Selling extended Spanish property

Last updated on June 3rd, 2020 at 07:23 pm.

With the cost of buying and selling, plus the fact that buyers are like gold dust, more and more people are taking the option of making adaptations to their property to suite their changing needs. However, at some point there will need to be a sale of this extended Spanish property or it will be past on through inheritance. It’s at this point that it is particularly important that paper work is in order and that your building licence is in place for your Spanish property.

What you need to sell

Here is a list of documents that should be available if you are going to sell your property:

• Purchase Title Deed
• Receipt for Notary fees (purchase)
• Receipt for Plus Valia tax (purchase)
• Receipt for Council Tax (IBI/Suma)
• Water bill and contract
• Electricity bill and contract
• Receipt for Community fees and contact details of the administrator
• NIE number
• Habitation Certificate
• Utility installation certificates
• Gas contract
• Wealth and Income Tax declarations (last 4 years)
• Bank account holder certificate showing full names and account number (20 digits)

It’s quite a long list, but your solicitor will help you collect together the necessary information. However, what is sometimes absent that can seriously hold up proceedings is the building licence for Spanish property. If any structural changes have been made to the property without obtaining the appropriate building licence, the sale cannot proceed.

Obtaining a licence

If the structural change equates to a minor build work (obra menor) then having the building license issued by the Town Hall’s Urban Department will ensure a successful sale.

It is not that simple if the building work is considered major (obra mayor). The increase in square meters of the property, the usage of the new area, and changes to the exterior are all taken into consideration and in these cases it is essential to declare the change in the description of the property in the Land Registry by means of signing a new Title Deed. This is especially vital if the purchaser requires a mortgage to buy the property as the bank will not lend on a property that is not correctly registered.

To be able to proceed to change the Title Deed a building license and a certificate from the community of owners (if the property is within a community) consenting to the building work are required.

With these documents it is relatively straight forward to sign the new deed and change the details in the registry. Without them, each case must be studied to decide how a building license can be granted and obtained after the work has been finished. Of course, ideally the building licence should have been obtained before the work began.