01 · Getting straight to the deadline
¿Cuál es el plazo de pago?
What's the payment deadline?
Asked before you agree to anything, this one line keeps a late fee from ever becoming a surprise.
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Apartment Life
Understand your lease, question a bill, and report a repair — in Spanish, out loud.
The two words English speakers mix up first: el alquiler is the rent you pay each month; el arrendamiento is the lease agreement you signed. In everyday speech, electricity is just la luz — la electricidad sounds like a textbook — and your apartment shrinks by region: el depa in Mexico, el depto in Argentina. When something breaks, say how urgent it is in plain terms: es urgente, no funciona, or cuando sea posible if it can wait.
Below: the words that run a rental conversation, what locals actually call them, the mix-ups that cost tenants money — and a way to practice saying them in a real exchange, not on flashcards.
The warm-up pack
The words that actually get said mid-lease — to the landlord, the plumber, and the bill you don't recognize.
01 · Getting straight to the deadline
¿Cuál es el plazo de pago?
What's the payment deadline?
Asked before you agree to anything, this one line keeps a late fee from ever becoming a surprise.
02 · Reporting last night
Hubo un corte de luz anoche.
There was a power outage last night.
Corte de luz is what gets said, not apagón — lead with this and the landlord knows exactly what you mean.
03 · Before you sign anything
Necesito un aval para firmar el contrato.
I need a guarantor to sign the lease.
Aval trips people up because it sounds financial and scary — it just means someone vouches for you, and asking about it early saves a wasted trip.
04 · Who you actually spoke to
Hablé con el dueño sobre la reparación.
I spoke with the landlord about the repair.
Dueño is what people say day to day — propietario is the word on the contract, not the one you'll hear at the door.
05 · Making the urgency land
Es urgente, no funciona la calefacción.
It's urgent, the heating isn't working.
No funciona does more work than describing the problem — it's the phrase that gets someone sent out today instead of next week.
06 · The one-liner for outages
Se fue la luz otra vez.
The power went out again.
This is how it's actually said — not el corte de luz ocurrió, just se fue la luz, plain and immediate.
07 · Getting the bill explained
¿Puede explicarme los cargos extra?
Can you explain the extra charges to me?
A polite, specific ask — it gets you an itemised answer instead of a shrug.
08 · Naming what went wrong on the bill
Me cobraron de más otra vez.
They overcharged me again.
This is the phrase locals reach for when a bill looks off — direct, not accusatory, and it opens the conversation instead of closing it.
09 · Disputing the number itself
La lectura del contador no es correcta.
The meter reading isn't correct.
Naming the exact thing that's wrong — the reading, not just 'the bill' — is what gets a utility company to actually check.
10 · Getting someone out to fix it
Voy a mandar a arreglar la avería.
I'm going to get the fault fixed.
Avería covers any kind of breakdown, so you don't need a separate word for every appliance that stops working.
11 · The meeting you didn't know you had
La comunidad de vecinos se reúne mañana.
The homeowners association meets tomorrow.
Comunidad de vecinos is the building-wide group that decides shared costs — knowing the term means you're not caught off guard when it comes up.
FLUENT
Finally, someone to talk to in Spanish.
Ten-minute spoken lessons. A teacher who answers back — and gently fixes what you got wrong.
First 10 lessons freeandbefluent.com/spanish/apartment-lifeRegional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
| English | Mexico | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| apartment | el depa | el depto |
| security deposit | la fianza | la garantía |
| the utility bill | el recibo | la boleta |
| the roof is leaking | se está goteando | se llueve |
Watch out
The part no drill site can do
Olivia
Your vocabulary teacher for this pack
No flashcards, no matching games. In the Apartment Life lessons you learn each word by needing it: Olivia puts you on the phone with your landlord because la calefacción stopped working — you describe the problem, say how urgent it is, and pin down when the repair visit happens. Then you're at the utility office, bill in hand, asking ¿puede explicarme los cargos? because this month came in high. You say the words out loud, in sentences that do something — and that's why they stick.
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 6 lessons and Apartment Life is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
El alquiler is the monthly rent payment; el arrendamiento is the lease contract itself. If you're talking about money changing hands, it's alquiler — save arrendamiento for the document. In Colombia and Venezuela you'll also hear el contrato de arriendo for the lease.
In Mexico it's el recibo de la luz — recibo covers any utility bill there, not just a receipt. In Argentina it's la boleta de la luz. The formal word everywhere is la factura, and in Colombia and the Caribbean people just say la cuenta.
La fuga is a leak (pipes), la gotera is a drip from the roof or ceiling. Mexicans cover both with se está goteando; Argentines say se llueve when the roof leaks. Add es urgente if it can't wait — vagueness about urgency is what delays repairs.
La fianza is the security deposit. In Mexico, landlords often also ask for un aval — a guarantor — on top of it (necesito un aval is a phrase to expect). In Argentina the deposit is usually called la garantía, and el depósito en garantía is the unambiguous pan-regional version.
Ask for the breakdown before you pay: ¿puede explicarme los cargos? The line item is el cargo extra, and the Mexican way to say you were overcharged is me cobraron de más. Confirm the total and the plazo de pago — the payment deadline — before you hang up.