Before you sign anything or pay a deposit, the property itself has to be checked: who really owns it, what debts and charges it carries, whether it was built and occupied legally, and whether what is on the ground matches what is on paper. Here is the full set of legal checks that protect a buyer in Spain — and what happens when a check turns something up.
Due diligence is the legal investigation of a property carried out before you commit to buying it. In Spain it is the difference between buying a clean, fully legal home and inheriting somebody else's debts, planning problems or boundary dispute. The purpose is simple to state: to confirm that the person selling actually owns the property and is free to sell it, that the property is free of debts and charges that would pass to you, that it was built and is occupied legally, and that what you are physically buying matches what is recorded in the official registers. Everything else on this page is detail underneath those four questions.
The reason it matters so much in Spain is structural. Unlike some countries, Spain does not run a single, automatically guaranteed register that resolves every question about a property. The Land Registry (the Registro de la Propiedad) records ownership and charges, the Cadastre (the Catastro) records the physical description and location for tax purposes, and the town hall holds the planning and licence position — and these three sources do not always agree. A property can be registered to one description, taxed on another, and physically a third. Debts can attach to the property rather than the person, so an unpaid bill from the previous owner can become your problem. The checks exist precisely because no single document tells the whole story, and because once you sign at the notary, undoing a purchase is slow, expensive and often impossible.
This page is about the checks themselves — what each one is and why it protects you. It is deliberately distinct from the question of why you should use your own independent lawyer rather than the agent's or developer's; that argument is made in full on its own page, and the short version is that someone whose only client is you should be the one carrying out everything described below.
Every thorough investigation of a Spanish purchase falls into these six areas. Skip one and you leave a gap a problem can walk through.
Confirming from the nota simple that the seller is the registered owner, that there are no co-owners or heirs who must also consent, and that there is no court order, embargo or restriction preventing a sale. If the registered owner is dead, divorced or a company, extra checks apply before anyone can sign.
Checking for mortgages, embargoes, unpaid IBI and SUMA, outstanding community fees, and utility arrears. In Spain many of these attach to the property, not the person, so they can follow it to you unless cleared at or before completion.
Verifying the building licence, the first-occupation licence or cédula de habitabilidad, and — for rural property — whether it is legalised or sits under an AFO. Checking the town hall for open infraction files, demolition orders or protected-land issues.
Comparing the Land Registry description, the Cadastre record and the physical reality so that surface area, boundaries and the georeferenced plot all line up. Mismatches are common and can stall a sale, a mortgage or a future resale.
Confirming that any extension, pool, garage or whole property is properly declared as an obra nueva and registered, so that what physically exists is also legally documented. Undeclared works are one of the most frequent hidden defects in Spanish property.
Checking the community of owners — its rules, debts, pending levies and any disputes — and confirming the property is free of tenants or occupiers with rights. A cheap-looking apartment can carry an expensive special levy or a sitting tenant.
The sections that follow take each of these areas in turn, explaining what the check involves, what it is looking for, and what it protects you from. None of them is optional on a careful purchase, and several of them routinely uncover the kind of problem that, caught late, costs a buyer far more than the legal work that would have found it early.
The nota simple is an extract from the Land Registry and the single most important document in any Spanish due diligence. It is a snapshot of the property's legal position, and obtaining a fresh, recent one — not a copy the seller hands you — is the first thing a buyer's lawyer does. A nota simple that is weeks or months old can hide a charge or order registered since. The independent lawyer requests it directly so there is no question about what it shows or when.
The nota simple answers three of the four core questions at once. First, ownership: it names the registered owner or owners, which must match the person actually selling to you. If the property is jointly owned, every owner must consent; if an owner has died, you are dealing with an inheritance that must be resolved before sale; if the seller is a company, you need to verify who can sign for it. Second, the description: it sets out the registered surface area, the boundaries, and whether the property is a flat, a house, a plot with a build, and so on — the figure you then compare against the Cadastre and the physical reality. Third, and most importantly for protecting your money, charges and burdens: the cargas section lists mortgages, embargoes (court-ordered seizures securing a debt), liens, easements, rights of way, and any restriction on the owner's freedom to sell.
Where the nota simple shows a mortgage, an embargo or any other charge, the deal does not necessarily die — but it changes shape. The standard solution is that the charge is cleared and cancelled at or before completion out of the sale proceeds, with the cancellation handled so it actually comes off the register rather than merely being promised. Where a charge is more serious — an embargo for an unpaid debt, a court restriction, or an old mortgage that was repaid but never formally cancelled — it needs specialist handling. These are exactly the situations covered on our pages on embargoes and charges on Spanish property and title and registry problems, which set out how each type is resolved.
A property can have perfect title and no debts and still be a problem if it was built without the right permissions or cannot legally be lived in. Planning and licence due diligence is where many of the most expensive Spanish property problems are found, and it is the area where local knowledge matters most, because so much of it sits at the town hall rather than in any central register.
The licencia de obras is the permission under which a property was built. A buyer's lawyer checks that the original build was licensed and that any subsequent works — an extension, a converted basement, a glazed terrace, a pool — were also covered. Works carried out without a licence may be subject to enforcement, may be impossible to register, and can complicate or block a future mortgage or sale.
The first-occupation licence (licencia de primera ocupación) and, in some regions, the cédula de habitabilidad, certify that a property is fit and legal to live in and may be connected to mains utilities. On a new build this is fundamental; on a resale it is still relevant for utility contracts, tourist licences and resale. Its absence is a red flag that needs explaining before you commit.
Rural and semi-rural property carries its own layer of risk. Many homes on non-urban land were built or extended without full permission and now sit in a legal grey zone. In Andalucía and elsewhere, the route to regularising them is the AFO (Asimilado Fuera de Ordenación), which recognises the building's existence for limited purposes without making it fully legal. Whether a rural property has an AFO, can obtain one, or has none at all dramatically changes what you are buying. We cover this in depth on our page on property legalisation and the AFO in Spain.
Finally, a town hall check looks for open infraction files (expedientes), demolition orders, and whether the land is specially protected — coastal, rural, environmental or otherwise. A property on land that can never be built on legally, or one already subject to an enforcement order, is not a problem you want to inherit unknowingly.
Spain keeps two parallel records of a property, and they are not the same thing. The Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad) records who owns the property and what charges sit on it — the legal position. The Cadastre (Catastro) records the physical description — surface area, boundaries, location and the georeferenced plot — primarily for tax purposes. A careful due diligence compares both against each other and against the physical reality of the property in front of you, because the three do not always agree.
Mismatches are surprisingly common. A house may be registered with a smaller built area than actually exists because an extension was never declared. A plot's boundaries on the Cadastre may not match the fence line or the neighbour's understanding. The georeferenced coordinates may place the build slightly off where it stands. None of this is necessarily fatal, but each discrepancy has consequences: a surface-area mismatch can hold up a mortgage valuation, an undeclared extension may need an obra nueva declaration before it can be registered, and a boundary disagreement can become a dispute with a neighbour years later. Increasingly, registering changes or even completing certain transactions requires the plot to be properly georeferenced — its coordinates formally fixed — and resolving that is far easier before you buy than after.
Where the records and reality diverge, the fix depends on the cause: a declaration of new works to register an extension, a correction of the cadastral record, a georeferencing exercise, or in more serious cases the kind of title rectification covered on our page on title and registry problems in Spain. The point of the check is to identify the mismatch and price the solution into the deal before you sign — not to discover it when you come to sell.
An obra nueva — a declaration of new construction — is the legal act by which a building, or new works on an existing building, are formally recorded. When a property is built, extended or substantially altered, the works should be declared before a notary and registered, so that what physically exists is also legally documented and capable of being mortgaged, insured and sold. A surprising number of Spanish properties have physical features that were never declared: a pool, a garage, a converted attic, an extra storey, a guest annexe.
For a buyer, the obra nueva check sits alongside the cadastre-versus-registry comparison and the planning checks, because the three overlap. If the physical property is bigger or different from what is registered, the question becomes whether the additional works were licensed (a planning question), whether they are declared and registered (an obra nueva question), and whether the Cadastre reflects them (a tax question). A clean property has all three aligned. Where they are not, the works may need to be declared and registered as part of the purchase, which can require an architect's certificate and, depending on age and location, proof that any enforcement period has expired. This is routine where it is straightforward and a genuine obstacle where the works were never legal in the first place — which is why it is investigated before, not after, you commit.
For any property that shares a building, an urbanisation or common facilities, the community of owners (comunidad de propietarios) is part of what you are buying, and it needs its own investigation. The starting point is a certificate from the community administrator confirming that the seller's fees are paid up to date — without it, unpaid community charges can be recovered against the property and therefore against you. But a careful check goes further than the balance.
It examines the community's rules and statutes, which can restrict short-term lets, pets, business use or alterations in ways a buyer needs to know before committing. It looks for pending special levies (derramas) — a major repair to a roof, lift, pool or façade that has been approved or is looming — because an apartment that looks cheap can carry a five-figure share of an upcoming works bill. And it checks for disputes and litigation involving the community, which can signal everything from structural problems to dysfunction that will affect your enjoyment and your costs for years.
Separately, the occupancy check confirms the property is free of tenants or occupiers with legal rights. Spain's tenancy rules can give occupiers significant protection, and a property sold with a sitting tenant — or worse, an occupier without a contract who is difficult to remove — is a very different purchase from a vacant one. Confirming who, if anyone, has the right to occupy is a basic but essential part of due diligence, particularly where a property has been let, stood empty, or been used by family members.
Finding a problem is the system working, not failing. The point of checking before you sign is that you still have all your options open.
Many issues are solvable: a mortgage is cancelled from the proceeds, community arrears are cleared, an extension is declared and registered, a cadastral mismatch is corrected. The deal proceeds with the defect resolved at or before completion, often at the seller's cost.
Where a problem cannot be fully cleared in time but is quantifiable, the price can be adjusted, money retained until the issue is resolved, or completion made conditional on it being fixed. The check turns a hidden risk into a negotiated, documented term.
Some problems are deal-breakers: a build that can never be legalised, an embargo that cannot be lifted, land that is protected, an occupier who cannot be removed. Catching these before you are committed means you walk away with your deposit and your options intact.
The single biggest advantage of proper due diligence is timing. Almost every problem on this page is manageable if it is found before you sign a binding reservation or pay a non-refundable deposit, and far harder — sometimes impossible — to undo afterwards. A buyer who knows about an undeclared extension, a pending community levy or a missing licence before committing can require it to be fixed, negotiate the price down, or decline the purchase entirely. A buyer who finds out at the notary, or worse after completion, has lost that leverage. This is why the checks are front-loaded: their value is almost entirely in being done early, by someone acting only for you.
Due diligence is not a single fixed product because no two properties carry the same risk. A modern apartment with a clean title, a current first-occupation licence and no community arrears needs a thorough but straightforward set of checks. A rural finca with undeclared extensions, an AFO question, a cadastral mismatch and a community of owners needs considerably more work — and may need a specialist legalisation or title rectification on top. For that reason we quote for the conveyancing and due diligence once we understand the property and the transaction, rather than setting a single price that would either overcharge the simple cases or undercover the complex ones. Where a check uncovers a problem that needs separate work — an AFO application, a title rectification, an obra nueva declaration — we explain what is involved and quote for it, and extras may apply depending on the complexity of your matter.
Our approach is to run the full checklist on this page as standard on every purchase — the nota simple, the debt and charge checks, the planning and licence verification at the town hall, the cadastre-versus-registry comparison, the obra nueva position, and the community and occupancy checks — and to report what we find in plain English before you are committed to anything. With extensive experience helping expats buy in Spain, our team of bar-registered solicitors and legal specialists carries out the investigation, explains what each finding means for you, and tells you honestly when a property is clean and when it is one to walk away from. We act for English-speaking buyers across Spain, and our wider Spanish property legal services cover the whole purchase from reservation to registration. For a complete picture of the taxes and fees, our page on the cost of buying property in Spain sets out every line.
It is the legal investigation of a property carried out before you commit to buying it. It confirms that the seller owns the property and is free to sell, that it carries no debts or charges that would pass to you, that it was built and is occupied legally, and that the official registers match the physical reality. The checks are done before you sign or pay a deposit, while you still have the option to renegotiate or withdraw.
The nota simple is an extract from the Land Registry showing who owns a property, its registered description, and any charges such as mortgages, embargoes or easements. It is the starting point of every due diligence. A buyer's lawyer obtains a fresh one directly, rather than relying on the seller's copy, because the register can change and an old nota simple may hide a recently registered charge.
Yes, for certain debts. In Spain a number of liabilities attach to the property rather than just the person — unpaid IBI, community fees and some charges can be recovered against the property and therefore against the new owner. This is why debt checks (the nota simple, IBI receipts, a community certificate and confirmation on utilities) are an essential part of due diligence and why completion is made conditional on the property arriving free of arrears.
The main ones are the building licence (licencia de obras) under which the property and any extensions were built, and the first-occupation licence (licencia de primera ocupación) or cédula de habitabilidad confirming it is legal to live in and connect to utilities. For rural property you also check whether it is legalised or has an AFO. A town hall check additionally looks for open infraction files, demolition orders and protected-land status.
The Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad) records the legal position — who owns the property and what charges sit on it. The Cadastre (Catastro) records the physical description — surface area, boundaries and location — for tax purposes. They are separate records and do not always agree, so due diligence compares both against each other and against the physical property to catch mismatches before they cause problems.
Mismatches are common — an undeclared extension, a surface-area difference, or boundaries that do not line up. The fix depends on the cause: a declaration of new works to register an extension, a correction of the cadastral record, a georeferencing exercise, or in more serious cases a title rectification. The aim of the check is to identify the mismatch and price the solution into the deal before you sign rather than discover it when you come to sell.
An obra nueva is the declaration of new construction — the legal act by which a building or new works are formally recorded and registered. Many Spanish properties have features that were never declared, such as a pool, garage or extension. If something physically exists but is not declared and registered, it is not fully yours to mortgage, insure or sell cleanly, so the obra nueva check confirms that the physical property and the registered property are the same thing.
You need a certificate from the community administrator confirming the seller's fees are paid, because unpaid community charges can be recovered against the property. Beyond that, a careful check examines the community's rules and statutes, any pending special levies (derramas) for major repairs, and any disputes or litigation involving the community — all of which can affect your costs and enjoyment after you buy.
The occupancy check confirms whether anyone has a legal right to occupy the property. Spain's tenancy rules can give occupiers significant protection, so a property sold with a sitting tenant — or an occupier without a contract who is hard to remove — is a very different purchase from a vacant one. Confirming who, if anyone, has the right to occupy is essential, particularly where a property has been let, stood empty, or been used by family.
Yes. With off-plan there is often no finished property to inspect and your money is at risk during construction, so two checks are critical: that any deposit or staged payment is protected by a bank guarantee or insurance policy so it is returned if the developer fails, and that the developer holds the correct building and project licences. Off-plan due diligence is a specialist exercise on top of the standard checklist.
You have three broad options, all available because the check was done before you committed. The problem can be fixed before completion (a mortgage cancelled, arrears cleared, works declared), the deal can be renegotiated or made conditional (price adjusted, money retained, completion conditional on the fix), or you can withdraw if it is a genuine deal-breaker such as a build that cannot be legalised. Finding a problem early is the system working as intended.
It depends on the property and the transaction, so we quote rather than set one price for every case. A clean modern apartment needs a thorough but straightforward set of checks; a rural property with undeclared works, an AFO question and a cadastral mismatch needs considerably more, and may require separate legalisation or title work. Where a check uncovers a problem that needs additional work we explain it and quote for it, and extras may apply depending on complexity.
The nota simple, the debts, the licences, the registers, the community — we run the full set of legal checks before you sign or pay a deposit, and tell you plainly what we find. In plain English, across Spain.
The information on this page is general guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. The scope of property due diligence, the operation of the Land Registry and Cadastre, planning and licensing rules, the AFO regime, and the protections attaching to debts, communities and occupiers are governed by legislation that changes over time and varies between Spain's autonomous communities and municipalities. Always obtain advice on your specific property and circumstances before committing to a purchase. Platinum Legal Spain is an independent English-speaking legal practice serving clients across Spain.
Related guides
Get tailored legal advice from our English-speaking team in Spain. We respond within 24 business hours.