There is no single way to rent a property, which means that owners have several possible ways to do so and can choose the one that benefits them most. The answer to the initial question will vary depending on the type of rental the tenant has chosen.

If you have never rented a property, it is very common to have doubts about the payments you will have to make as a tenant, but also about those payments for which the owner is responsible and that, therefore, do not fall to you.

These are the types of rentals:

1. Long-term rentals
2. Tourist or holiday rentals
3. Room rentals or shared rentals

 

Who has to pay for the internet service?

First of all, we are going to explain who is responsible for covering this expense in long-term rentals.

These types of rentals are for people who plan to rent a property for several years, so we are talking about long rental contracts. In this case, tenants are the ones who must pay the bill resulting from the use of the internet service.

Although tenants must pay the bill, there are two possible situations: the owner may already have this service permanently contracted for that property, with the people living in the house making use of it, or the service may not be contracted and the tenants may have to arrange it themselves.

In the first case, the owner must inform them in advance so that they know, before moving in and signing the rental contract, what they will have to pay for it. In addition, they must also be informed about the type of tariff that has been contracted.

The bills will be sent to the owner, since the service is in their name, but it will be the tenants who must take responsibility for paying the amount of the bill to the owner so that they can pay the company.

If the property does not have this service contracted, the major difference is that tenants can choose the tariff they want to contract, the price they want to pay for it, and the company they wish to contract it with. If this is your case, you can see the best fibre and mobile offer here and compare options to see what is most beneficial to contract at home.

It is important to mention that, regardless of the situation in which a property is rented, the internet bill is paid by the tenants.

 

Is it the same for tourist rentals?

The situation is different from what has just been described in this type of rental.

 

In holiday rentals, the owner (normally) already has all household utility services contracted, including internet, in order to offer them to guests and allow them to use it during the days they stay in the house.

The service bill is paid by the owner, since it would not make sense to divide the cost among all the people living in that house for a few days throughout the year. This type of bill, such as electricity, water, internet... is usually already included in the price paid for renting the property, which is why the owner pays for it, without charging any extra for the use of the internet.

Even so, the owner is not obliged to have the service contracted or to offer it free of charge.

Article 20.3 of the Urban Leases Act regulates this matter, establishing that owners are not obliged to assume the cost of this bill in any type of rental.

 

The internet bill in a shared rental

This type of rental is usually for short periods of time; they do not normally exceed one year or an academic year.

Even though the contracts are not for very long, the situation is the same as if the property were rented for several years: the owner may have the internet service contracted or may not have it.

For those who rent a shared property without internet service, they have the freedom to do what suits them best, and may contract a home internet tariff with no commitment period (since if they are not going to be in that property for more than a year, it would be logical not to have a commitment period, in case they move out before it expires).

Even so, in this case it may be more advisable not to contract an internet tariff for that property, and it may be more beneficial for tenants to contract an unlimited data tariff for their mobile phones.

In this way, they will avoid the paperwork involved in installing internet at home, the installation costs, and having to agree on choosing a tariff that suits all tenants.

By contracting an unlimited data tariff for the mobile phone, each tenant would be responsible for paying their own tariff, with enough internet to carry out all necessary tasks. If you are in this situation and this interests you, here you can check which are the best mobile tariffs currently available.

If the owner had the service contracted, the cost of the bill would have to be divided equally among all tenants.