Guide · checked 17 October 2026

Finding and buying a property in Spain

Buying in Spain is a well-trodden path, but the order of things matters: check the property before you pay anything, know who your agent works for, and have your own lawyer. Here's the process, step by step.

Where to look

Most homes for sale are listed on a few big property portals:

These are plain links. We don't earn anything from them. The same home often appears through several agents, sometimes at different prices, so compare listings before you call. Adverts must show the home's energy rating label (Real Decreto 390/2021, art. 15.2).

Estate agents: who works for whom

The seller's agent (the listing agent) is hired by the seller to sell the home. They can show you round and answer questions, but their job is to get the sale done for the seller.
A buyer's agent is hired by you to find homes, check them and negotiate for you.

An agent's commission is whatever their contract says. Before you sign anything with an agent, ask who pays the fee, how much it is and when it's due, and get it in writing.

In Catalonia, estate agents based there must be on the official Register of Real Estate Agents of Catalonia (Generalitat de Catalunya), and must hold insurance for their work and a guarantee for any money they hold for you. They can't take a fee from both buyer and seller for the same sale unless that is expressly agreed (Llei 18/2007, art. 55). Elsewhere, check whether your region has a register of estate agents, and ask the agent for their registration number if it does.

A buyer's agent is not a substitute for an independent lawyer: the agent helps you buy; your lawyer checks the legal side whatever you decide.

Before you pay a deposit

Do these checks before any money changes hands. An independent lawyer, who works for you and not for the agent or the seller, can do all of them; ask them for a written quote.

The land registry extract (nota simple): shows who owns the property and any mortgages or charges on it. You can request one online from the Registradores de España.
The cadastral reference and reference value: look the property up on the Sede Electrónica del Catastro, and check that it matches what you're being sold. The Catastro also publishes each home's reference value (valor de referencia). It matters because transfer tax on a resale is charged on the reference value, or on the price if that is higher (ITP law, art. 10.2). Work out the tax for your region with the property purchase costs calculator.
Community fees owed by the seller: in a block of flats, the home itself answers for the community fees the previous owners didn't pay for the current year and the 3 calendar years before it. At the notary the seller must declare whether they're up to date and bring a certificate of any debts from the community; without it the deed can't be signed, unless you, the buyer, expressly waive it (Ley de Propiedad Horizontal, art. 9.1.e). Don't waive it.
Unpaid property tax (IBI): the property answers for any IBI the seller hasn't paid, and the notary must warn you about pending IBI debts (local taxes law, art. 64). Ask for the seller's latest IBI receipt.
Planning and occupancy: whether the home was built and extended legally, and has the licence or certificate needed to live in it, varies by region and town hall. Your lawyer can check with the town hall.

Buying off-plan

If you buy a new home before it's finished and pay the developer anything before completion, the law requires those payments to be guaranteed by an insurance policy or bank guarantee, so you get them back with legal interest if the home isn't built or delivered on time. They must also be paid into a special account, kept apart from the developer's other money (Ley 38/1999, disposición adicional primera, as amended by Ley 20/2015). Ask for the guarantee document for your payments before you pay. For new homes, the developer must also take out 10-year insurance against structural defects (Ley 38/1999, art. 19.1.c and disposición adicional segunda).

The deposit contract (arras)

Once the checks are done, buyer and seller usually sign a private contract and the buyer pays a deposit, called arras or señal. Under the Civil Code, either side can then pull out: you lose the deposit if you walk away, and the seller pays you back double if they do (Código Civil, art. 1454). These are known as arras penitenciales.

In practice contracts also use other kinds of deposit, with different consequences if someone pulls out, and some agents ask for a smaller reservation payment first. Check with your lawyer which kind your contract sets out, and what happens to your money, before you sign.

Money and paperwork

NIE and a Spanish bank account: you need a foreigner identity number (NIE) to buy, and the purchase is normally paid through a Spanish account. See our guides to getting your NIE and opening a bank account in Spain.
A mortgage: see your monthly payment and the cash you need on the day with the mortgage calculator, and read getting a mortgage in Spain as a foreigner.
Taxes and fees: transfer tax on a resale, or VAT and stamp duty on a new build, plus notary and registry fees. The property purchase costs calculator adds them up for your region.

Signing at the notary, then registration

The sale is completed by signing the deed (escritura) in front of a notary, when you pay the rest of the price. The deed is then presented at the Land Registry, so the property is recorded in your name, and the taxes on the purchase are paid after signing.

If the seller doesn't live in Spain: the 3% withholding

When you buy from a non-resident, you must keep back 3% of the agreed price and pay it to the Agencia Tributaria on the Modelo 211 within one month of the sale (Agencia Tributaria). It counts towards the seller's own tax. If it isn't paid, the property you've bought answers for it (non-residents' income tax law, art. 25.2), so make sure your lawyer or the notary deals with it at signing.

After you buy

IBI: the yearly property tax, charged by the town hall on the property's cadastral value (local taxes law, art. 65). The cadastral value is on the IBI bill.
If you don't live in Spain: non-residents pay income tax on a Spanish home they keep for their own use, even if it earns nothing. This "imputed income" is 1.1% of the cadastral value where your municipality's values were revised recently, and 2% otherwise; the Agencia Tributaria says to check the year of your town's valuation (ponencia de valores) on the Catastro portal. It applies to urban homes that aren't rented out, counted by the days you owned the home in the year (IRPF law, art. 85.1, applied to non-residents by the non-residents' income tax law, art. 24.5). A change to these rules from 2027 is in a decree-law awaiting Parliament's confirmation.
The rate: 19% if you live in another EU or EEA country, 24% otherwise (non-residents' income tax law, art. 25.1). UK residents pay 24% (Agencia Tributaria, Brexit). You declare it on the Modelo 210: for 2026 onwards, from 1 April to 31 December of the year after (Agencia Tributaria). See the Agencia Tributaria's page on imputed income; if you rent the home out, different rules apply.
No residence through buying: Spain's investor residence route, which included buying property (the "golden visa"), was abolished from 3 April 2025 by Ley Orgánica 1/2025 (disposición final 21). Visas already granted keep their validity. Buying a home doesn't by itself give you the right to live in Spain.

In short

Search the portals, and know whether an agent works for the seller or for you.
Have an independent lawyer check the nota simple, the Catastro, community fees, IBI and planning before you pay a deposit.
Read the arras contract carefully: it decides what happens to your deposit.
Get your NIE, account and mortgage in place, and budget the taxes with the property calculator.
Sign at the notary; if the seller is non-resident, keep back the 3% and file the Modelo 211 within a month.