Before the purchasing process in Spain is over, you should check the Land Registry extract (nota simple), available from the Colegio de Registradores and pay attention to the following details:
- the property in Spain and land for sale match the details registered and the sellers are the registered owner
- there are no debts or charges on the property in Spain from previous owners
- there are no legal proceedings against the law over your property in Spain
- you have checked that the permissions are in order and the property is legally acceptable. The town hall is the organization where you can get the information about the building and details of the land. If your property in Spain is built on rural land or land don’t allowed for construction, the regional government must give the authorization of construction
- if you are buying an off-plan property in Spain, confirm that the property has been qualified as finished by a registered architect and registered as a new build in the property register. The registration should also provide details of the insurance against structural and other problems in the construction. In the case of a private property, you will need to ask for these documents separately
- you have checked the latest town plan to see whether or not the property you wish to buy has any building restrictions, is in a green zone or includes a public pathway or similar. This can be viewed at to the town planning (urbanismo) department of the local town hall
- you have carried out a property survey. Whilst this is not obligatory, it is important to get a chartered survey or to check the property
- You have to know the cadastral value of the property in Spain and how much purchase tax will be due. You can check this at the regional government’s online tax agency site using the cadastal reference number for this task
Make sure you have seen the following documents:
- a paid-up receipt for the previous owner’s annual property tax (IBI) to prove there are no unpaid rates from previous years
- the Catastral certificate giving the exact boundaries and square metres of your land. The Cadastral record will be linked to the Land Register record by a cadastral reference. You should make sure that the property and land description 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.
- 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 stating that there are no debts. You should know that if you later find that there are such debts, as the new owner, you have to pay debts for the current and previous year (two years in total)
- Properties for sale in Spain need by law to have an energy efficiency certificate. If you are considering buying a property in Spain, the seller is forced to show you this certificate
It is advisable that you register your property in Spain under your name with the Land Registry as soon as possible to make sure your rights are protected. The notary can send a notification to the Land Registry by email once the public deed is signed.
