Risks of buying property in Spain and how to check them

Most of the risks of buying a home in Spain can be spotted before you sign, if you check what needs checking. The usual problems are well known: a property occupied by squatters, an illegal build in the countryside, a missing habitability document, a flood zone, or the seller's debts that stay with the property. For each one, below: what the law says, what protects you as the buyer and where to look. Do these checks before you pay a reservation deposit; nearly all of them use public documents.

Squatters (okupas): what the law says and what it doesn't

Buy with vacant possession. Ask for the deed to state that the property is handed over free of occupants (libre de ocupantes) and visit it just before signing. It is the simplest protection and the one that depends only on you.

If a property is already occupied without any title, the fast civil route (Civil Procedure Act, art. 250.1.4º and 441.1 bis) is open to individual owners, non-profit organisations and public owners of social housing: the judge gives the occupants five days to show a title and, if they have none, orders the eviction. A company (SL or SA) cannot use this route; it goes through the ordinary possession action, an action based on the right recorded in the Land Registry, or a criminal complaint. Since Ley 12/2023, the claim must state whether the property is the occupant's habitual home and whether the claimant is a large holder (gran tenedor).

Under criminal law, entering someone else's dwelling is allanamiento (Criminal Code, art. 202): six months to two years in prison, one to four years with violence or intimidation. Occupying without violence a property that is nobody's dwelling is usurpación (art. 245.2) and is punished with a fine. Since April 2025 these cases can go to a fast-track criminal trial if there is a police report. Whether a second home counts as a dwelling is for the court to decide in each case.

Myth: “after 48 hours they can no longer be removed”. No law contains that rule. The police act at once when they catch the occupants in the act; in every other case a judge decides.

The old moratorium on evicting vulnerable occupants (RDL 11/2020) expired on 31 December 2025; Congress did not validate its extensions.

Illegal builds and AFO houses

In Andalusia, a finished illegal building against which the authorities can no longer act is classed as asimilado a fuera de ordenación (AFO) (Ley 7/2021, LISTA, art. 173–174). You can buy an AFO house, but it is not legalised: no extensions, and works or water and electricity connections are only possible with the corresponding decision or permit. Decreto 550/2022 sets out the procedure. The AFO decision is noted in the Land Registry, so read the nota simple; if the house is in the countryside and there is neither a note nor a licence, ask the town hall before you pay anything.

In the Valencian Community a different regime applies (TRLOTUP): on non-developable land (suelo no urbanizable) the administration can act against an illegal build for much longer, or with no time limit at all. Before buying a country house there, ask the town hall for an urban-planning certificate for the plot.

Habitability certificate and occupancy licence

The document proving that a home is fit to live in is not the same across Spain: each region has its own.

In Catalonia a valid cédula de habitabilidad is required for any sale or letting (Ley 18/2007, art. 26): the notary asks for it, and the water, electricity and gas companies need it to connect supplies. The buyer of a resale property can release the seller from it only in specific cases, for instance when buying to fully renovate or demolish.

In Andalusia, occupancy of a finished building is shown with a declaración responsable filed with the town hall. In other regions, including the Valencian Community, ask the town hall or the regional housing department which document is needed for a resale. With a new build, check that the developer already holds the first-occupation licence or the declaración responsable before the deed is signed.

Flood zones

Check whether the property lies in a flood zone on the viewer of the National Flood Zone Mapping System (SNCZI) run by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition (MITECO). It is public and free.

Since 30 December 2016, a developer building in a flood zone must have that fact noted in the Land Registry before works start (Public Water Domain Regulation, art. 14 bis). Older houses usually have no such note, so its absence from the nota simple does not prove there is no risk. Being in a flood zone does not change ownership, but you want to know before signing, and to ask your insurer about the terms of home insurance.

Water and drought

Water restrictions during a drought are set by the river basin authorities in their special drought plans, and towns above a set population must have an emergency plan (Ley 10/2001, art. 27). If this worries you, look up the current drought status on the website of the local basin authority (confederación hidrográfica).

With a rural house, also check that the water supply is legal: a contract with the municipal water company or, if the house draws from a well, the basin authority's permit.

The nota simple and debts that pass to the property

The nota simple from the Land Registry is an information extract (Mortgage Act, art. 222.5): it shows the owner, the description of the property and the recorded charges — mortgages, embargoes, easements — and, where there is one, the AFO note. Get a recent one. For legal certainty you need the registry certificate (certificación) and the notary's check on the day of signing.

Some of the seller's debts follow the property to the new owner:

• IBI: the property answers for unpaid IBI (TRLRHL, art. 64.1). Ask for the last paid receipt.
• Community of owners: the property answers for the fees of the current year and the three previous years (Horizontal Property Act, art. 9.1 e). Ask for the community's certificate showing no debts for the deed and ask the seller to notify the community of the sale.
• Non-resident seller: you must withhold 3% of the price and pay it to the tax office (modelo 211); if you don't, the property answers for that debt (TRLIRNR, art. 25.2). If the seller is a non-resident individual, you also pay the municipal plusvalía (TRLRHL, art. 106.2) — take it into account when negotiating.

• 3% — RDLeg 5/2004 TRLIRNR, art. 25.2 · Checked: 17/10/2026

Checks before you pay a reservation

• A recent nota simple: owner, charges, embargoes, AFO note.
• Cadastre: floor area and buildings match reality and the Land Registry.
• The last paid IBI receipt.
• Community of owners certificate showing no debts.
• Licences and habitability: cédula, licence or declaración responsable of occupation, depending on the region.
• Urban-planning status at the town hall, especially on rural land (AFO, planning certificate).
• Flood zone on the SNCZI viewer.
• Vacant property: libre de ocupantes in the deed and a visit before signing.
• The seller's tax residence: if non-resident, withhold 3%.
• If you plan holiday lets: regional, town-hall and community rules — tourist rental guide.
• Your own lawyer, independent of the seller and the developer.

• 3% — RDLeg 5/2004 TRLIRNR, art. 25.2 · Checked: 17/10/2026