Legal and Conveyancing for Buying New-Build in Spain

This page is for international buyers who want their Spanish property purchase checked and handled properly. You will learn why you need an independent Spanish lawyer, what they do for you, what it costs, and how we oversee the whole legal process with you. Clear, honest, in plain language.

Buying property in Spain is safe when the legal side is done right. The danger is using the wrong lawyer, or no lawyer at all. Here is how to protect yourself.

Quick answer: In Spain, an independent lawyer legally checks everything before you buy. We recommend a trusted lawyer who pays us zero commission, charges 1% including VAT (below the usual rate), and acts only for you. You do not need to bring a lawyer from home, you need one who knows Spanish law. We coordinate and oversee the entire legal process alongside them, so nothing slips.

You need a Spanish lawyer, not one from home

Many buyers assume they will bring their own lawyer from home to handle everything. It is a natural thought, but it does not work that way in Spain.

You need a Spanish lawyer who knows Spanish law. Even where European law applies, the rules and the day-to-day procedures that actually govern your purchase are Spanish. A lawyer who works in another system will not know them.

You are welcome to involve your home-country lawyer as well, and have them work alongside the Spanish one. In our honest experience, though, it usually adds little and often slows things down. Lawyers abroad are frequently paid by the hour, so they may go through every clause in fine detail and raise points the Spanish system has already settled, then ask the Spanish lawyer how it works here anyway. For a new-build in particular, much of the process is fixed by law, so the contract and the steps are fairly standard. A Spanish lawyer who lives in this system moves you through it smoothly.

Why an independent lawyer matters most

Here is the heart of it. Many agencies send you to a lawyer who pays them a referral fee. That lawyer's loyalty is then split, and they may stay quiet about a problem that should stop the deal.

We do it differently. We recommend an independent lawyer who pays us nothing, not a cent. Their only duty is to you, the buyer. A truly independent lawyer will tell you to walk away from a bad deal, even when that means no sale and no fee for anyone.

This matters even more on a resale than a new-build. A new-build follows a fairly set, legally framed process. A resale has more that can go wrong, so a lawyer who is not genuinely independent has less reason to halt a deal that should be halted, and awkward details can stay out of sight. With an independent lawyer, nothing is swept under the rug.

You are always free to use your own Spanish lawyer. We recommend ours because we have worked together for years, the coordination is smoother, and the whole process is easier for you. But the choice is yours, and the lawyer always acts for you.

Bonus tip: It is always worth knowing where your lawyer's loyalty sits. A fair question to any agency is whether the lawyer they suggest pays them a referral fee. A trustworthy agency answers it straight. We will: ours pays us nothing.

One related point. It is best not to rely on the lawyer that the developer or the seller's agent puts forward, because their interest is in closing the sale. An independent lawyer on your side, like the one we recommend, is a very different thing.

What the lawyer does for you

A Spanish property lawyer does far more than read a contract. They carry out full due diligence, checking every legal fact about the property before you pay, and the lawyer we work with charges 1% including VAT, which covers all of it.

• They check the nota simple, a Land Registry extract that shows who owns the property and any debts or charges on it.
• They confirm the build is legal and fully licensed, so you do not inherit an illegal or unlicensed property.
• They explain everything to you, in plain English, at every step, so you always understand what you are signing.

The same lawyer also sets up the practical side of owning in Spain, which saves you a lot of stress:

• Your NIE (the foreigner identification number you need to buy), your Spanish bank account, your utilities, and your home insurance.
• The tourist (holiday-rental) licence, if you want to let the property.
• Ongoing non-resident and rental taxes. The firm we work with has a dedicated division for exactly this, and can also help with any disputes later.

In short, it is one trusted contact for almost everything you will need in Spain. They also have excellent local contacts, as do we, so things actually get done.

What it costs, with no surprises

A real fear for buyers is hidden costs, surprise taxes, or being overcharged for being foreign. We remove that worry by being completely upfront.

Before you commit to anything, you get a clear, itemised estimate of every cost, so you know your true all-in number:

• The lawyer: about 1% including VAT.
• Purchase tax on a new-build: 10% IVA, plus about 1,2% AJD (stamp duty).
• Notary and Land Registry: roughly 1% to 2% together.

As a rule, budget about 12% to 14% on top of the price. And because we are independent, the price itself is the same whether you buy through us or go direct, so you are not paying a foreigner premium either.

The biggest legal fears, and how we remove them

The legal side worries buyers because it works differently from home. Here are the real fears, and how the lawyer and we deal with each one.

• Inheriting hidden debts. In Spain, debts follow the property, not the person. An unpaid mortgage, community fees, taxes or fines can pass to you, sometimes tens of thousands of euros. The lawyer checks the registry and the community accounts, so you never inherit someone else's debt.
• An illegal or unlicensed build. A property without the right licences, or without its Licence of First Occupation, cannot be legally lived in, connected to utilities, or easily resold, and in the worst cases faces fines or demolition. The lawyer verifies every licence, and we steer you away from problem developments in the first place.
• Scams and lost money. Fake listings, people posing as the owner, forged power of attorney, and "our bank details have changed" emails are all real. We make the first contact and verify who you are dealing with, and your lawyer makes sure money only ever moves safely. Never pay anyone you have not checked with us or your lawyer first.
• Signing something you do not understand. Spanish contracts are in Spanish, under Spanish law, with ideas that may not exist back home, and a verbal promise means nothing unless it is written in. Your lawyer explains every clause in plain English, and only what is in writing counts.
• Not being able to rent it out. A home can be perfectly legal to buy but restricted for holiday letting by the community of owners' rules. If renting matters to you, the lawyer checks those rules before you commit.
• Hidden costs and overpaying. As above: a full, itemised cost estimate upfront, and the same price as going direct.

Why work with Spain Developments

We are an independent buyer's agent with access to every development on the Costa del Sol. We are not tied to any developer, and we earn nothing from your lawyer, so our advice stays clean. Our buying service is free to you, because the developer pays our fee, and the price is identical whether you come through us or go direct.

Most importantly for the legal side, we do not just hand you a lawyer and disappear. We coordinate and oversee the entire legal process and the whole transaction alongside your lawyer, making sure each step happens on time, so nothing falls through the cracks. You always have one team looking after you.

When you are ready, we will introduce you to our independent lawyer, or gladly work alongside your own. Either way, your purchase gets checked properly, and you understand every step.