What a lawyer checks before buying property in Spain
In 30 seconds
An independent Spanish lawyer does about 15 checks before telling you whether to continue. These checks cover ownership, charges, building legality, and community debt. It takes 2 to 4 weeks and costs about ~1 % of the price.
The first five of fifteen, in full below
- OwnershipWhether the registry entry matches the person selling.
- Charges and enforcementMortgages, seizures and other registered charges that can attach to the property itself.
- Easements and restrictionsRegistered rights of way or other limits nobody mentioned in the listing.
- Community debtsUnpaid comunidad fees, which can transfer to a new owner up to a statutory limit.
- IBI and local obligationsThe annual property tax, checked against the same debts-follow-the-property principle.
How does a lawyer confirm who owns the property?
By reading a nota simple, and then checking what it does not show. A nota simple is the plain extract from the Spanish land registry showing who owns a property and what is registered against it, and it is the first document your lawyer reads before you pay anything. Registro de la Propiedad is the formal name of the Spanish land registry, the institution behind the ownership record. Cadastre is the Czech shorthand this site uses for the Spanish land registry, the record of who owns a property and what is charged against it.A nota simple is informative. It is not a guarantee of title in the way a foreign buyer might expect. The document with full legal weight is a certificación registral, a fuller and slower extract usually requested only at completion. For deciding whether to continue, the nota simple is what a lawyer works from. It is worth asking for one that is no more than a few weeks old, rather than relying on a copy the seller happens to have.
Nota simple informativaRegistro de la Propiedad
- Titular (owner)
- NOMBRE APELLIDOS
- Descripción
- Finca urbana · XXX m²
- Cargas (charges)
- Hipoteca · Banco X · XXX.XXX €
- Titular (owner). The ownership block: who the registry says currently owns the property.
- Descripción. The description block: surface area and boundaries, checked against the Catastro and the physical property.
- Cargas (charges). The charges block: any mortgage, embargo or easement registered against the property. This is what a nota simple proves.
What is easily confusedHow it really works
- Cadastre and Registro de la Propiedad are the same thing
- They are two separate Spanish systems. This site groups them under one Czech word for convenience. The Registro de la Propiedad records legal ownership and charges. The Catastro records the physical description of a property and the value used to calculate local taxes. The two can disagree about the same property. Fixing this mismatch is a common finding, and it is usually possible.
- If the nota simple looks clean, the property is clean
- It shows only what is registered. Something can be true but unregistered, like an extension nobody filed or a boundary dispute nobody recorded, and a nota simple will not show it. That is why the checklist below has other rows beyond the registry entry itself.
What exactly does a nota simple show?Who is registered as the owner, the physical description of the property as recorded, and any charges against it: mortgages, seizures, easements, or other encumbrances. It does not show unregistered facts. This is why it is one check among several, not the whole check.
Can somebody else’s debt become yours?
Yes, on two specific and well-established points, and this is the finding that surprises foreign buyers most. In these two areas, Spanish practice attaches certain debts to the property itself, not only to the person who owed them.
- Mortgages, seizures and other registered chargesA charge that is not cleared before the sale stays attached to the property, so a buyer can end up owning something still burdened by the previous owner’s debt. Checked on the nota simple, and confirmed again by the notary at completion.
- Unpaid community feesDebts to the comunidad de propietarios can transfer to a new owner, up to a legal limit. This is usually described as covering the current year plus a set number of earlier years. Proven by a certificate from the community administrator, requested before signing.
- Unpaid local taxes, such as IBIThis obligation is understood to travel with the property, not stay only with the person who owed it, in the same way as community debts. Proven by a certificate confirming IBI is paid up to date. Andalusian law separately requires the seller to provide this certificate before the property is even offered for sale.
The exact legal limits on how many years of unpaid community fees attach to a new owner are a technical point. This varies with the specific facts of the transaction, so we deliberately do not reduce it to a single figure. Your lawyer confirms the limit that applies to your purchase, using the real certificate.
Is there any way to know about a community debt before it shows up on a certificate?The minutes of recent general meetings usually mention a debt or a planned extra charge before it becomes an official certificate. Asking for the last two sets of minutes, along with the certificate itself, is standard practice and worth doing, whether or not your lawyer has already asked.
What does "built legally" mean for a Spanish property?
It means four things must line up, in order. One NO in the chain is enough to stop it. The licencia de primera ocupación is the first-occupation licence a new build needs before it can legally be lived in and connected to the supplies. On a resale property, the same question is whether what physically stands on the plot matches what was ever permitted and registered.
- A building licence (licencia de obra) was issued before construction startedWho decidesThe town hall, at the time of buildingWhat it grantsConstruction was authorised at allIf noConstruction happened without authorisation. This is the most serious finding on this list.
- The first-occupation licence (licencia de primera ocupación) was issuedWho decidesThe town hall, at the end of constructionWhat it grantsThe property can legally be connected to water and electricity, and be lived inIf noThe property cannot legally be lived in or connected to the utilities, no matter how finished it looks
- The registry description matches what was really builtWho decidesRegistro de la PropiedadWhat it grantsWhat you buy on paper is what physically existsIf noAn unregistered extension or alteration, one of the most frequent findings in a Spanish legal check
- The Catastro agrees with the registryWho decidesCatastro, Ministry of FinanceWhat it grantsTax calculations and the registry match each otherIf noA mismatch. This is common and usually fixable, but worth resolving before signing, not after.
Can an unregistered extension really cause a demolition order?In the most serious cases on this coast, yes, especially where construction breaks protected-land rules rather than simply lacking a permit. Most findings are less serious, and are resolved by registering what already exists, at a cost. Either way, it is a finding worth having before signing, not after.
What information is a seller legally required to give you, before your lawyer even looks?
Eight specific items, at two different moments, no matter what a lawyer finds on their own. Andalusian consumer-protection law already gives a buyer the right to specific documents from the selling side, whenever the sale goes through a professional or an agency. A private, one-off seller acting alone is exempt from this specific rule. But a foreign buyer working through any agency, including this one, has the full right.
- Who owns the propertyDisclosed before you even make an offer, under Decreto 218/2005, Anexo V.
- Any registered charges against itAlso part of the same pre-offer resale property information sheet.
- The surface area, from a nota simple no more than three months oldDisclosed before an offer, so the figure you base your offer on has been checked.
- The current community feeDisclosed before an offer, so you know the real recurring cost.
- A certificate that IBI is paid up to dateRequired before an offer. A further IBI certificate is required again before signing.
- The relevant licencesDue at least three working days before signing, not on the day itself.
- The community statutes and the administrator’s certificate of any debtAlso due at least three working days before signing.
- The Libro del EdificioThe building’s own technical and maintenance record. This is the last of the documents due before signing, in the same three-working-day window.
The practical value of this right is that it does not depend on your lawyer asking the right question at the right time. If the selling side, or the agency representing it, cannot produce these documents on request, treat that as useful information on its own, well before the legal check has even started. This position is current as of 17 August 2026, read in the decree text and the Junta de Andalucía’s own published guidance, not in a commentary. This applies to agency and professional sales in Andalusia. A private, one-off seller is exempt, by the regulation’s own wording. Enforcement is by regional consumer inspectors, who may check compliance without identifying themselves. The realistic penalty for the lightest level of breach is a fine of 200 to 5.000 €, not a large figure.
Does this right apply if I am buying directly from a private owner with no agency involved?No. The regulation exempts a genuinely private, one-off sale. It applies whenever a professional or an agency is involved in the sale, which covers most transactions a foreign buyer is likely to make on this coast.
What can I do if a seller or agency refuses to provide these documents?Treat it as a serious warning sign, not a minor paperwork problem, and raise it with your lawyer before paying anything. A regional consumer authority in Andalusia is the enforcement route for the regulation itself. But the more immediate protection is simply not continuing with a transaction where basic information you are entitled to is being withheld.
The fifteen things a Spanish legal check normally covers
Not every item applies to every property. A lawyer checks what is relevant to your specific transaction, at a fee of roughly ~1 % of the price, with a 0 € referral fee to us. This list gets longer on a new build, to include the company behind it.- OwnershipWhether the registry entry matches the person selling. Buying from somebody who cannot legally transfer what they are selling.
- Charges and enforcementMortgages, seizures and other charges registered against the property. A charge that is not cleared before the sale, and stays attached to the property rather than to the previous owner.
- Easements and restrictionsRegistered rights of way or other limits on the property. Something you assumed was only yours turns out to be shared or restricted.
- Community debtsUnpaid fees to the comunidad de propietarios, and a certificate before signing. Debts that can transfer to a new owner, sometimes reaching tens of thousands of euros.
- IBI and local obligationsThe annual property tax and relevant local charges. The same debts-follow-the-property principle applies.
- Registry against the cadastreWhether the Registro de la Propiedad and the Catastro describe the same property. A disagreement between the two, common and usually fixable, but cheaper to find before signing.
- Building legalityWhether what stands on the plot is what was permitted, and whether alterations were registered. An unregistered extension, one of the most frequent findings, which can affect resale property and mortgages.
- Licencia de primera ocupaciónThe first-occupation licence for the property. Without it a property cannot legally be lived in or connected to the utilities.
- Community rules and short-term rental restrictionsThe statutes of the comunidad and any restrictions on use or short-term rentals. A property that is legal to buy, but still one where holiday rentals are restricted or banned.
- The developer, on a new build onlyWho is behind the project and what they have completed before. A new or inexperienced developer, which is worth knowing before committing rather than after.
- Licencia de obra, on a new build onlyThe building licence that allows construction to go ahead legally. Construction started without the correct licences, the most serious finding on this list.
- Land classification, on a new build onlyConfirmation the plot is suelo urbano, classified as urban and buildable. Protected or rural land, which is a completely different purchase from the one being sold.
- The bank guarantee, on a new build onlyA valid guarantee covering every staged payment, issued specifically in the buyer’s name. The protection that returns the money if the build fails. A group policy in the developer’s name is not the same protection.
- The completion date in the contract, on a new build onlyWhen the project is due to be signed off, checked against the documentation. The guarantee also applies if construction goes past the contract date, so the written date matters more than a brochure’s estimate.
- Sign-off and the occupation licence, on a new build onlyThe certificate of completion of works and the licence of first occupation, at the end of the build. These are what turn a finished-looking building into one you can legally live in. Delays on a new build usually happen here.
Where the legal check sits in the purchase
The full purchase has fifteen steps, from the first call to the keys. The legal check is step nine, and it comes after the reservation, not before.Step 9 of 15
- Legal due diligenceUsually 2 to 4 weeksThe independent lawyer works through the checklist above before recommending that the purchase continue. What usually makes this take longer is not the legal work itself, but documents that have not yet arrived from the seller, the developer, or the community administrator.
What a completed check tells you, and what it does not
This is general information about what a Spanish legal check covers, and about a specific Andalusian consumer-protection regulation. It is current as of 17 August 2026, and was read at source, not copied from a commentary. This is not legal advice about your own purchase, and it does not describe what was or was not checked on any specific property.A completed check is not a guarantee. It tells you that what could be verified was verified, and what was found. Not every item on the list above applies to every property. The buyer-rights section describes what the law requires the selling side to provide, not what any specific seller in your own transaction did provide.This page does not perform the check itself, and we are not a law firm. An independent lawyer carries out the real due diligence on your purchase. If you are looking for help coordinating that process, that is a separate guide.
Most common questions about the lawyer’s checks
- Does the notary do the same check as the lawyer?
- No. The notary confirms identity and the registry entry again at the moment of signing, as a public official representing neither side. The lawyer’s check happens weeks earlier, specifically for you, while it is still realistically possible to withdraw from the purchase.
- What is the single most common problem this kind of check finds?
- An unregistered change to the building: an extension, an enclosed terrace, or work done without the matching licence being filed. It rarely involves outright fraud. Much more often, it is unfinished paperwork that has simply never caught up with what physically exists.
- What exactly does the lawyer ask the community administrator for?
- Two things, as standard practice: a certificate confirming the current debt position, and the last two sets of general-meeting minutes alongside it. The certificate confirms the exact number. The minutes often show a debt or a planned extra charge before it becomes an official certificate at all. This is why asking for both together catches more than the certificate alone.
- How is this different from a technical or structural survey?
- Completely different. A lawyer’s check is legal: ownership, debts, licences, planning status. A technical inspection by an architect or a surveyor looks at the physical condition of the building itself: damp, the roof, the installations. Neither one replaces the other.
- Does this apply the same way to a plot of land as to a finished property?
- The land-classification check matters even more on a plot, because whether it is suelo urbano decides whether building on it is possible at all. Several of the other rows, the occupation licence in particular, do not become relevant until something is built.
