Buying property in Spain, Part IV, Completing at the notary and the land registry

In our last post we wrote about the private contract and the steps that should be taken before.

We are now focused on the completion of the purchase which, for safety and security purposes should conclude with a public deed of sale/purchase with a Notary public in Spain.

A notarial deed is a public doument authorised and stamped by a Notary. 




The deed contains the essential elements of the private contract, all the wishes and conditions stipulated in a legal way by the parties and all the administrative requirements that have been implemented during the last 20 years by different regulations.

The notary gives public faith of the date of the public deed and well as the identity of the parties and their legal capacity on sign the deed.

Having a signed deed with a Notary, it will give the document authenticity which means that all the stated by the parties as declared in the deed will serve as a proof against any future event or dispute about the propery which has been acquired.

Before signing the public deed, the notary will ask to the land registry for the latest information about the property so as to prevent that there is any new burden or injuction which did not exist when the due diligence on the house was done.

In case that there is a mortgage, a separate deed will be signed in which all the stipulations with the bank will stated. The mortgage will be registered together with the deed of sale in the land registry and it will create a land charge on the property at the land registry.

Please see our post dedictated to mortgages in Spain.

After you sign a public deed with the Notary, the document will have a number which is called protocolo in Spain. The original document will be kept with the Notary achive for any future request or consultation. For example, if you loose the first authorised copy that the notary will hand over to you after signing.

Inmediately after the deed is signed, if we so request, the notary will forward a message to the registry stating that the deed has been authorised, thus preventing now that the agreement has been concluded by the parties, the buyer from being affected by any injuctions or burdens aimed at the seller that could reach the registry before the deed of sale does.




We must point out that no matter whether the agreement is private or public (notarised), the seller is responsible for all hidden or latent defects of the home, even if the seller was not aware of them. If any such defects exist, you as the buyer can opt out of the agreement and receive payment for your expenses, or you can get proportional discount off the price, set by an expert.

In terms of administrative requirements, the following documents and certificates must be attached to any public deed of sale:

1. The cadastral reference, issued by the local Town Hall where the property is located
2. The energy efficiency certificate 
3. The certificate issued from the Community of owners showing the fees are paid until the date of completion
4. The proof of the way of payment. If the funds come from abroad, a certificate issued by the bank should be valid.
5. The first occupancy license certificate issued by the seller, specifically when there is a property sold by a developer or promoter.

Who pays the notary fees is freely agreed by the parties, normally in the private agreement. If there is no a reference to them, the civil law states that the seller would pay for the original document and the buyer would pay the 1st authorised copy plus all the necessary stamped copies as requested.

The buyer's lawyer will present the public deed to the land registry and it will be collected when the deed has been duly registered. The propety then will be registered on the name of the new owner/s and it will be kept in the land registry archive as a public record.

The land registry gives public effect to all the property and can be checked by any person by asking for an uncertified information (nota simple).

After the deed has been signed and prior to be presented in the land registry, the buyer will pay the transfer tax or the vat when it is a house that has been sold by a promoter or developer. Please go to our article dedicated to the taxes and costs for buying Spanish property

Information provided by Premier Law