Frequently asked Questions

Do I need to make a Spanish Will?

When you purchase a property in any non UK country you should make a Will in that country — and Spain is no exception. You can then nominate your own beneficiaries and avoid the legal problems of Spanish Inheritance law. When you purchase your property in Spain, your lawyer will be able to draw up your Spanish Will which must be registered at the Notary's office.

Is the property freehold, even if it is an apartment ?

Yes, unlike UK property, all residential Spanish properties are freehold.

If I buy "off plan" will the price of my property increase ?

Once you have paid a Reservation deposit on a property and agreed the price in writing – the purchase price cannot be changed. The value of the property will undoubtedly increase during the building process but the purchase price does not change.

Why do I need a Lawyer and a Notary ?

It is essential to employ a lawyer to act for you on your Spanish Property purchase. The lawyer will check the land, the property and that the Title Deeds are in order. He will also check that there are no debts on the property, and that the relevant planning permissions/ bank guarantees are in place.

The Notary oversees the Title Deed (Escritura) checking that it complies with Spanish Law and witnesses the signature and exchange of monies for both buyer and seller. The Notary is an independent body.

How do the Spanish feel about Foreign Residents ?

In our experience there is rarely any animosity to foreigners in Spain. It should be remembered that Spaniards are naturally friendly, tolerant, laid-back and very family orientated. However, if you really want to be accepted into a Spanish way of life, put learning a little Spanish at the top of your list of priorities. Most towns have Spanish classes for foreigners.

What about the "land grab" laws I have read about in the UK newspapers. Is my property safe ?

There has been much publicity in the British press and TV programmes highlighting a problem that has occurred in certain parts of Spain where owners have had some of their land taken from them or they have had to pay for infrastructures they do not wish on their land (roads etc.)

The vast majority of the cases that have occurred have been in the Valencia region (including northern Costa Blanca) when a new law was introduced in 1994.

This is a complicated law but to simplify the matter, the issue affects the 3 classifications of land — land already urbanised, land suitable for urbanisation and rural land. As in any country, when an area grows then rural land is sometimes re-classified by the local authorities as land suitable for urbanisation.

A law was introduced in Spain to prevent individual owners of rural property in areas that have been re-classified standing in the way of developments that would benefit the community as a whole by improving services or creating affordable local housing. In recognition of the fact that the value of the property in question would increase significantly, the laws oblige that these rural owners contribute with cash and/or part of their land towards benefits such as mains water, sewerage, new roads, lighting etc. even though they may not want such facilities, preferring the older rural ways.

Unfortunately, in one area of Spain the law was badly drafted, allowing a small number of developers and local authorities to exploit this loophole in the law against the interests of property owners, principally in coastal areas where land is in shorter supply and values are at their highest.

Firstly, and most importantly, this particular version of the law only applies to the Valencian Community ie. the provinces of Alicante, Valencia and Castellon. The rest of Spain has different versions of the law and we have not heard of any problems, although we would always recommend that qualified legal advice be sought wherever you buy.

Secondly, the law does not affect anyone who has bought property in an area already urbanised or designated as such. This represents virtually all apartments, townhouses, linked property and villa developments including urban detached villas.

Thirdly, these cases are not an anti-British campaign by the Spanish. The small number of people who have been affected includes Spaniards as well as other nationalities.

We would always urge people to ask the lawyer about this law in relation to the property they are buying and to take the advice of the lawyer. People buying in the higher risk areas should obviously be more wary. There is an insurance policy that can now be taken out against this problem — please ask your lawyer for details. But remember that over 700,000 British people now live in Spain and the vast majority have not experienced any such problems.