Buying Property in Spain as a Foreigner: Step by Step

Foreigners can buy homes in Spain on the same terms as Spanish citizens, whether for living, retiring or holidays. Outside a few restricted zones near military sites, nobody asks a buyer for special permission because of a foreign passport. What makes a purchase harder from abroad is the order of the paperwork and the Spanish terms used at each stage. This guide follows a typical purchase from the first identity number to the yearly duties of an owner and shows where a lawyer usually takes over.

Before the search: an NIE and a Spanish bank account

Almost every step asks for the buyer's NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero), the personal number Spain gives to foreigners for tax and official matters. The notary will not authorise the deed without it, and the purchase taxes are filed under it. A buyer can ask for it at a police office in Spain, at a Spanish consulate abroad, or through a representative. Lawyers who handle the NIE application often start this request on the same day the buyer first contacts them, because appointments can be scarce on the coasts.

A Spanish bank account comes next. The price is normally paid by a bank cheque or by a transfer the notary can trace, and the same account later pays the local taxes, the community fees and the utility bills. Banks ask non-residents for proof of non-residence and for papers that show where the money comes from, as part of their anti-money-laundering checks. Buyers who want a mortgage usually speak to lenders at this point.

Choosing a home and reserving it

Estate agents in Spain normally work for the seller, and a listing says little about the legal state of a home. When a buyer picks a property, the agent often asks for a modest reservation payment to take it off the market while the checks are made. A clear reservation paper says what happens to that money if the checks turn up a problem.

The market varies a great deal between regions. Buyers on the Costa del Sol often work with a lawyer in Málaga or Marbella, those on the Costa Blanca with one in Alicante, and buyers of city flats with one in Barcelona or Madrid.

Legal checks before anything binding

This stage, often called due diligence, answers three questions: does the seller really own the home, does it carry debts or charges, and can it lawfully be used as a home. A lawyer handling the property purchase usually looks at:

• a registry extract, the nota simple, issued by the Registro de la Propiedad (Land Registry), which names the owner and lists any mortgage, seizure (embargo) or right of way;
• the Catastro record, the official description of the plot and building, to see that it matches the home on offer;
• recent receipts of the IBI, the yearly municipal property tax, because unpaid IBI can be claimed from a new owner;
• a statement from the comunidad de propietarios, the association of all owners in a block or estate, confirming that no fees are owed;
• the town hall's planning records: whether the building and any later extensions or pools have licences, and whether proceedings are open;
• the occupancy document, called cédula de habitabilidad or licence of first occupation depending on the region, and the energy performance certificate;
• for a country house, whether the land is rustic land where building and extending are tightly limited;
• whether tenants or other occupants live there, and on what terms.

Problems found now are far easier to handle than after signing. The lawyer summarises the results and, where the seller has to fix something, such as clearing an old loan or legalising an extension, writes that duty into the contract. Wider questions, like a boundary quarrel with a neighbour or a building that differs from the register, are the field of property rights and disputes.

The private contract and the deposit

When the checks are clear, buyer and seller usually sign a private contract with a deposit, the contrato de arras. It fixes the price, the latest date for completion, what furniture or parking is included and who pays which costs. The most common form, arras penitenciales, lets either side withdraw at a price: a buyer who walks away loses the deposit, and a seller who walks away pays it back twice over. Other forms bind the parties more firmly, so the exact wording matters. Many buyers have the draft read by a lawyer for contract review before they sign, especially when the seller's agent prepared it.

Completion before a notary

The sale is completed by a public deed, the escritura pública de compraventa, signed before a Spanish notary (notario). The notary checks identities, reads the deed and records the payment, but acts for neither side. On the day, things typically go like this:

1. The notary's office obtains an up-to-date registry extract to confirm that nothing has changed since the checks.
2. Buyer and seller, or their representatives, attend with passports and NIEs; an interpreter joins when a party does not follow Spanish.
3. The buyer hands over the price by bank cheques or a traced transfer, and any loan the seller still has on the home is paid off from that money.
4. When the seller does not live in Spain, the buyer keeps back the part of the price that the law sets aside and pays it to the tax office on the seller's account.
5. Both sides sign, the notary keeps the original deed and the buyer receives the keys.
6. The notary sends an electronic copy to the Land Registry, which records the new owner once the purchase tax has been paid.

A buyer who cannot travel can still complete. A power of attorney signed before a Spanish notary or consulate, or before a foreign notary with an apostille and a sworn translation, lets a lawyer sign the deed, pay the taxes and see the registration through.

Taxes and costs of a purchase

Rates are left out here on purpose: they change, and the main ones are set by each region. The names show what to expect:

• ITP (Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales), the transfer tax on a resale home;
• IVA, the Spanish VAT, on a new home bought from the developer, together with AJD (Actos Jurídicos Documentados), a stamp duty on the deed;
• the notary's and the registry's fees, which follow official scales, and the lawyer's own fee;
• valuation, arrangement and other bank costs when there is a mortgage.

The plusvalía municipal, a local tax on the gain in land value since the previous transfer, falls on the seller in a normal sale unless the contract shifts it. The purchase tax return is filed under the buyer's NIE within a fixed period after completion; late filing brings surcharges. How the purchase fits with taxes in the buyer's home country is a question for tax services.

New builds and off-plan homes

Buying from a developer before the home is finished brings its own risks. Spanish law requires money paid during construction to be secured, by a bank guarantee or an insurance policy for each buyer, and paid into a special account. Buyers usually ask to see that guarantee before each instalment, and check the building licence and the promised delivery date in the contract. When a project stalls or the developer becomes insolvent, the guarantee is often the way to get the money back; lawyers who bring an off-plan property claim deal with exactly that. At handover, a new home also needs its licence of first occupation before the utilities can be connected in most towns.

After completion: the owner's yearly duties

The Land Registry entry protects the owner against third parties, so the lawyer follows the registration until the registered title comes back. After that, ownership brings a few recurring tasks:

The town hall bills the IBI every year; the page on property tax for foreign owners explains how these local taxes work. An owner who does not live in Spain also files a yearly non-resident income tax return on the home, even when it stands empty, because the law treats part of its value as income; this is the non-resident property tax (Modelo 210). Letting the home to holidaymakers usually needs a regional registration first, see tourist rental licence and registration, and the rent is declared as income. Many owners also sign a Spanish will that covers the home, which makes things simpler for the heirs; lawyers who help people make a will draft one that sits alongside a will from the home country.

Buying a home no longer leads to a residence permit on its own: Spain stopped accepting new Golden Visa applications based on investment in April 2025. Buyers who want to live in the country look at the ordinary routes, such as the non-lucrative visa, designed for those who live on a pension or savings. Other questions about ownership are covered under property law in Spain.

Questions and answers

Are foreigners allowed to buy a house in Spain?

Yes. Citizens of any country can buy a home in Spain, and they do so through the same notary and registry as Spanish buyers. The only special case is land in a few areas of military interest, where non-EU buyers need an authorisation first.

Can I buy a house in Spain without an NIE?

In practice, no. The notary asks for the NIE of every buyer and the taxes of the purchase are filed under it. A representative can obtain it while the buyer stays abroad, so the number is rarely what holds a purchase up.

Is a lawyer required to buy property in Spain?

The law does not require one. The notary, however, checks the deed and the identities rather than the property itself, so it is common for foreign buyers to hire a lawyer of their own to run the registry, planning and debt checks and to read the contracts.

Does buying a house in Spain give residency?

Not any more. The investment route known as the Golden Visa closed to new applicants in April 2025. Owning a home can still help an application for another permit, for example as proof of accommodation.

Can I buy property in Spain without travelling there?

Yes. With a power of attorney, a lawyer can obtain the NIE, sign the contract and the deed, pay the taxes and register the home. The buyer signs the power once, in Spain or before a notary abroad.

What taxes does a buyer pay in Spain?

A resale home carries the transfer tax known as ITP; a new home from a developer carries IVA and the stamp duty called AJD. On top come notary, registry and legal fees, and afterwards the yearly IBI and, for non-residents, the Modelo 210 return.