Note

Timeshare in Spain: your rights under the 2012 law

§ 1What the law covers

Law 4/2012 regulates contracts on timeshare of tourist accommodation, long-term holiday products, resale and exchange. It applies to contracts that last more than one year and give the right to use accommodation for more than one period of occupation. The law is in force in the consolidated version we read, and we read the main articles on information, language, withdrawal, advance payments and the regime. This page belongs to the chapter on an overview of ownership structures.

§ 2Information and language

Before you sign, the seller must give you the information the law lists, in writing and in good time. The contract has to be in the language of the member state where you live or of which you are a national, at your choice, and in a language you understand where the law says so. Ask for a translation by a sworn translator for the papers you sign. Do not sign a contract you cannot read.

§ 3The right to withdraw

You may withdraw within fourteen calendar days without giving any reason. The period starts when the contract is signed or when you receive the withdrawal form, whichever is later, and the law extends it where the seller omitted the form, up to a year and fourteen days, or the required information, up to three months and fourteen days. Withdraw in writing, by a method that proves the date, and keep a copy. You do not have to pay anything to withdraw.

§ 4No money up front

The law bans advance payments, in the form of a deposit or any other sum, before the withdrawal period ends. For resale contracts it bans them until the sale takes place. A payment made against the law is void and the consumer may claim double the amount paid, according to the text we read. A salesperson who asks for a card payment on the day is breaking the rule. How shared ownership works lists other warning signs.

§ 5Duration and name

A regime for the use of accommodation by turns must last more than one year and no more than fifty years from its registration. It must be set up in a public deed and registered. The law also forbids calling the regime multipropiedad, or any name containing propiedad, in marketing and contracts, since it does not give ownership. The registry records the regime, and how freehold or leasehold works explains why this is not freehold.

§ 6Resale

Companies that offer to sell your timeshare for a fee are a known problem. The law restricts them, and bans payment before the sale. If you want to sell, ask your lawyer to check the company, and never pay up front. The chapter on selling explains an ordinary sale and the pages there cover documents.

§ 7If you are in dispute

Keep every paper and message. A lawyer can tell you whether the contract complies. We did not read the case law, and the law sets sanctions, which we did not read in full.

§ 8Before you sign

Take the draft home, read it in your language, ask a lawyer to check it and do not pay until the withdrawal period has ended.

§ 9More on this topic

How joint ownership works explains buying a Spanish property with other people and the rules on usufruct explains the usufruct, a right to use a property that someone else owns.

Legal note. How the process works in general. It is not legal advice, and it never replaces an independent Spanish lawyer acting for you.