Property templates and checklistsSpain
Reviewed October 28, 2026. Not legal advice. Have a notary or lawyer check your case before you sign.
Buying
- TemplatePurchase offer template
- TemplatePreliminary sale agreement template
- ChecklistBuyer's due diligence checklist
How buying works
- 1
Make a written offer
The buyer usually makes a written offer through the estate agent.
- 2
Sign the contrato de arras
When the seller accepts, the parties sign a private preliminary contract (contrato de arras). The buyer pays a deposit (arras) that counts toward the price.
- 3
Check the home and get a loan
The buyer checks the land register (nota simple), the cadastre, the community of owners' debts and the energy certificate, and arranges a mortgage.
- 4
Sign the deed before a notary
The sale completes when both parties sign the deed of sale (escritura pública de compraventa) before a notary. The buyer has the right to choose the notary.
- 5
Notary checks and registers
The notary checks title, charges, taxes and the means of payment. The notary sends the deed to the land registry (Registro de la Propiedad) the same day.
- 6
Pay the purchase tax
Resale: regional transfer tax (ITP), usually 6% to 10% by region. Catalonia: 11% to 13% on the value above €600,000. New home: VAT plus stamp duty (AJD).
- 7
Catalonia
Catalonia applies its own Civil Code to sales.
Renting
- TemplateResidential lease agreement template
- TemplateMove-in inventory report template
- TemplateLease termination letter template
How renting works
- Governing law
- Ley 29/1994 de Arrendamientos Urbanos (LAU), in all of Spain. Its rules for homes protect the tenant as mandatory law.
- Rent limits (Ley 12/2023)
- Limits in declared high-demand areas (zonas de mercado residencial tensionado), and a state rent reference index.
- Letting agent fee
- The landlord pays the letting agent (Ley 12/2023).
- Minimum term
- 5 years, or 7 if the landlord is a company, through yearly renewals that only the tenant can refuse.
- Deposit (fianza)
- One month's rent. Many regions require the landlord to lodge it with a regional body.
- Annual rent update
- Capped by the INE index IRAV.
- Decree-laws of 6 October 2026
- Both change the LAU. RDL 29/2026 is in force since 8 October 2026. RDL 28/2026 would start on 15 November 2026.
- Status of the 2026 decree-laws
- Both depend on a vote of the Diputación Permanente of the dissolved Congress. Check their status before you sign.