Buyer's due diligence checklist for Spain
Buyer's due diligence checklistComprobaciones antes de firmar el contrato de arras
The documents and checks a buyer of an existing home in Spain should get before signing the contrato de arras: owner and charges in the land register, cadastre, community debts, property tax, energy certificate, regional building documents, tenants and taxes.
Use it from the first visit until you sign the contrato de arras. Ask the seller or the agent for each document, and get the nota simple yourself online. The notary checks the register again just before the deed, but by then you have already paid the arras.
Reviewed October 28, 2026. Not legal advice. Have a notary or lawyer check your case before you sign.
Key facts
- Applies to
- Whole country. Habitability certificates and building inspections (ITE) depend on the autonomous community, and transfer tax rates differ by region.
- Energy performance certificate
- Valid 10 years, or 5 years if the rating is G. Required for every sale (RD 390/2021, Procedimiento básico arts. 3 and 13).
- Community debts
- The home answers for unpaid charges of the current year and the 3 previous calendar years (LPH art. 9.1.e).
- Community debt certificate
- The community must issue it within 7 calendar days (LPH art. 9.1.e).
- Unpaid property tax (IBI)
- The home stays liable for the IBI owed when it changes hands (TRLRHL art. 64).
- Home with a tenant
- The buyer must respect the lease for at least its first 5 years, or 7 if the seller is a company (LAU art. 14).
- Tenant's right to buy first
- 30 calendar days from formal notice of the sale, price and terms (LAU art. 25).
- Hidden defects
- Claims expire 6 months after delivery (Código Civil art. 1490).
- Sale by heirs
- If the heir is not a forced heir, register protection is suspended 2 years after the death (Ley Hipotecaria art. 28, per Notariado).
- Transfer tax on a resale (ITP)
- Usually 6% to 10%, and up to 13% in Catalonia on the value above €600,000 (Consejo General del Notariado).
- Tax base
- The price or the cadastral reference value, whichever is higher (TRLITPAJD art. 10.2).
- Tax on a new home
- VAT plus a regional AJD rate, for example 0.4% to 0.75% in Madrid for an individual buyer, by value.
- Tax deadline
- Within 30 working days or one month of the deed, by region (Consejo General del Notariado).
The checklist
Owner, title and capacity
Recent land register extract for the homeNota simple informativa
Request the nota simple online, in English if you need it
Seller's title deedEscritura de propiedad
It shows how the seller acquired the home. Compare it with the nota simple.
Identity, marital status and matrimonial regime of every sellerDNI / NIE, régimen económico matrimonial
Power of attorney, if someone signs for the sellerCopia autorizada del poder notarial
A photocopy is not enough. The power must allow the sale of this home.
Inheritance documents, if heirs sellEscritura de aceptación de herencia
The heirs must have accepted and registered the inheritance.
Cadastre and physical description
Cadastral reference and descriptive and graphic certificateReferencia catastral, certificación catastral descriptiva y gráfica
Useful and built area, and the share in the buildingSuperficie útil y construida, cuota de participación
The share sets your part of the community charges. Ley 12/2023, art. 31 lets you ask for the areas before you pay anything.
Debts and charges
Community of owners' debt certificateCertificado de deudas con la comunidad de propietarios
Minutes of recent owners' meetings and approved leviesActas de la junta de propietarios, derramas aprobadas
They show approved works, disputes and levies. Agree in the contract who pays levies approved before the sale.
Last property tax receipt and proof that earlier years are paidRecibo del IBI
Outstanding mortgage and the bank's figure to cancel itCertificado de deuda pendiente del préstamo hipotecario
The mortgage must be paid off and cancelled at the deed, usually from the price. Ask for the bank's exact figure.
Building, energy and planning
Registered energy performance certificateCertificado de eficiencia energética
Habitability certificate or first occupation licence, where the region requires itCédula de habitabilidad / licencia de primera ocupación
Some regions require the seller to hand it over, and the notary records it in the deed.
Building technical inspection, for older buildingsInspección Técnica del Edificio (ITE / IEE)
Planning status and licences for extensions or changes of useCertificado urbanístico del ayuntamiento
Ask the town hall whether the home has open planning proceedings and whether past works had a licence.
Licence for a change of use, such as tourist letting
A change of use needs a licence and may need the community's consent.
Protected housing statusCalificación de vivienda de protección oficial (VPO)
Occupation
Statement that the home is free of tenants and occupants, or a copy of the leaseDeclaración de libre de arrendatarios y ocupantes
Visit shortly before the deedVisita previa a la firma
Check that the home is empty, that the agreed fittings remain and that the meters work.
Taxes and costs
Transfer tax estimate for the regionITP, o IVA y AJD en vivienda nueva
Seller's tax residenceResidencia fiscal del vendedor
Formalities
A due diligence list is a checklist by nature. The buyer collects most items, and the notary repeats the registry and cadastre checks at the deed.
- You do not sign this checklist.
- Before any payment, a buyer may ask for the main information on the home and its legal status, in a durable format (Ley 12/2023, art. 31).
- Before the deed, the notary obtains a continuous registry report and a cadastral certificate.
- The notary presents the deed to the land registry the same day.
Common mistakes
- Relying on the agent's description instead of the nota simple. Only the land register shows who owns the home and which mortgages or seizures burden it.
- Ignoring a difference between the register, the cadastre and the real home.
- Missing works done without a licence. An extension or a closed terrace without one can block a mortgage valuation or bring a fine.
- Not asking about works the community has already approved. The minutes of owners' meetings show special levies (derramas) that may fall on the new owner.
- Assuming you can let the flat to tourists. Check the community statutes and the town's rules before you buy for that purpose.
- Buying a protected home (VPO) at a free price. Check with the regional housing body whether a maximum price and an authorisation apply.
- Forgetting the seller's spouse or the other heirs. If they do not sign, the sale can fail at the notary.
Legal basis
- Ley 49/1960, de 21 de julio, sobre propiedad horizontal, art. 9.1.e (community debts and certificate)
- Real Decreto Legislativo 2/2004 (Ley Reguladora de las Haciendas Locales), art. 64 (IBI follows the property)
- Real Decreto 390/2021, de 1 de junio, Procedimiento básico para la certificación de la eficiencia energética de los edificios, arts. 3 and 13
- Ley 29/1994, de 24 de noviembre, de Arrendamientos Urbanos, art. 14 (sale of a let home)
- Ley 29/1994, art. 25 (tenant's right of first refusal and redemption)
- Real Decreto Legislativo 1/2004 (Ley del Catastro Inmobiliario), art. 38 (cadastral reference in documents)
- Código Civil, arts. 1484 and 1490 (hidden defects and 6-month limit)
- Real Decreto Legislativo 1/1993, de 24 de septiembre (texto refundido del ITP y AJD), art. 10.2 (tax base: cadastral reference value, or the price if higher)
- Ley 12/2023, de 24 de mayo, por el derecho a la vivienda, art. 31 (minimum information in a purchase)
Sources
- Tarifes, tipus impositius i quota (ITP, transmissions patrimonials oneroses)
- Actos jurídicos documentados
- Viviendas e inmuebles: compraventa de vivienda
- Registro de la Propiedad: nota simple
- Solicitud de acceso a la información catastral y de certificados
- Los decretos-leyes de vivienda: derogación, reaprobación y convalidación en plena disolución