Almost every villa you'll be shown for rent in Maresme is a resale. Genuinely new-build rentals are rare here, because developers build to sell and the few that reach the rental market arrive with their own rules. Knowing which one you're standing in tells you a lot about your first year, the garden, and who pays when something breaks.
New developments in Alella, Cabrils or Llavaneres are usually sold off-plan before the roof is on. Renting a brand-new villa normally means one of three things: the owner bought to let, a build-to-rent operator holds the block, or the developer couldn't sell and is renting while waiting for the market. Each of those comes with a different attitude to maintenance and to how long you can stay, so it's worth asking which one you're dealing with.
The warranty is worth understanding. Under the Ley de Ordenación de la Edificación, the builder answers for structural defects for a decade, for defects that affect habitability for three years, and for smaller faults for one. On a resale that clock has usually run out, and you're relying on the owner's goodwill and your own insurance.
The downside is the garden. A brand-new plot is often a bare terrace and some gravel. Mature trees, hedges that already screen the neighbours and a pool that has been through a few summers are things you rarely get in a villa handed over last month.
A resale villa has been lived in, and that's mostly an advantage. The garden is mature, the planting has been tested by time, and the house has already shown whatever it does in heavy rain or a hot August. You can also see how the light moves through the rooms, which is close to impossible in a house nobody has occupied yet.
The trade-off is maintenance and running cost. Older villas leak more energy, and the systems, from the pool pump to the boiler, are closer to the end of their life. Before signing, ask when the roof, the water heater and the pool equipment were last replaced. A house that looks perfect can hide a heating bill that lands in January and ruins the year.
Resale also means more choice. Rental stock in Maresme is overwhelmingly resale, so you're picking from dozens of houses rather than the one or two new ones that happen to be free this month.
There's a middle path that suits a lot of families: an older villa renovated in the last few years. You get the mature garden and the established plot of a resale, with modern systems, better insulation and kitchens and bathrooms that were replaced recently. Ask directly whether the renovation was structural or cosmetic. A fresh coat of paint is not the same as new plumbing, and the difference shows up in the first winter.
We're Grandiora, and we handle both resale and recently built villas across Alella, Cabrils, Llavaneres and Sant Vicenç de Montalt. Tell us what matters most, a mature garden or a house nothing has touched yet, and we'll show you the ones that fit.
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