ShBarcelona operates across Barcelona and Madrid. It is a high-volume agency with a focus on “accommodating people”. However, they have an exceptionally high fee of 100%, and anomalies in feedback that raise questions.

I       ShBarcelona

Founded in 2000, ShBarcelona has around 3,000 properties listed for rent, and over 200 for sale. It offers everything from short-term to long-term stays, with stays, with at least 40 listed on Airbnb, with a focus on the shorter-term market. They also manage sales, but on a smaller scale.

As an Apartur member agency a certain level of professional service can be expected. They are also validated as members of College of Property Administrators of Barcelona, and Official College of Real Estate Agents of Barcelona. The ‘Sh’ in ShBarcelona stands for “Stay Here”, reflecting their extensive portfolio of ready-to-go apartments, lofts, studios, and penthouses, central locations in top areas of Barcelona.

However, they also have high fees, including a 100% agency fee. Anomalies in feedback also warrant further questioning. The discrepancy in feedback may also be indicative of a lack of transparency.

For these reasons we have given ShBarcelona a rating of 5.2/10. Read on to find out why.

II      At a Glance

With around 3,000 properties listed, ShBarcelona is a large agency. They represent rentals in Madrid and Barcelona across 80 employees in 5 offices – one in Madrid and 4 in Barcelona, including in Bailén, Sepúlveda and Casanova.

They have high visibility in the Yaencontre and Idealista portals under “Alquiler Temporal” orSeasonal Rentals. They are a good source in a competitive market, but that comes with a price.

They often have 2- or 3-months of rent being required as a deposit, even if the booking is only for one month. Their utilities allowance is also high.

Feedback also suggests irregularities. Significant negative reviews site poor maintenance, unclean properties and difficulties gaining refunds on exit.

We feel that these issues are significant problems, making our overall score 5.2/10.

III     Brand and Operations

ShBarcelona is an agency with significant market dominance for rentals in Barcelona over the smaller boutique agencies, especially catering for short-term stays such as tourists, medium-term stays of students and digital nomads, and longer term temporary stays of students, digital nomads and expats, all of whom constitute a significant proportion of their client base. In particular, they have created an avenue for the part of the market which cannot access the year-long rentals, and who need fully-furnished, ready-to-go apartments.

Property sales are also represented, although this is not as significant a part of their portfolio, preferring instead to focus on the high turnover, shorter term monthly rental market.

IV    The Controversies

Some significant issues come to light through the feedback, suggestion caution.

Agency Fee: ShBarcelona charges 100% of a full month’s rent as agency fees, effectively doubling the cost of the flat. Prospective tenants should view this as a non-refundable “access tax”.

Deposit: There is also a big deposit required, even on short rentals. In some cases 2 months deposit is charged even when the booking is for only one month. While the tenant should get this back on exit, this is steep and needs to be taken into account. Ensure to take photos on both arrival and departure.

Cleaning Fee: A large cleaning fee is deducted from the deposit on exit, typically in excess of €200, irrespective of the state of the apartment. Furthermore, in spite of this huge fee, there are many complaints that on arrival apartments are unclean. Be sure to take photos of the state both on arrival and exit.

Refunds: ShBarcelona is frequently reported to have an aggressive refund policy. Many complaints indicate that obtaining monies that are due after vacating the apartment take a long time, and a lot of trouble, with fees being deducted without proof of the problems, or was not fixed. Be clear about where responsibilities lie for maintenance and problems, and take photos.

Legal Grey Areas: Although the rental industry in Spain may not be the most regulated, there are still some legalities, including caps on monthly rent and inbuilt fees. The short-term rental market can take advantage of the fact that properties are not signed up with year-long leases, and charge high short-term rental fees. In particular, the extra fees charged for cleaning and utilities. The short-term market is typically accessed by expats, tourists and students, making these groups susceptible to these grey areas, especially foreigners who are likely to be unaware of normal local conditions and prices. Make sure to research beforehand to curb agencies taking advantage of this.

V     The Real Estate Market in Spain

The Spanish real estate market is amongst the some of the most dynamic rental markets worldwide. There is a high demand for housing amongst locals in Spain, but this is exacerbated by a huge demand from tourists and temporary visitors, such as students, expats including both workers and retirees, and more recently the digital nomad sector. Together with Portugal it has long been on of the most popular destinations for Brits wanting to escape their climate. Spain is also a significantly cheaper option, and promises almost perpetual sunshine depending on location.

Barcelona is extremely popular with its unique architecture and bohemian flair, appealing to many, both Spanish and non-Spanish. It is not only a tourist attraction with beach and mountains nearby, but it is also a city with a growing business sector, and right on cross roads with its location so close to the French border.

It has an extremely competitive rental market, especially for the shorter term and non-permanent market, with many listings by portals like Idealista, Fotocasa and Yaencontre, big real agencies such as ShBarcelona, and the smaller boutique agencies. Idealista records that 15% of their listings are taken within 24 hours of being listed.

ShBarcelona fits into the market in Barcelona with its huge inventory, way in excess of most other agencies in Barcelona. In such a competitive market with a tendency of shortage of options, this is a major drawcard:- 4 agencies in Barcelona, 3,000 properties listed in premium areas, fully-furnished for Airbnb, students and short-term renters with leases available starting from one month or less.

The flipside of the market in Spain is that it is not so well regulated, with many loopholes in the legalities. This allows for the less ethical and more profit-oriented agencies to manipulate the boundaries. In the case of ShBarcelona, while it is an easy option it is also a more expensive choice. Areas where the cost is higher with them include:

The flipside of the market in Spain is that it is not so well regulated, with many loopholes in the legalities. This allows for the less ethical and more profit-oriented agencies to manipulate the boundaries. In the case of ShBarcelona, while it is an easy option it is also a more expensive choice. Areas where the cost is higher with them include:

⬩➤ Directives

While advisable on all rentals, we recommend that tenants be diligent about photographing the state of the property in detail on arrival and departure, as well as any maintenance issues both before and after. Also maintain a paper trail through emails of any communications with the agency, including a follow up email confirmation of any conversations. This will facilitate any issues after departure and eliminate the “he-says, she-says” scenario.

⬩➤ Feedback

While it is to be noted that most people don’t provide feedback – especially those who are happy with the situation, the feedback on various sites for ShBarcelona warrants the noting of some issues before taking up a property from them.

Google Maps currently has an exceptionally high rating of 4.8/5 – presumably reflecting a positive booking-in experience. However, other feedback contradicts this assessment, raising questions that it might not be reflective of the full story, and suggesting that the quality of service may be more like a lottery. A high staff turnover also means that each contact is likely to be with a different agent.

Reddit and Facebook have some serious complaints including pushy sales tactics to rush the signing of a contract, and the high utilities bill fees which are not reflective of usage.

TrustPilot is the perhaps the best feedback site, but has the most disturbing complaints with ShBarcelona. These include apartments which were filthy on arrival, excessive cleaning fees which were mandatory and deducted from the deposit, difficulties with fixing maintenance problems to the point that on occasion tenants resorted to doubling up with a hotel booking (no water) labelling it as a “nightmare stay”, excessive utilities and other fees, and some with difficulties in deposit refunds to the point that they had to resort to legal action. One tenant complained that the fees deducted on exit were almost as much as the deposit itself.

Tripadvisor has a mix of good and bad feedback dating from discussion feeds 13 and 14 years ago. However, the same issues are reflected.

Of even greater concern is the discrepancy between feedback forums, and feedback clusters. Google Maps currently has exceptionally high feedback of 4.8/5, while Trustpilot has a disturbingly low feedback score of 2.2/5, and only 13 reviews over a 12-month period for an extremely large volume of rentals.

On top of these negative reviews, ShBarcelona responses are bizarre and concerning. More than one response stated that they “could not find you in our database”, while others insisted it was the first time they’d received such a complaint – on the exact same complaint by another tenant. Other responses brushed off the complaints as not being valid.

😉 Our Verdict

ShBarcelona has the convenience of a huge number of listings in top locales catering for the transient market where it can be difficult to find rentals, including 4 offices in uptown areas of Barcelona. In particular they fill the niche for students, expats, digital nomads and short-term tourist stays which is generally far less serviced than the long-term market.

However, there are some serious issues, particularly with high and hidden costs, including a 100% commission fee on rentals as short as 1 month, effectively doubling the advertised cost. Deposits, utilities fees, and cleaning costs on exit are some of the extras charged out of the deposit on exit, while complaints note that apartments are often not clean, and not maintained. We suggest extreme caution using ShBarcelona, and a fastidious level of before and after photos, and a complete paper trail stream through email communications.