange experience was seriously hampered by my stay at an apartment in Carrer de Sant Joan de Malta 45, 2on, 2na, 08018 Barcelona. BEWARE future exchange students!!! Do NOT make the same mistake I did or else YOU WILL REGRET IT!

Here are the details of my stay:

“We provide you with flatmates of similar interest”. This is written in the value proposition document which really needs to be studied for deceptions.  I was one of two young girls (aged 20 and 21) placed into an apartment with an unfamiliar Indian man doing his Masters degree at ESADE. Our stay was uncomfortable and an overall terrible living experience. The landlord, Marc, promised locks on our doors upon arrival however these we NOT installed until after we complained. I would have left this apartment immediately within the first month, however I had signed a contract for 4 months (a requirement) and it was not possible to leave without losing my 500 Euro security deposit.

The “two” bathrooms . The two bathrooms that are listed in the advertisement are not two full bathrooms as one would think. In fact, it is one room for the shower and one for the toilet. However, both of the rooms are tiny as shown in the picture.

“Flexibility in payment (cash or transfer) during the first five days of every month”: On Oct 1^st 2013 my landlord, Marc, came asking for rent. I was not at home. He tried coercing my two roommates to pay for MY rent because he claimed that it was a joint contract and that my roommates were liable for my rent if I defaulted. One roommate said no immediately, meanwhile, the other roommate said she had the money in the bank. Despite the fact that she was feeling sick and that her hair was still wet from the shower, Marc still insisted on taking her to the bank that instant. She said that she had felt too sick to leave the apartment so she declined. Unfortunately, I had a good friend and classmate living downstairs in another flat and he gave Marc the money after he demanded it (even though he had nothing to do with it). This is extremely disrespectful and almost criminal behaviour from the same landlord who claimed “flexibility in payments”.

Noise. The noise was unbearable in the apartment. The walls are thin and there is a central corridor running through the entire building with windows from most flats leading towards it. However, even with the window closed I could hear the noise echoing in my room. The central corridor allowed noise to echo and dust to accumulate.  In fact, the only window in two of the rooms are ones leading to the central corridor.

Unfortunately I had very noisy neighbors and one noisy flat mate that liked to Skype all day (especially late into the night and early morning… 2-3 am and 6-9am ). Often I could hear the neighbors downstairs listening to music, watching TV, or having people over (which was quite often). For example, one of my neighbors downstairs was throwing up one night (from partying too hard) and I could hear it in my room as if that person was right next to me.

Location and how to actually find a quality apartment. Location is very important in Barcelona as the metro ceases to run at midnight (except on Friday where it works until 2am and Saturday where it works all night). The apartment is 5 stops from the center, which takes about 20 mins. I was paying 475 Euros per month for this apartment which I know is WAY too much since I had friends staying in Gracia and Plaza Catalunya (DEAD CENTRE OF BARCA) and they were paying as little as 325 Euros per month for amazing apartments. Their apartments had more space, included heat and utilities, and had 2 ACTUAL bathrooms. My friend found her apartment through www.airbnb.com, a much more reliable source. As well, you can search for flats online for FREE at www.loquo.com, which is equivalent to craigslist.com in Spain.

 Heating and other necessities. The apartment was freezing for the majority of my stay. Since there was only one small electric heater (that took about 10 minutes to heat up the room), the rest of the apartment was freezing cold. For instance, I had to cook while wearing my winter jacket. Whenever I came out of the shower I would be extremely cold so much so that I was sick about 3-4 times within the months of November and December likely due to the drastic temperature change. The low temperature made this apartment uncomfortable and at times unbearable. In addition, there was no dryer so we would have to dry our clothes outside even in the winter.

 

 I frequently had a problem flushing the toilet especially when the laundry machine was on (which can get disgusting when there are 3 people living in the apartment and they cannot flush the ONE toilet during the 3 hours that the machine is working).  Also, the bathroom smelled like mold so the window had to be kept open which would then only add to the overall low temperature of the apartment. 

Since it is a very old building there is poor electricity in the flat. Sometimes when all 3 of us were home and using outlets in our rooms (to charge laptops, phones etc.), we would not be able to do other essential things such as cook food. Using too many appliances could result in a power outage. For example, using the tea kettle and the microwave simultaneously could create this effect.

*The most crucial point*

The listed “benefits” of starting with Marc. The landlord Marc, listed an approximate opportunity cost of 655.90 EUR for “looking for a flat” if you choose to stay elsewhere. This cost includes things such as transport while searching (using public transportation), a 300 EUR hostel fee for 10 days (that’s an expensive hostel), a contract or enrollment fee, welcome guide, SIM card, map of neighborhood, emergency numbers, kitchen silverware and equipment, new blankets, pillows and so on.

However, Marc states that all this is included and evaded if you just send a “NON-REFUNDABLE initial deposit” of 500 Euros.  It is important to note that this “deposit” was not returned and was never intended to be returned. This is a FEE and not a deposit. That means that Marc’s OWN estimate of searching for an apartment can be evaded if you just give HIM 500 Euros. Once again, you can look for apartments for free at www.loquo.com right now from your own home. 

 Moreover, the apparent “minimum benefit of starting with [Marc]” of 155.90 Euros is misleading. The SIM Card is listed as 10 Euros and it is added to the 500 EURO NON-REFUNDABLE deposit. However, when I bought a SIM card, it was free as long as I added at least 10 EUROS of credit and at least 10 EUROS of credit are required to activate the card. Obviously, I had to pay for the credit out of my own money. Since Marc lives in Spain and uses a cell phone, it is impossible to believe that he wasn’t aware of this. All he did was take me to the store. The store is called Phone House and it has many locations throughout the city. Google it and Marc becomes useless.

 Transport while searching was listed as 20 Euros. However, I paid for my own transportation. If you plan on living in Barcelona for a longer period of time then you will have to get a bus pass. Therefore, the 20 Euro fee was absolutely arbitrary and another meaningless cost.

 The utilities bill is stated as being 100 Euros per month per person. If the bill was under 100 Euros monthly then the extra money would supposedly be used to sponsor dinners, parties and other leisure. I asked to see an invoice every month but Marc NEVER showed it to me.  He said that he calculated our bill with some complex equation which he never thoroughly explained to me despite me asking over 10 times during my stay. He said that the money left over from warmer months would be used to cover the colder months when more electricity was to be used. I never saw a single invoice and Marc NEVER paid for a dinner, party or other leisure activity for the group.

Knobs on the oven were hard to read because they were worn out. The furthest right knob, which was used to turn on the timer, did not work. That knob was necessary in order to start the oven. Marc said that we were responsible for the damage to the oven; however I believe that the knob was like that when we arrived.

Notice in the photos above how the numbers and symbols are blurred and hard to read. 

The kitchen silverware and equipment was of poor quality and it was included in the 500 Euro NON-REFUNDABLE deposit.  All the members of this flat shared this silverware and equipment. We did not have our own set of silverware despite the fact that we each paid for it in the “deposit”.

In addition, the fridge started leaking during our stay. When I notified Marc, he said that we lowered the temperature of the fridge too much and that resulted in the leak. However, AFTER he “fixed” the temperature level, it was still leaking.

  

The checkout did not go as smoothly as it should have. Marc said that the oven timer, toilet flusher and overall use of utilities for that month totaled 50 Euros PER PERSON. This means that he took 150 Euros from the 3 of us to fix these 3 details. In addition, he said that 2 of the walls in my room needed to be painted due to damage. One of the walls had a mark which I accepted responsibility for. However the second wall had a faint black mark (that looked like dirt) that he said needed to be painted (PICTURE BELOW).  Regardless, he charged me 100 Euros to paint these two walls! This is ridiculous because I could have paid to paint them myself for a fraction of the price. This seemed like yet another scam intended to take MORE money (as if he had not taken enough already).

Apparently this wall was damaged to the point where it needed to be re-painted. I was charged for it. Do you see the black mark making painting a necessity? NEITHER DO I.

The fact that I took the time out of my busy schedule (last semester before graduation) to write all this out and post it on a website should prove my genuine dissatisfaction with Marc and his endless antics. My exchange was RUINED as I had to deal with daily stress from within the apartment. The truth is that the apartment was tiny, low-quality and overpriced. The sad truth of signing a contract is that these tiny, low-quality apartments become your responsibility and you can legally be charged for their inevitable malfunction…

STUDENTS! You will be on exchange. You will have to deal with adapting to a new school, a new city and a new culture. THE LAST THING YOU NEED IS TO LIVE IN A CRAPPY APARTMENT AND DEAL WITH YOUR LANDLORD. DO YOURSELVES A FAVOUR DURING YOUR EXCHANGE AND STAY AWAY FROM CARRER SANT JOAN DE MALTA 45!!

You have been warned.