{"id":1571,"date":"2019-02-19T09:45:47","date_gmt":"2019-02-19T09:45:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/?p=1571"},"modified":"2021-03-17T08:41:34","modified_gmt":"2021-03-17T08:41:34","slug":"the-purchase-of-real-estate-in-spain-by-foreigners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/blog\/the-purchase-of-real-estate-in-spain-by-foreigners\/","title":{"rendered":"The purchase of real estate in Spain by foreigners"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When a person of foreign nationality decides to acquire a property in Spain, he\/she must face a legal system that surely works in a completely different way from his native country, especially if he comes from a country of Anglo-Saxon or Asian tradition.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Informaci\u00f3n detallada<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69e77f0dd8f9a\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69e77f0dd8f9a\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/blog\/the-purchase-of-real-estate-in-spain-by-foreigners\/#What_must_be_taken_into_account_when_buying_a_propertyhouse_in_Spain\" >What must be taken into account when buying a property\/house in Spain?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/blog\/the-purchase-of-real-estate-in-spain-by-foreigners\/#Taxes_to_pay_in_Spain_when_buying_a_property\" >Taxes to pay in Spain when buying a property<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_must_be_taken_into_account_when_buying_a_propertyhouse_in_Spain\"><\/span>What must be taken into account when buying a property\/house in Spain?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Any foreigner can buy a flat\/apartment\/house or land in Spain.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is required to have a <\/span><b>Foreigner<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><b>Identification Number (NIE)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0which can be personally obtained or by an authorized representative (a lawyer,\u00a0for example) in the immigration offices of Spain or from abroad through the Spanish Consulate, proving the reason for requesting the NIE. \u00a0Without NIE it won\u2019t be possible to open a bank account for the payment of the prize or formalize the sell-purchase deed before the notary.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contracts and deeds:<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Usually <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the first step of the future sale of a property is the\u00a0<\/span><b>Deposit Agreement, named \u201carras\u201d in Spanish<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it is a <\/span><b>private document<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that reflects the mutual commitment of buyer and seller and should clearly specify what are the basic conditions of that future sale. <\/span><b>Arras contract<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0is a private document to book for the prospective buyer a\u00a0<\/span><b>right to buy the property<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0providing for it a sum of money to\u00a0the\u00a0seller, and penalizing the buyer or seller if they break that agreement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Fundamental data<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0that must contain the earnest money contract is all the data that\u00a0will\u00a0appear in the future contract of sale: <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(a) <\/span><b>Exact<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><b>identification<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><b>of the Property:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0including its physical description\u00a0and Property Register details;\u00a0attachments (garage, storage, terraces, garden\u00a0&#8230;);\u00a0including the exclusive use of a community element (if it is the case), \u201cc\u00e9dula de habitabilidad\u201d number\u00a0in case of a dwelling (a copy must be surrendered); <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(b) Must be expressed if the property is\u00a0free of\u00a0<\/span><b>occupant<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><b>or tenants<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0and if there are any <\/span><b>liens or encumbrances<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0(mortgages,\u00a0liens,\u00a0&#8230;),\u00a0and\u00a0established\u00a0the way to release\u00a0such charges before the final purchase and who will pay\u00a0the expenses of such cancelation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(c) <\/span><b>Final<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><b>prize<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><b>and\u00a0means of payment.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Deadline to formalize the purchase before a Notary.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Covenants on\u00a0<\/span>distribution<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>of expenses in the sale,<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0for example, IBI (local tax) of the current year<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, ordinary community dues, extraordinary expenses agreed or pending approval by the community.<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<li><b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amount paid as <\/span>deposit or\u00a0\u201carras\u201d, <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">specifically mentioning that all<\/span> amounts<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0delivered<\/span> will be deducted<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>to<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>the final price.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And <\/span>what happens if the contract is broken and the deed of sale is not formalized? <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is necessary to reflect in the contract that the \u201carras\u201d is configured as penitential, contemplating the possibility of withdrawing from the commitment by losing the buyer the quantity delivered or returning the seller in duplicate, depending on who is responsible for the withdrawal. This latter question has given and gives rise to numerous lawsuits and jurisprudence of the Courts, so it is always advisable to have good legal advice before proceeding to the signing of a contract.<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Once the deadline for the final payment is arrived, <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">both parties will appear before a Public Notary to formalize the signature of the sell-purchase deed and pay the rest of the prize.<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This deed will have entry and will be inscribed in the Land\/Property Register <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Taxes_to_pay_in_Spain_when_buying_a_property\"><\/span>Taxes to pay in Spain when buying a property<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, buyer must pay all taxes (and expenses) arising from the purchase of the house, which are <\/span><b>VAT <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Value Added Tax) if new housing and amounting 10% of the purchase price or <\/span><b>Property Transfer Tax<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (ITP) in case of successive transmissions (second hand) and varies in each Community, in the case of Catalu\u00f1a amounts 10% of the purchase price.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other taxes to be paid are the\u00a0<\/span><b>Property Tax<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0(IBI), local tax on annual basis, fixed by each municipality, or the rate of garbage collection.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The\u00a0<\/span><b>Income Tax for Non Resident<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0is a state tax levied on\u00a0income earned in Spanish territory by individuals not resident in Spain regularly.\u00a0It is considered that a person has its habitual residence in Spain for fiscal purposes when he remains in Spanish territory more than 183 days a year.\u00a0As for the amount to pay for this concept, if the property is empty and at the disposal of its owner should be calculated on the cadastral value of the property.\u00a0If the flat has been rented, 24% of the annual rent will be paid.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When a person of foreign nationality decides to acquire a property in Spain, he\/she must face a legal system that surely works in a completely different way from his native country, especially if he comes from a country of Anglo-Saxon or Asian tradition. What must be taken into account when buying a property\/house in Spain?&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The purchase of real estate in Spain by foreigners - Boltas Boy&eacute; Abogados&reg;<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/blog\/the-purchase-of-real-estate-in-spain-by-foreigners\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The purchase of real estate in Spain by foreigners - Boltas Boy&eacute; Abogados&reg;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When a person of foreign nationality decides to acquire a property in Spain, he\/she must face a legal system that surely works in a completely different way from his native country, especially if he comes from a country of Anglo-Saxon or Asian tradition. What must be taken into account when buying a property\/house in Spain?...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/blog\/the-purchase-of-real-estate-in-spain-by-foreigners\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Boltas Boy&eacute; Abogados&reg;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-02-19T09:45:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-17T08:41:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/buy-house-in-Spain.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"685\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"385\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"VBB Abogados\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"VBB Abogados\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The purchase of real estate in Spain by foreigners - Boltas Boy&eacute; Abogados&reg;","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/blog\/the-purchase-of-real-estate-in-spain-by-foreigners\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The purchase of real estate in Spain by foreigners - Boltas Boy&eacute; Abogados&reg;","og_description":"When a person of foreign nationality decides to acquire a property in Spain, he\/she must face a legal system that surely works in a completely different way from his native country, especially if he comes from a country of Anglo-Saxon or Asian tradition. What must be taken into account when buying a property\/house in Spain?...","og_url":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/blog\/the-purchase-of-real-estate-in-spain-by-foreigners\/","og_site_name":"Boltas Boy&eacute; Abogados&reg;","article_published_time":"2019-02-19T09:45:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-03-17T08:41:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":685,"height":385,"url":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/buy-house-in-Spain.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"VBB Abogados","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"VBB Abogados","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/blog\/the-purchase-of-real-estate-in-spain-by-foreigners\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/blog\/the-purchase-of-real-estate-in-spain-by-foreigners\/"},"author":{"name":"VBB Abogados","@id":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e757432e691b5bb0b26730f7a079f576"},"headline":"The purchase of real estate in Spain by foreigners","datePublished":"2019-02-19T09:45:47+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-17T08:41:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/blog\/the-purchase-of-real-estate-in-spain-by-foreigners\/"},"wordCount":740,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/blog\/the-purchase-of-real-estate-in-spain-by-foreigners\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/buy-house-in-Spain.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/blog\/the-purchase-of-real-estate-in-spain-by-foreigners\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/blog\/the-purchase-of-real-estate-in-spain-by-foreigners\/","url":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/blog\/the-purchase-of-real-estate-in-spain-by-foreigners\/","name":"The purchase of real estate in Spain by foreigners - Boltas Boy&eacute; Abogados&reg;","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/blog\/the-purchase-of-real-estate-in-spain-by-foreigners\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/blog\/the-purchase-of-real-estate-in-spain-by-foreigners\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/buy-house-in-Spain.jpg","datePublished":"2019-02-19T09:45:47+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-17T08:41:34+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e757432e691b5bb0b26730f7a079f576"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/blog\/the-purchase-of-real-estate-in-spain-by-foreigners\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/blog\/the-purchase-of-real-estate-in-spain-by-foreigners\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/buy-house-in-Spain.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/buy-house-in-Spain.jpg","width":685,"height":385,"caption":"buy-house-in-Spain"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/","name":"Boltas Boy&eacute; Abogados&reg;","description":"Firma de Abogados en Barcelona","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e757432e691b5bb0b26730f7a079f576","name":"VBB Abogados","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2bbf7ea69851134276f180d774eba5be8f0858c37cbc55b26e8841ba0428a0db?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2bbf7ea69851134276f180d774eba5be8f0858c37cbc55b26e8841ba0428a0db?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"VBB Abogados"},"url":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/blog\/author\/vbb-abogados\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1571"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1571\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4513,"href":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1571\/revisions\/4513"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vbbabogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}