Buying property in Spain: a checklist before you sign

1. Arrange your NIE and appoint an independent lawyer

Start with your NIE, the foreigner’s identity number used in Spain. Arrange this early so that it does not hold up later stages of the purchase. Ask your lawyer which documents will be needed for your particular transaction.

Appoint a lawyer who acts independently for you, rather than relying only on information provided by the seller or estate agent. Your lawyer can review the property documents, contracts and any issues found during the checks. Decisions about the legal or tax consequences of a purchase should be confirmed with your lawyer or notary.

2. Check ownership and charges with a nota simple

A nota simple, or property register extract, is issued by the Registro de la Propiedad, the Spanish Land Registry, for one registered property known as a finca. It shows the property description as registered, the registered owner or owners, their respective shares and how and when they acquired the property.

Compare the registered owner with the person selling the property. If the names do not match, or if several people own shares, your lawyer should establish why and confirm who must take part in the sale.

The nota simple also lists registered charges and rights. These may include mortgages, embargos (seizures for debt), easements, usufructs, annotations of lawsuits and other entries. Ask your lawyer to explain every entry and how it will be dealt with before the notary stage.

A nota simple reflects the registry on the day it is issued and is informative rather than certified. It is an important check, but it does not replace the other checks in this guide.

3. Compare the Land Registry and Catastro records

The Registro de la Propiedad records legal ownership and registered charges. The Catastro, or Cadastre, is a separate tax and physical inventory showing details such as boundaries, surface area, cadastral value and the 20-character cadastral reference. A Catastro record does not prove ownership and does not show mortgages or debts.

Compare the registered and cadastral descriptions carefully. Check the address, plot, surface area and property type, and confirm whether features such as a swimming pool or extensions appear in the available records. The two systems can disagree, including on the surface area, address or plot.

A mismatch does not explain itself. Your lawyer should examine the difference before you sign a reservation or deposit contract. An address alone may also be insufficient to identify a single registered property, especially where developments contain similar units.

4. Review planning, habitability and property documents

Check the planning position of the property, including any extensions, additional buildings or swimming pools. Particular care is needed where construction may not match the recorded description, where there may be illegal building work or where the property stands on rustic land. Cadastral information is not a substitute for a separate planning review.

Ask your lawyer to verify the relevant licences and any cédula de habitabilidad, meaning habitability certificate, connected with the property. The documents available can depend on the property and its location, so any gaps should be examined before you commit.

The seller should also provide the energy certificate for the property. Include it in the document review rather than leaving it until the final notary appointment.

5. Check community charges and IBI payments

If the property belongs to a community of owners, request a certificate concerning community debts. This check should establish whether the seller has outstanding amounts relating to the property. Give the certificate to your lawyer for review alongside the other purchase documents.

Check the IBI, the municipal property tax, and ask for the relevant paid receipts. Confirm that the receipts relate to the correct property by comparing the address and cadastral reference with the other records.

These checks cover different matters from the nota simple. Community debts and IBI receipts require their own documents; they should not be assumed to be clear merely because the Land Registry extract shows no mortgage or embargo.

6. Review every contract before paying or signing

A reservation contract may be presented early in the purchase. Have your independent lawyer review its wording, the property details, the parties and any payment terms before you sign or transfer money. Do not treat it as a routine form that can be checked later.

The next document may be an arras contract, meaning a deposit contract. Its exact wording matters, so make sure your lawyer checks the agreed terms and any consequences stated in the contract before signature.

The final stage is the notary appointment, where the escritura, or title deed, is signed. Before that appointment, make sure the ownership, charges, cadastral details, planning position, community certificate, IBI receipts and other required documents have all been reviewed.

Registration of a new owner in the Registro de la Propiedad is voluntary in Spain, except in relation to mortgages. After a purchase, registration is strongly advisable and is needed in practice if the owner later wishes to sell or mortgage the property.

• Buyer’s NIE arranged
• Independent lawyer appointed
• Seller’s ownership checked against the nota simple
• Mortgages, embargos, usufructs and other entries reviewed
• Registro de la Propiedad and Catastro descriptions compared
• Pool, extensions and surface area checked
• Planning position and rustic land issues reviewed
• Community debt certificate obtained where applicable
• IBI receipts checked
• Licences, habitability document and energy certificate reviewed
• Reservation and arras contracts checked before signature
• Documents reviewed before the notary appointment

Ordering a nota simple

Notas Registrales España is a private, independent service. We are not the Registro de la Propiedad, the Colegio de Registradores, a government body or a law firm, and we do not provide legal advice.

Our service costs €35.86 per property, including the service fee and official registry fee. You provide the address or cadastral reference, town, province and email address; the owner’s name is optional but can help where the address is ambiguous.

We identify the competent registry and cross-check the property details using Catastro and the registry’s maps before submitting the request through the official registry platform. The nota simple is usually delivered as a PDF by email within 24–48 hours on working days, although weekends and Spanish public holidays can add time.

You can request the same document yourself through the official website at sede.registradores.org for the official fee, which costs less than our service. The official process is in Spanish and requires the correct registry and property details; incorrect data can lead to rejection and another payment.