Just hope you can help

Don’t take my word for it, but I am on the understanding that if you were to rent long term officially you could apply for residency, but remember as a resident of Spain this is where you pay income tax, showing income or pension, there is also health/ medical insurance, Jim’s guides are extremely helpful, but as long term rental may be the way to go, good luck, I am sure others will put you right.

You are correct Peter and I agree with what you have said.

You don't need to own property in Spain to achieve residency. Renting long term does not give you the right to apply for residency either. You have to prove to the authorities that Spain is your main place of residence. You will need to prove you have a Spanish bank account with 3 months of regular income which has to be enough income so not to become a burden on the state, you will need to prove you have full healthcare cover for yourself and any dependants. You will need to sign the foreigners register and apply for residency within the first 90 days of living in Spain. After 183 days you will automatically become a tax resident and be expected to pay taxes to the Spanish government. You will need to fill in form Modelo 720 on which you declare all your income which includes earnings, pensions, rental income from property in the UK etc, etc.

After Brexit requirements may differ as yet no-one knows what the requirements will be to gain residencia in Spain. 

Steve 

You won't like this but EVERYTHING will sell if the price is right so if your desire to move to Spain is really that strong then lower your house price to make it happen.

Take a look at Jim's Guides which can be found in a tab at the top of the page, especially the requirements for Residency and Healthcare. The default position post Brexit is that Brits will be considered as any other non-EU immigrant with much higher financial thresholds but my personal opinion is that agreements will be reached whereby we may continue to only have to prove EU member levels. Spain will want to keep this revenue stream going as no other nation is going to step into the breach to compare to the number of Brit ex-pats.
You can get a long term rental to get Residency, many ex-pats prefer to keep their options open by renting and it is an excellent way to get to know the area better so you don't feel pressured to buy what could turn out to be a totally unsuitable property which may prove difficult to sell again.
Although Covid has put a spanner in the works, public offices are opening up gradually and before all this happened, next day appointments for Residency were sometimes available. If you planned to come over to find a rental towards the end of September, for example, with a list of long term rentals you want to look at, you will have sufficient time to get Residency before the end of the year. If you can tick all the boxes for Residency and can prove you were living here before Dec 31st with details of your inbound flight, regular shopping bills and utilities in your name, etc, etc then you will be fine.
I can personally recommend Uma, a Gestor at getlegalinspain.com, have a look at her website and facebook page, she can get you through all the hoops and will always be available in the future to smooth the way, all at very reasonable rates.

Thanks for all your advice, Just a quick question on Health Insurance, I recently had a heart attack at the age of 51, so i have underlying health conditions. I have read from insurance companies that they do not offer cover for underlying health conditions, but the Spanish authorities require full health insurance, can anybody suggest where i go from here.

Thanks Gary

There's a difference between theory and practice.

Your question is covered in:

https://www.costablancaforum.com/area/mudamiento-spain-77813/residency-in-mudamiento-padron-residencia-passport-advice-23/jims-guide-the-residency-certificate-part-1-theory-103540/