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Buying property in Spain, from abroad and from the start

A plain-English handbook to the rules, taxes and checks behind buying a home in Spain. Written for people who read English as a second language, who are buying from another country, and who are about to commit a large sum.

Six stages, in order

DecideCan you buy, should you, and how it works. The buying process, Buying property in Spain by nationality, Residency and tax status for Spanish property owners, Spain property market, prices and rules for foreign buyers
Budget and moneyTaxes, costs and financing. Costs and taxes of buying property in Spain, Mortgages, banking and transfers for buying in Spain
Choose where and whatRegions, property types and local checks. Types of property in Spain for foreign buyers, Where to buy property in Spain: choosing an area, Checking a location before buying property in Spain
Check and contractLegal checks, NIE, notary and registration. Legal process and checks when buying property in Spain
Own and sellOwning, insurance, selling. Owning and selling Spanish property as a foreigner
Rent outHoliday and long-term lets. Spain property investment for foreigners

Latest

New on the blog

Location checks · 26 October 2026
What the Consorcio pays after a DANA flood, and what stays with you
The national flood viewer for an invented address, then the state rules on what extraordinary-flood cover pays, excludes and leaves to the owner.
Daniel Whitcombe · 14 min read
Legal process · 26 October 2026
What a nota simple does not tell you about a Spanish property
An invented nota simple read part by part, then the questions it cannot answer, from community and IBI debts to planning, the building and the cadastre.
Daniel Whitcombe · 9 min read
Taxes · 26 October 2026
Does owning a home make you a Spanish tax resident?
The tests Spain uses to decide tax residence, which of them a home touches, and what a treaty does when two countries claim you, over one invented year.
Inés Arroyo Vidal · 9 min read

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Rule changes

26 October 2026Spain short-term rental registry number: annulled in 2026The Supreme Court annulled the national registry number procedure on 19 May 2026, published on 8 June 2026. The page now explains what the decree did, what the court removed and what remains.
26 October 2026Spain property law changes in 2026Added the Supreme Court judgment on the national registry number, the stressed-zone resolution of 24 July 2026, the Catalan declarations as reported, the operative articles of decree-law 29/2026 read in the gazette and the EU Affordable Housing Act proposal.
26 October 2026Holiday rental licence in Spain: what a foreign owner needsReplaced the national registry number with the Supreme Court annulment, added the community’s prior approval and the tax articles of decree-law 29/2026.
26 October 2026Buying a let flat while the new rent decree is pendingAdded decree-law 29/2026, in force since 8 October: a tenant can ask for a longer stay and rent updates are limited. Updated the validation status of both decrees.

See all rule changes

§ 1How the chapters work

The chapters follow the order in which a purchase unfolds: whether you can and should buy, then money and taxes, then the checks, the contract and life as an owner. Each section answers one question well instead of touching ten questions lightly.

Every page opens with a short answer and says who the answer applies to. Spanish terms are explained beside the text, in the words a notary or a bank will use. Rates, thresholds and dates come from the official source that sets them, and each page lists that source with the date it was last checked.

§ 2What you can rely on

Nothing here is paid for by an agent, a developer, a lender or a lawyer. Numbers that cannot be traced to an official source are not printed. Worked examples are labelled as illustrative and show their assumptions.

Rules in Spain change, and some of them differ by region. Pages that track a rule in motion carry a dated "What changed" log, and every correction is logged with its date.

Written by Daniel Whitcombe and Inés Arroyo VidalReviewed by Marta Calderón IbáñezPublished 17 October 2026Updated 26 October 2026