Updated in September 2026 — data verified on that date.

The property purchase process in Spain: a detailed 10-step guide

Buying a flat in Estepona or a villa in Benahavís is not the same as buying in Lyon or Namur: there is no preliminary agreement drawn up by a notary, no cooling-off period, and no notary to look after your interests. In Spain, the security of the transaction rests with the solicitor you appoint, and the timetable is contractually binding: you and the seller set the deadline for the deed in the ‘contrato de arras’.

This guide, the second part of our Costa del Sol buying guide, sets out step by step the property purchase process in Spain as it stands in 2026: actual timeframes, pitfalls and differences between French and Belgian buyers.

The 10 steps at a glance: how long does each phase take?

Buying a property in Spain takes two to four months from the acceptance of the offer to the ‘escritura’, plus the preparatory steps (NIE, bank account) that need to be taken even before you start looking for a property. The timeframes below are those observed on the Costa del Sol in 2026 for an existing property; a off-plan purchase takes between 18 and 36 months.

Step 1 — NIE and Spanish bank account: where to start?

The NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero) is the first step in the property purchase process in Spain: no notarised deeds, tax payments or bank account openings are possible without it. The NIE is a number assigned for life to any foreign national carrying out a financial transaction in Spain; it does not confer any right of residence. Applications are made using form EX-15 and fee 790-012 (€9.84 in 2026), either at the Policía Nacional in Spain or at the Spanish consulate in your place of residence (Paris, Marseille, Brussels). The Spanish Consulate-General in Paris states a theoretical processing time of two weeks, but the actual processing time in 2026 is four to five weeks, not including the time taken to secure an appointment. Our page provides details on obtaining the NIE for a property purchase, including through an agent.

A Spanish bank account is not legally compulsory, but it is essential: the balance is paid to the solicitor by Spanish bank cheque or traceable bank transfer, and both the IBI (property tax) and service charges are debited from a Spanish IBAN. Banks require a passport, proof of income and, often, a certificado de no residencia. Find out how to open a bank account in Spain as a non-resident.

Step 2 — Define your plans and budget: how much do you really need to set aside?

The budget for a property purchase in Andalusia is the price of the property plus 10 to 13 per cent in fees, to be determined before the first viewing. For an older property, the ITP (property transfer tax) is 7 per cent of the price in Andalusia; for a new-build, VAT is 10 per cent plus 1.2 per cent AJD (stamp duty). Added to this are notary and land registry fees (0.5 to 1 per cent, on a sliding scale), solicitor’s fees (around 1 per cent, with a minimum charge) and, in the case of a mortgage, the property valuation. Our page on budgeting and financing breaks down each item.

Defining your project also means deciding on its purpose: a second home, a rental investment on the Costa del Sol or a retirement home on the Costa del Sol. These three scenarios do not lead to the same areas, the same properties or the same tax arrangements.

Step 3 — Search and viewings: how to target your search effectively?

An effective search on the Costa del Sol begins with choosing an area and property type, not by using a property listing website. The coastline stretches for 150 km from Manilva to Nerja, with prices ranging from single to triple: in 2025, the average price recorded in the province of Málaga stood at €3,101 per m² according to the Colegio de Registradores (April 2026), compared with a national average of €2,284 per m². Our guide to buying on the Costa del Sol reviews each town, and the page on choosing your property type explains the specific considerations for villas, penthouses, townhouses, fincas and plots of land.

Group your viewings over two or three days and, as soon as you visit a property, ask for the ‘nota simple’, the latest IBI receipt and the amount of service charges: an estate agent unable to provide these within 48 hours is a red flag. It is this screening and preliminary verification that NOMA carries out as the buyer’s agent, in accordance with our method, at no extra cost to you.

Step 4 — Legal verification: what do the ‘nota simple’ and due diligence reveal?

The ‘nota simple’ is an extract from the Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad) which sets out the legal owner, a description of the property, and any registered mortgages, seizures and easements. It costs a few euros, can be obtained online within 24 to 48 hours, and is the first document your solicitor will review before making any offer; the Spanish government’s official portal recommends that you ‘check the property’s legal status regarding its characteristics, owner and encumbrances’ before buying. Our page explains how to read and verify a nota simple.

Due diligence goes further: compliance with town planning regulations (building and first-occupancy permits, absence of infringement proceedings), consistency between the land registry, the property register and the physical reality of the property, debts owed to the community of owners, and arrears of IBI (which are attached to the property, not the seller). Everything is detailed in our guide to property due diligence in Spain.

Step 5 — Offer to purchase and negotiation: how to formalise the process without getting caught out?

In Spain, an offer to purchase is made in writing, usually on a document provided by the estate agent (oferta de compra or documento de reserva), accompanied by a deposit of between €3,000 and €10,000, which takes the property off the market for 7 to 15 days. This deposit is distinct from the arras: it is refundable if due diligence reveals a problem, provided that the document specifies this in black and white. An offer conditional upon ‘satisfactory legal due diligence by the buyer’s solicitor’ and ‘securing financing’ protects the buyer; without these clauses, the deposit may be forfeited.

Step 6 — Contrato de arras: what does the 10 per cent deposit commit you to?

The ‘contrato de arras’ is the private contract binding the buyer and seller to a price, a property and a deadline for signing the deed, in return for a deposit usually set at 10 per cent of the price. The rules governing the deposit depend on the type of arras. ‘Arras penitenciales’, the only type provided for under Article 1454 of the Código Civil, allow either party to withdraw: the buyer forfeits the deposit, whilst the seller refunds double the amount. ‘Arras confirmatorias’, applied by case law where the contract is silent on the matter, do not permit either party to withdraw and pave the way for enforcement proceedings. Our page on the ‘contrato de arras’ breaks down the clauses you should insist on.

Step 7 — Securing finance: a Spanish mortgage or a loan from your home country?

Spanish banks provide financing to non-residents for 60 to 70 per cent of the purchase price or the valuation (whichever is lower), compared with 80 per cent for residents, with fixed rates of 2.55 per cent to 3.40 per cent (excluding any discounts on offers for September 2026) and terms capped at 25–30 years. The application pack includes tax returns, payslips or balance sheets and bank statements; documents that are not translated slow down the assessment process. Allow four to eight weeks until a firm offer is made, plus the statutory ten-calendar-day period between the handover of the FEIN and the signing, as required by Law 5/2019 on mortgage lending.

A French national can also take out a loan in France against a property in France, whilst a Belgian national can arrange a mortgage refinancing on their main residence: see the full comparison of financing options. The key is to ensure that the deadline for the deposit coincides with your bank’s actual processing time.

Step 8 — Notarial deed (escritura): what exactly does the Spanish notary do?

The ‘escritura pública de compraventa’ is the authentic deed signed at the notary’s office which transfers ownership: the balance is paid, the keys are handed over, and an electronic copy is sent to the Registro de la Propiedad on the same day. The Spanish notary is an impartial public official: according to the Colegio Notarial, they ‘request an information note from the Registro de la Propiedad’ prior to signing, require the certificate of debts from the owners’ association and verify the cadastral reference. However, they do not check the legality of the development, the condition of the building or the fairness of the contract: they merely certify the facts; they do not advise the buyer. Our page on the role of the notary in Spain explains what has changed.

Your presence is not required: a power of attorney signed at the Spanish Consulate in Paris or Brussels is directly valid, whilst a power of attorney signed before a French or Belgian notary must be apostilled and translated by a sworn translator.

Step 9 — Taxes and registration in the Land Registry: why is this crucial?

Registration with the Registro de la Propiedad makes your ownership enforceable against all parties, and requires, first of all, payment of the ITP (Form 600) or the AJD within 30 working days of the escritura. According to the Colegio de Registradores, the registry carries out the registration ‘within the following fifteen working days’ of the submission of the complete file, once the tax has been paid and the municipal capital gains tax (payable by the seller) has been declared. In practice, allow four to eight weeks after the deed is signed. Our page on registration with the Land Registry describes each formality.

Registration is voluntary under Spanish law, but failing to do so is a serious mistake. Antonio Manuel Oliva Izquierdo, a land registrar, summarises this in a report from March 2026 on the Notarios y Registradores portal: ‘If my seller subsequently sells the property to a third party acting in good faith, it is the third party, not me, who will be protected’, and ‘I will not be able to mortgage the property to apply for a loan’.

Step 10 — Post-purchase procedures: what needs to be done within the following 3 months?

Post-purchase procedures include transferring the water and electricity contracts, changing the name on the IBI (property tax) with the town hall and the land registry, payments to the community of owners, home insurance (compulsory with a mortgage) and, for those moving in, empadronamiento (registration on the municipal register of residents). All these formalities are detailed in your post-purchase checklist.

Obligations in your home country are the classic blind spot. A non-resident pays the IRNR (19% for an EU resident) annually on 1.1% or 2% of the cadastral value, even if the property is not let; the France–Spain and Belgium–Spain tax treaties prevent double taxation, but do not exempt you from filing tax returns.

The process of buying property in Spain: your questions

How long does it take to buy a property in Spain?

On average, between 2 and 4 months from the acceptance of the offer to the signing of the escritura, and longer for off-plan properties. The timeframe depends mainly on the NIE (4 to 5 weeks via the Paris Consulate in 2026), due diligence (1 to 3 weeks) and financing (4 to 8 weeks). A cash buyer, provided they have their NIE, can sign within 30 days.

Is it possible to buy property in Spain without travelling there?

Yes, thanks to a ‘poder notarial’: a notarised power of attorney whereby a trusted person, usually your solicitor, signs the ‘contrato de arras’ and the ‘escritura’ on your behalf. If signed at the Spanish consulate (in Paris, Marseille or Brussels), it is valid immediately; if signed at a French or Belgian notary’s office, it must be apostilled and translated.

Is a Spanish notary the same as a French or Belgian notary?

No. The Spanish notary authenticates the sale, verifies the identity of the parties and the means of payment, but does not check the property’s planning status, its condition or the balance of the clauses, nor does he or she advise either party. In France and Belgium, the notary guarantees legal certainty for the buyer; in Spain, this role falls to an independent property solicitor, for around 1 per cent of the purchase price.

Do you need an NIE to buy property in Spain?

Yes, an NIE is compulsory to sign the escritura, pay the ITP or VAT, and be registered with the Registro de la Propiedad. The application costs €9.84 (fee code 790-012) using form EX-15, and the NIE does not expire. It can be obtained from the Policía Nacional, at the Spanish consulate in your country, or through an authorised representative.

Before you get started, keep our 15-point checklist for buying property in Spain to hand, and if you have a specific question on a Sunday evening, SOL, NOMA’s AI, will answer it using our knowledge base.