Start with these documents
Ask for the complete reservation, deposit or sale contract, including annexes and the estate agent’s terms. Keep the advertisement and messages specifying floor area, additional spaces, works or handover arrangements. Identify the dwelling, parking space and storage room separately where appropriate. Check who will receive any payment and obtain a receipt stating its purpose. A successful viewing does not establish these points.
- The seller’s identity, title of acquisition and any power of attorney if someone else will sign.
- A recent Land Registry extract for each registered property and documents about charges to be discharged.
- The cadastral reference and certificate, available plans and the property’s actual description.
- Owners’ association information, special assessments, local property tax (IBI) and utilities, supported by the relevant documents.
- The position of occupiers and tenants, and the date when vacant possession or the agreed form of possession will be delivered.
- The technical and administrative documents required for that type of property and location.
The document request template for a property purchase (Spanish Word) can help you obtain the background papers. Record what you have received, what is missing and which question each document answers. Obtaining a document is not the same as checking its contents.
Ownership and charges: read more than the name
A nota simple reports registered ownership and entries. It is not a formal Registry certificate and does not establish that there are no debts, disputes or restrictions beyond its contents. Check whether the full owner can sell or whether usufruct holders, co-owners, a company or an unsettled inheritance are involved. An estate agent holding the keys does not establish authority to sell.
If a mortgage or attachment appears, establish how it will be discharged, who will bear the costs and how payment will be documented. Paying off a mortgage debt and removing the mortgage entry from the Registry are separate steps. A balance certificate or promise of cancellation does not replace the agreed mechanism for releasing the property at completion.
Check the actual property and the use you need
Compare floor area, boundaries, additional spaces and alterations against the title documents, Catastro and physical reality. For an enclosed terrace, premises advertised as a home or an extension, identify the permission and planning position. Appearance in Catastro or payment of IBI does not, by itself, prove that building work is lawful or that the advertised use is permitted.
Establish who occupies the property and under what right. An existing tenancy, usufruct or disputed possession requires analysis; do not assume it disappears on signing the deed. If you intend holiday letting, a professional use or a particular alteration, check feasibility before committing money, including municipal rules and the owners’ association’s rules.
Agree the financing and dates expressly
Separate the price, deposit, deferred instalments, taxes and external costs. State when completion will take place, which documents must be available and what happens if a party is late or defaults. There is no universal reservation percentage or deposit clause suitable for every transaction. Consumer status, the seller and the applicable civil law also matter.
A bank’s preliminary approval is not a final mortgage offer. If you need finance, examine the condition, the lender, evidence of your application and the consequences of refusal. Catalonia has a specific rule about third-party financing which must not be applied automatically to every purchase in Spain. Read the guide to arras and mortgage refusal before the deadline.
Illustrative example: a flat advertised with an enclosed terrace
A couple want to reserve a flat with a parking space and a terrace incorporated into the living room. The advertised area exceeds the Registry description, and the parking space has a separate registered title. The agent proposes taking a deposit that day. Before agreeing, they should obtain both title documents, clarify the area and document the position of the alterations and financing.
The review may identify a risk that can be managed through documents or specific clauses, a question requiring a technical expert, or reasons to renegotiate. It is not a generic certificate of a “risk-free purchase”: the purpose is to identify unresolved points and the conditions needed to make an informed decision.
Choose the legal work you need—and what to do if you have already signed
If your question concerns a draft, ask for a contract review. If it concerns the property itself, request a legal property study. Purchase support may also cover negotiation and preparation for completion within the agreed scope. These are different services. Technical inspections, valuation, notary, Registry and tax work must be identified separately where they are not included.
If you have paid and there is a breach, keep every version, payment record and communication, and identify the next contractual date. An improvised withdrawal notice can affect your position; obtain advice before sending one. A deadline continues to run while you await documents. The firm can assess the issue and confirm the proposed work, fee and external costs in writing for a property anywhere in Spain.
Compare contract review, a legal property study and purchase support. You can also use the editable purchase checklist (Spanish Word) to prepare your information.
Request a legal property study
Questions that affect the decision
Is a nota simple enough to know that I can buy?
No. Compare it with the title, occupiers, charges, owners’ association records, administrative documents and physical condition. A technical or planning issue may require further checks.
Can I ask for a review if the agent says I must reserve today?
Yes. Send the proposed document and deadline before paying. Commercial urgency does not clarify the obligations you would assume, and a complete review requires the relevant documents.
How does reviewing arras differ from studying the property?
The contract review focuses on the document and its legal effects. A property study adds the agreed checks on the transaction. The extent of that work, and any technical or third-party work, is defined before engagement.
Official sources and scope
- Spanish consumer ministry: the information provided by a nota simple.
- Spanish Civil Code: article 1450, agreement on property and price, and article 1255, agreed terms.
- Catalan Civil Code: article 621-49, provision for third-party finance.
- Horizontal Property Act: article 9.1.e, association debts, the property’s liability and the debt certificate.
- Catastro: coordination with the Land Registry.
This is general information based on the Spanish guide and sources reviewed on 28 October 2026. The contract, dates, applicable law and documents determine the next step. Official sources linked above are in Spanish.