Legal services

It is extremely important to use an independent lawyer and not one that if buying a new build that the builders recommend to you. We can recommend a lawyer that we have personally used or you can find one yourself.
You will need to get a Spanish will as the English wills are not applicable to a property in Spain.

House insurance is also very important and prices can vary from company to company. We have had good and bad experience with insurance too!

Your solicitor will normally be able to deal with anything legal in Spanish for you and if you need any help with other things like Padrons, Doctors, Schools etc we have translators that we have used that we can recommend.

Purchaser’s checklist

Before you complete your property purchase you should make sure that:

You have seen the land registry extract (nota simple), available from the Colegio de Registradores(translations into English for an additional fee), and checked the following details
The property and land for sale match the details registered and the sellers are the registered owner(s)
There are no debts or charges, such as a mortgage, on the property (see nota simple)
There are no legal proceedings initiated against the property for contravention of land planning law

You should check that planning permissions are in order and the property is a legal build. This is particularly important when buying off-plan or direct from a developer. The town hall can tell you whether the building has all licences and permissions and what type of land it is.

If the property is built on rural land or land that is not classified for construction, you should ask the regional government to confirm construction is authorised.

If you are buying an off-plan property, confirm that the property has been certified as finished by a registered architect and registered as a new build in the property register. The registration should also provide details of the developer’s insurance against structural and other defects in the construction. In the case of a private build (the previous owner built their own house and decided to sell before 10 years had lapsed) you will need to request these details separately

You should check the latest town plan to see whether or not the plot you wish to buy has any building restrictions, is in a green zone or includes a public pathway or similar. You can do this at to the town planning (urbanismo) department of the local town hall.

You should have the property surveyed. This is not obligatory, but it is wise to get a chartered surveyor to check the property.

You should know the cadastral value of the property and how much purchase tax will be due. Tax is charged on the council’s valuation of the property as opposed to the amount of the sale. You can check this at the regional government’s online tax agency site using the cadastral reference number

Make sure you have seen the following documents:

a paid-up receipt for the previous owner’s annual property tax (IBI). It is also wise to get a certificate from the town hall proving that there are no unpaid rates from previous years
the cadastral certificate giving the exact boundaries and square metres of your land – this will be linked to the land register record by a cadastral reference number. You should ensure that the property and land description contained in both records matches
the licence of first occupancy or habitation certificate issued by the town hall. You will need this document to connect to electricity and water companies. Developers cannot force you to complete without this licence
receipt to prove all utility bills have been paid by the previous owner
if applicable, a certificate signed by the President of the Community of Property Owners (see Comunidad de Vecinos) stating that there are no outstanding debts. You should be aware that if you later find that there are such debts outstanding, as the new owner, you assume the debts for the current and previous year (2 years in total)
as from 1 June 2013, all homes for sale or to let in Spain are required by law to have an energy efficiency certificate. If you are considering buying a property, the seller is obliged to show you this certificate

On completion, the public deed should contain an accurate description of the property. You should register the property in your name with the Land Registry as soon as possible to ensure full protection of your rights. The notary can even send advance notification to the Land Registry electronically once the public deed is signed.