Need advice/help regarding rental deposit issue in Barcelona
Hi everyone, I’m posting because myself and three other girls from North America came to Barcelona for an exchange semester and we have been scammed out of our €5,700 rental deposit. We rented an apartment in Eixample from December 2025 to April 2026 through a rental company/agency.
Our contract stated the apartment had to be inspected within 72 hours after move out and that the deposit should be returned if there were no damages, or that repair estimates had to be provided before deductions. We left the apartment in great condition, returned the keys properly, cleaned everything, and since then we’ve received absolutely nothing back. No inspection report, no invoices, no explanation, and almost no communication.
At this point we’ve been blocked on everything (Linkedin, Instagram, WhatsApp, email) and have no real way to contact them anymore. We’re now back in Canada/the U.S. trying to deal with this from another country and honestly feel completely lost.
I was planning to send a burofax today after trying to contact the agency for weeks, but I’ve also spoken to a few lawyers in Barcelona and most are quoting over €1,500 just to get started, which is really overwhelming for university students. We saved up for years to come to Barcelona and can’t afford a lawyer that expensive on top of losing our deposit.
We have all documentation including the signed lease, proof of payment, messages/emails, and a move-out video showing the condition of the apartment when we left.
If anyone has advice, knows affordable legal help in Barcelona, has dealt with something similar, or knows what steps we should take next, I would really appreciate it. Thank you so much.