For a US, UK or other non-EU buyer, buying property in Spain is both a local conveyance and a cross-border funding and ownership decision. Before any non-refundable commitment, verify title, charges, planning status, cadastral and physical descriptions, community debts, occupancy and contract terms. Coordinate the euro funding route, source-of-funds file, ownership structure, tax residence and succession plan at the same time.
Key Takeaways
- Treat a reservation or deposit contract as a legal commitment, not an informal holding form.
- A Land Registry extract is essential, but it does not establish planning legality or confirm the property’s physical condition.
- Compare the Land Registry, Cadastre, municipal records and the property on the ground.
- Check community debts, approved special levies, occupants and restrictions affecting the intended use.
- The notary is a public official; an independently instructed lawyer advises the buyer’s interests.
- Confirm the tax and funding plan before signing, especially where a mortgage or overseas transfer is involved.
- Test personal, joint or entity ownership against Spanish and home-country tax and succession consequences before the buyer is named in the contract.
Before You Reserve a Property
Ask for the seller’s identity, the property’s Land Registry details, cadastral reference, latest municipal property-tax (IBI) receipt and any community-of-owners information. Also obtain evidence of outstanding IBI liabilities: the latest receipt alone does not clear earlier debts, and the property can remain affected by unpaid IBI under Article 64 of the Local Finance Act.
Royal Decree 515/1989 applies to the offer, promotion and advertising of homes for sale in a business or professional activity directed at consumers. It is not a blanket disclosure regime for every private seller-to-private buyer transaction. Check applicable regional requirements too; in Andalusia, Decree 218/2005 also regulates consumer information, including professional intermediaries in resale transactions. A purely private sale requires its own assessment of contractual and statutory disclosure duties.
Do not assume that an estate-agent reservation form is risk-free. Before paying, clarify:
- Who receives and holds the money.
- When it is refundable.
- Whether the payment depends on satisfactory legal checks and, if relevant, finance.
- Which fixtures, parking spaces or storage rooms are included.
- The deadline and consequences if either party does not proceed.
The buyer’s identification, tax number, banking arrangements and source-of-funds evidence should also be planned early. Requirements vary by the buyer, bank and transaction, so obtain current procedural guidance rather than relying on a generic checklist.
For buyers funding in US dollars, pounds sterling or another currency, map the reservation, deposit, completion balance and taxes in euros. Allow for transfer cut-off times and exchange-rate movement; having sufficient assets does not ensure cleared funds will reach the required account by the contractual deadline.
Decide who should buy before the reservation fixes the parties. Personal, joint, company or other ownership can produce different Spanish tax, beneficial-ownership, financing and succession outcomes, while a familiar US or UK vehicle may be treated differently in Spain. Coordinate Spanish advice with the buyer’s home-country tax and estate advisers rather than treating the conveyance as a standalone decision.
Build the full cash requirement at the same stage. The separate guide to costs and taxes when buying property in Spain explains why resale and new-build tax routes must not be combined.
Buying Property in Spain: The Purchase Process
1. Preliminary document review
The first review should identify the registered owner, the correct property, the proposed contractual parties and any obvious obstacle to sale. If the seller acts through a company, representative or inheritance, authority to sell must also be established.
2. Legal due diligence
A lawyer should define a property-specific scope and report any issue before the buyer becomes unconditionally bound. The core checks are explained below.
3. Private contract
Spanish purchases commonly use a reservation agreement and later a private purchase or arras contract. The legal effect depends on the wording, not its label. The contract should state the price, payment schedule, completion conditions, remedies, included property and documents the seller must supply. Where the parties agree withdrawal-type (penitential) arras, Civil Code Article 1454 provides for the buyer to lose the deposit or the seller to return double on withdrawal. Do not assume every reservation or deposit creates that right.
4. Public deed before a notary
The parties, or properly authorised representatives, sign the escritura pública de compraventa (public sale deed). The Notary Act defines the notarial public function. The notary does not replace a buyer’s independent investigation or commercial advice.
5. Tax filing and registration
After completion, the applicable acquisition tax must be filed and the deed submitted to the Land Registry. Registration has important effects against third parties under the Mortgage Act, although registration is not generally the event that creates the sale itself.
Buying from a non-resident seller
Confirm the seller’s tax-residence status before calculating the balance due. If the seller is non-resident and acts without a permanent establishment in Spain, the buyer generally must withhold 3% of the agreed consideration, not the gain, under Article 25.2 of the Non-Resident Income Tax Act. The buyer files and pays Form 211 within one month of completion (the transfer date) under Order EHA/3316/2010, Article 8, and supplies the seller with evidence. This is a payment on account of the seller’s tax, not an extra acquisition tax.
For a taxable sale of urban land by a non-resident individual, the buyer is also the statutory substitute taxpayer for plusvalía municipal (IIVTNU), although the transferor is the taxpayer, under Article 106 of the Local Finance Act. Identify the municipality, establish whether tax is due and the applicable calculation, then agree who prepares the filing, the municipal payment mechanism and any retention from the price. A private allocation of the cost does not displace the buyer’s statutory responsibility.
Property Due-Diligence Checklist
Title, ownership and registered charges
Obtain current Land Registry information and confirm:
- The seller is the registered owner and all required parties will sign.
- The registered description matches the asset being sold.
- Mortgages, seizures, usufructs and other third-party rights, easements, restrictions, tax-affection entries or litigation entries.
- How any charge will be cancelled and who bears the cost.
- Whether a fresh registry check is needed immediately before completion.
A nota simple is informative and valuable, but it is not a complete certificate that every legal, tax or planning matter is clear.
Cadastre and physical reality
The Cadastre is an administrative property inventory used for tax and descriptive purposes. Its legal framework and the relationship with the Land Registry appear in the Cadastral Real Estate Act. Compare cadastral and registered areas, boundaries and uses with plans, surveys and the property itself. A mismatch may require technical and legal analysis rather than a quick contractual promise to correct it later.
Planning, licences and permitted use
Confirm the position with the competent town hall. Depending on the asset and intended use, relevant material may include building and occupation documentation, planning classification, enforcement files, authorised works and use restrictions. Neither a Land Registry entry, a cadastral entry nor the absence of a current enforcement file proves that an extension, pool, enclosure or change of use is lawful. Compare what was authorised with what was actually built, and investigate any time-limit or regularisation issue separately. For Marbella, another Costa del Sol municipality or a rural property, the current municipal file must be checked for that address.
Tailor the searches to coastal and public-domain boundaries, rural or protected land, outstanding urbanisation duties and charges, infrastructure and lawful service connections, access and other easements. Identify usufructs, other rights and fiscal affections as well as conventional mortgages; not every restriction or obligation is resolved by a clean-looking registry extract.
Community of owners
For apartments and properties in an urbanisation, review the ownership title, statutes, debt certificate, recent minutes, current charges and works already approved or being discussed. Under Article 9.1(e) of the Horizontal Property Act, the acquired property is liable for the previous owner’s community debts attributable to the elapsed part of the acquisition year and the previous three calendar years. Obtain the debt certificate rather than casually waiving it.
Improvement assessments for works completed or still to be done fall on whoever owns the property when payment becomes due under Article 17.11. Approval before the sale does not automatically make every later instalment the seller’s responsibility. Review the payment schedule and expressly allocate between buyer and seller the cost of approved and contemplated works and instalments due before or after completion; that agreement does not by itself bind the community.
Older buildings, inspections and energy documentation
Check whether an older building needs an ITE (technical building inspection), IEE (building evaluation report) or the applicable regional or local equivalent. Request the report and results, outstanding repair orders, technical recommendations, and minutes covering repairs already approved or under discussion. Establish the work, cost and payment timetable before signing. The Marbella municipal ITE guidance is a local starting point, not a nationwide age rule.
Obtain the applicable energy certificate and label. For an existing building within scope, Royal Decree 390/2021, Article 17 requires a copy of the duly registered certificate and label to be annexed to the sale contract. Energy certification does not replace a condition survey or establish planning legality.
Intended tourist letting
Since 3 April 2025, an owner proposing the tourist-letting activity described in Article 5(e) of the Urban Tenancies Act (LAU) must obtain the community’s prior express approval, where the Horizontal Property Act applies. Articles 7.3 and 17.12 of that Act require the relevant approval by three-fifths of all owners and participation quotas. Silence or an absence of a prohibition is not approval. Regional tourism requirements and municipal planning or use restrictions must also be satisfied.
The Act’s second additional provision allows owners already lawfully carrying on that activity before the change, having previously complied with tourism-sector rules, to continue under the conditions and time limits of those rules. Verify the evidence and the effect of a change of ownership; do not assume a seller’s previous letting history automatically authorises the buyer’s future activity.
Occupants, tenancies and possession
The contract should specify whether the property is delivered vacant. If there is a tenant or other occupant, review the legal basis of occupation and any rights that may continue after sale. Physical inspection and a technical survey address matters that legal title searches cannot.
Do You Need a Lawyer to Buy Property in Spain?
The official sources reviewed do not support a universal statement that a lawyer is mandatory or optional in every possible transaction. What is clear is that the lawyer and notary have different functions. A practising lawyer’s professional duties include independence, confidentiality and conflict management under the General Statute of the Spanish Legal Profession.
For an international buyer, independent advice is particularly useful before paying a deposit, where the property has alterations, a community regime, occupants, finance, off-plan payments or remote signing. Confirm in writing the scope: registry and planning searches, contract negotiation, tax coordination, completion, registration and any post-completion work.
If the home is still under construction, use the more specific off-plan property legal guide to check the developer, licence, contract and protection for advance payments.
Questions to Ask Before Signing
- What exactly has been checked, and which authority supplied the result.
- Are any searches still outstanding.
- Is the deposit refundable if a defined problem appears.
- How will mortgages or other charges be removed.
- Does the documented property match what I viewed.
- Is my intended use permitted by planning, community and rental rules.
- Which acquisition tax applies, and which region’s rules govern it.
- What remains my responsibility after completion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a non-resident buy property in Spain?
Spanish property ownership and the right to reside in Spain are separate legal matters. Do not rely on a universal “foreigners can buy without restriction” statement: confirm transaction-specific issues, including restricted assets, sanctions, anti-money-laundering checks and any applicable foreign-investment controls.
Separately, a non-resident’s acquisition of Spanish real estate for an amount exceeding EUR 500,000 is reportable under Royal Decree 571/2023, Articles 4(h) and 5. Order ECM/57/2024, Article 14 provides for Form D-2A within one month of the investment and the Spanish-notary reporting route. Agree who supplies the information and evidence of filing; do not assume signing the deed alone completes every duty. This is foreign-investment reporting, not acquisition tax or an automatic prior-authorisation requirement. Any applicable investment screening or special non-cooperative-jurisdiction reporting must be assessed separately.
Is a nota simple enough for due diligence?
No. It helps identify registered ownership, description and charges, but does not by itself confirm planning legality, municipal debts, physical condition, occupancy, cadastral accuracy or permission for a proposed use.
What is the difference between a notary and my lawyer?
The notary performs a public, impartial function in the deed. A lawyer instructed by the buyer investigates, explains risk, negotiates terms and advises whether those terms protect that buyer’s interests.
Should I sign an arras contract before checks finish?
Only after understanding its legal effect and ensuring the conditions match the unresolved checks. The word arras does not produce one automatic result; the contract’s drafting and the circumstances matter.
How Mecan Legal Can Help
If you are buying property in Spain, Mecan Legal can first review the proposed asset, parties and transaction stage, then define the searches and contract work required before you commit funds. See the Spanish property-purchase legal service to request a scoped proposal for your purchase.
Sources
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Royal Decree 515/1989 on information in home sales and lettings (BOE).
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Andalusian Decree 218/2005 on consumer housing information (BOJA).
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Marbella technical building inspection guidance (Town Hall).
Author: Juan Diego Muñoz Espada
This article provides general information, not legal, tax, financial or technical advice. Spanish property rules and local practice depend on the asset, municipality, parties and date. Obtain advice on your facts before signing or paying.