Chapter
Due diligence when buying property in Spain
Quick answer
Due diligence is the set of checks you make before you pay a deposit: the registry extract, who owns the home, what charges weigh on it, debts to the community and the tax office, the cadastre, the licences and certificates, and the condition of the building. Paper checks and physical checks both matter.
Applies toBuyers who want a checklist of what to verify, in order, before signing anything that binds them.
On this page: 17 sections
- Why check before, not after
- The registry extract
- Charges and debts
- The cadastre
- Licences and certificates
- The building itself
- A sensible order
- Checks for different kinds of home
- Checks if you are borrowing
- Checks that depend on time
- Red flags during the checks
- Who pays for the checks
- Asking the right person
- Using a checklist
- What to keep
- Back to the section
- Other chapters in this section
§ 1Why check before, not after
A purchase in Spain becomes hard to undo once a deposit is paid and a private contract signed. These checks are therefore best made first. They are not complicated one by one, but there are many of them, and each answers a different question: who owns the property, what weighs on it, what is owed, whether it is lawful and whether it is sound. The registrars advise checking the registry entry, the last property tax receipt, the community fees and the energy and habitability certificates before signing.
§ 2The registry extract
The first document to order is a registry extract. A nota simple is informational and shows what is in force on the day of the request, while a certificate is a signed public document. The difference is explained in the nota simple. Read the description, the owner and the charges. The next question is whether the seller is really the owner, which is the subject of checking title.
§ 3Charges and debts
A property can carry mortgages, seizures, usufructs and other burdens, and it can carry debts that are not charges but still follow it. Encumbrances explains the first group.
The second group is covered in checking for debts and no-debt certificates, including the community fees that a buyer can be asked to pay for a limited period of earlier years.
§ 4The cadastre
The cadastre describes the property physically and for tax purposes. Anyone can look up a property by address or cadastral reference and see its descriptive and graphic data free of charge. The mismatch between cadastre and registry is common, and the cadastre shows how to compare the two.
§ 5Licences and certificates
A home needs the paperwork that shows it was built lawfully and may be occupied. For a new or recently built home that means the first occupation licence, covered in the first occupation licence. Many regions also ask for a habitability certificate, covered in the habitability certificate.
An energy certificate is mandatory for existing buildings that are sold, as explained in the energy certificate.
§ 6The building itself
Paper checks do not reveal the state of the structure. Older buildings in many places must pass a periodic inspection, which the building inspection explains, and a survey is the way to look at the physical condition. The professionals who perform these checks are described in the chapter on professionals.
§ 7A sensible order
Order the extract and the cadastre first, because they are cheap and quick. Ask the seller for the debt and tax receipts next. Check the licences and certificates after that. Commission the survey last, once the paper checks give you reason to continue. If a check fails, tell your lawyer before you tell the seller, and decide together whether to renegotiate, ask for the problem to be solved before the deed, or walk away.
§ 8Checks for different kinds of home
A new-build needs the developer’s documents, the licences and the guarantees, and the checks on the land and the building licence matter most. A resale flat needs the community papers, the debt certificates and the building inspection report. A rural house needs the planning status of the land, the water and sewage arrangements and the boundaries. A plot needs the planning classification and proof that services can be connected. A holiday-let property needs the community’s position on tourist rental. Adjust the list to the home, and ask your lawyer to add what the case requires.
§ 9Checks if you are borrowing
If you need a mortgage, the lender will run its own checks and order a valuation. Do not assume that the bank’s valuation or its lawyer’s review protects you; they protect the bank. The lender may also refuse a home with a licence gap or an out-of-planning status, so tell it early. A refusal after you have signed a private contract can cost you the deposit unless the contract makes the purchase conditional on finance.
§ 10Checks that depend on time
Some documents age quickly. A registry extract shows the position on the day. A debt certificate shows a date. Energy certificates last for years, but a major alteration makes them stale. Schedule the checks so that the most time-sensitive ones are the latest, and repeat them just before the deed. Ask your lawyer to keep a dated list and to say which documents will need to be refreshed.
§ 11Red flags during the checks
Some signals deserve attention whatever the document says. A seller who cannot produce basic papers, who changes the story about who owns the home, who presses you to pay a deposit before the extract arrives, or who suggests skipping the lawyer is giving you information. A price far below similar homes nearby is another. None of these proves a problem, and all of them justify slowing down. A real owner with a sound property has little reason to avoid checks, and a short delay costs far less than a mistake discovered after the deed.
§ 12Who pays for the checks
The extracts and certificates cost small fees, the lawyer charges for the review, and the survey is a separate cost. Treat these as part of the cost of buying, and do not ask the seller to carry them unless the contract says so. The costs section of this handbook lists the usual professional fees, so you can budget before you start.
§ 13Asking the right person
Some answers come from documents, some from officials and some from neighbours. The registry answers who owns and what is charged. The town hall answers what is licensed. The administrator answers what is owed. A surveyor answers what is built. Send each question to the person who holds the answer, and keep their reply in writing.
§ 14Using a checklist
Write all the checks as a list with three columns: the item, who is responsible and the date it was received. Review it with your lawyer before you pay anything at all. A list also helps if you buy from abroad, because you can follow progress without travelling, and it shows at a glance which items are still missing or out of date.
§ 15What to keep
Keep every document you collect. The notary will ask for some of them, the registry may need others, and you may need them again when you sell. A simple folder with the date of each document makes it easy to see which ones are still current.
§ 16Back to the section
More on legal process and checks explains the legal steps and checks of a purchase.
§ 17Other chapters in this section
The rules on the NIE explains the foreigner’s number you need to buy and what to know about the professionals in a purchase explains who does what: lawyer, notary and gestor.
More on illegal builds explains the planning risks and how to avoid them and more on contracts before completion explains the papers you sign before the deed.
More on completion and the deed explains the signing at the notary and what follows and more on wills and succession explains how inheritance works for foreigners who own Spanish property.
More on communities of owners explains how a Spanish flat block is governed and more on risks and scams explains the real risks and how to reduce them.
FAQRelated questions
What is the most important single check?
The registry extract, because it shows who owns the property and what charges it carries. The other checks build on it. Order it before you pay any reservation.
Who does the checks?
Your lawyer does most of them, a surveyor does the physical one and you collect documents from the seller. The notary repeats some checks at the deed. Agree in writing who does which, so no step is assumed.
When should I do them?
Before you hand over a deposit. A deposit signals commitment and may be hard to recover, so the checks belong at the start. A short delay for checking is normal and a seller who refuses it is telling you something.
Sources
- Dirección General del Catastro: Access to cadastral information (official source, opens in a new window), Free consultation by address or cadastral reference; protected dataLast checked 17 October 2026
- Colegio de Registradores de España: What is the difference between a nota simple and a registry certificate? (official source, opens in a new window), Legal value, who can request, contentLast checked 17 October 2026
- Colegio de Registradores de España: Cómo comprar una vivienda en España (edición revisada, February 2020) (official source, opens in a new window), The five steps, nota simple, taxes and costsLast checked 17 October 2026
Legal note. How the process works in general. It is not legal advice, and it never replaces an independent Spanish lawyer acting for you.