Property lexicon to help you with the purchase of your real estate in Spain
A
| abogado: | lawyer /solicitor |
| acta notarial: | notary deed or certificate, which is required for the entry in the land register |
| acta de notoriedad: | procedure for registration in the land-register if the basic principle of continuous registration has been interrupted. Notary certification (document) |
| afecciones registrales: | iencumbrances on the property recorded in the land-register |
| agente inmobiliaria: | property agent or real estate agent |
| agrupación de solares: | combining of building plots |
| alta catastral: | land-registry office |
| altura máxima: | maximum permissible height of a building |
| alquiler: | rental |
| anotaciones marginales: | remarks in the land register referencing the registered documents. |
| aparejador: | construction engineer |
| arras: | a deposit paid by the purchaser when the private contract is signed. If "arras penitenciales" has been agreed, then if the purchaser terminates the contract, he loses the deposit. If the vendor terminates the contract, he has to pay double the amount of the deposit to the purchaser. |
| arrendamiento de obra: | contract for work and labour, e.g. building-contract with construction firm |
| architecto: | architect |
| asiento de presentación: | a note of conveyance, which protects the purchaser for a certain period against further registrations. |
| ayuntamiento: | local government, mayor's office, town hall |
B
| buletin de la instalación eléctrica: | certificate about the proper electrical installation by an expert |
C
| cancelación: | note in the land register for the cancellation of encumbrances |
| cédula de habitabilidad: | official certificate of occupancy |
| certificaciones: | certificates; often refers to certificates from the architect describing the progress of the construction work. |
| certificado bancario de devisas: | bank certificate confirming the payment of the purchase price with foreign currency |
| certificado de no residente: | a certificate declaring that the property owner was not registered as a Spanish resident at the time of purchasing a property in Spain |
| certificado final obra del arquitecto: | certificate of the architect about the final acceptance |
| certificado final obra del ayuntamiento: | certificate of the local government about the final acceptance |
| Código Civil: | Spanish civil code |
| Colégio Oficial de Arquitectos: | official school of architects |
| Colégio de aparejadores: | official office of construction engineers |
| comunidad de herederos: | the heirs of the person named. eg. la Comunidad de Herederos de Jose Garcia |
| comunidad de propietarios: | condominium owner's association or residential condominium corporation |
| condición resolutoria: | 'condition subsequent': a condition in the contract which if broken will cause the whole contract to be broken. |
| condición suspensiva: | 'condition precedent': A condition under which a juridical consequence only occurs if certain other circumstances and assumptions occur prior to it, eg. a contract cannot be signed unless particular conditions have already been met. |
| constructor: | developer or building projector organiser |
| consejo de administración: | board of administration of a private housing estate elected by the condominium owner's meeting |
| contratista: | construction firm |
| contrato de arrendamiento: | tenancy agreement |
| contrato de arrendamiento por temporada: | seasonal tenancy agreement |
| contrato de opción: | a contractual option that may be exercised at a future date |
| contrato privado de compraventa: | private sales contract |
| copropietarios: | joint owners |
| cuerpo cierto: | widely used contract clause which states that the property is bought "as seen at the inspection". |
| cuota de copropiedad: | based on the size of your property and determines both your share of the communal fees which you have to pay and the weight of your vote at the owners association AGM. |
D
| declaración de heredero: | certificate of inheritance |
| declaración de obra nueva: | declaration of new building work: This will be required to have a new building added to the title deeds and must be signed before a notary. |
| delegación de urbanismo: | district surveyors office: responsible for building licenses |
| delegación de hacienda: | Inland Revenue Service, IRS |
| Demarcación de Costas: | Department for Coastal Protection - ensures compliance with coastal environmental and protection rules. |
| derecho de retención: | lien: The right of contract partners to withhold payments or works if the other party is in delay |
| derecho de retracto: | pre-emtion right - a right to acquire certain property in preference to any other person. Also known as 'right of first refusal'. |
| derecho de superficie: | law about the surface area |
| deslindes: | administrative procedure for the determination of the boundaries of the seashore or beach zone |
| división: | official document describing the division of property between the different owners. |
E
| edificabilidad máxima: | maximum floor area that can be built at all levels |
| elevación a público de documento privado: | the requirement to have private certificates notarized previous to the registration in the land register. |
| embargo: | a legal notice served on a the property of a debtor to guarantee the repayment of a debt |
| escritura pública de compraventa: | title deed |
| escritura de manifestación, aceptación y adjudicación de herencia: | notarial certificate affirming the acceptance of an inheritance |
F
| fianza: | deposit |
| finca: | property, also farm or country house |
| finca registrada: | registered plot of land |
G
| gastos según Ley: | contract clause that allocates the costs in accordance with the existing law, but still permits agreed variations |
| gestoría: | office which specializes in obtaining official authorisations, permits, licences, etc. |
H
| Hacienda Pública: | Spanish fiscal authority |
| hipoteca: | mortgage |
I
| I.B.I., impuesto sobre bienes inmuebles: | annual property tax |
| impuesto de actos jurídicos documentados: | Stamp duty (0.5% of purchase price) |
| impuesto de transmisiones patrimoniales onerosas: | property acquisition tax (7% of the purchase price stated in the escritura) |
| impuesto sobre construcciones, instalaciones y obras: | municipal tax on construction projects |
| impuesto sobre el patrimonio: | Spanish capital gains tax |
| I.R.P.F., impuesto sobre la renta de las personas físicas: | income tax |
| I.S., impuesto sobre sociedades: | corporate income tax |
| impuesto sobre sucesiones y donaciones: | inheritance tax and gift tax |
| impuesto estatales: | Spanish state tax |
| impuestos y tasas municipales: | municipal taxes and duties |
| información urbanística: | development rights which are applied for by requesting information regarding the development potential of particular plots, and on particular construction standards |
| inscripción mediante instancia privada: | private application in order to correct the land register due to property being inherited |
| institución de heredero: | nomination of one or several heirs |
| I.V.A., impuesto sobre el valor añadido: | value-added tax ( the normal rate is 18% - the rate for new buildings is 8%) |
L
| legítima: | legally compulsory heirs according to Spanish law |
| ley de la propiedad horizontal: | Spanish property law for apartments |
| Ley 8/1989: | Law to combat tax evasion arising from property purchases |
| Ley de arrendamiento urbano, L.A.U.: | Spanish tenancy law |
| licencia de obras: | Building licence |
| licencia de primera ocupación: | licence for the first occupation certifying that a new building is fit to live in |
M
| memoria de calidades y mediciones: | Construction certification |
| metro: | meter |
| multipropiedad: | time-sharing |
N
| N.I.E., número personal de identificación de extranjeros: | tax number for foreigners |
| N.I.F., número de identificación fiscal: | tax number for residents |
| no residente: | non resident |
| nota marginal: | margin notes in the right hand column of the property register indicating the cancellation of registered rights |
| nota simple informativa: | unauthenticated extract of land-register |
| notario: | Spanish notary public |
O
| obligación personal: | unlimited tax liability for residents |
| obligación real: | limited tax liability for non-residents |
| ocupación máxima: | max. allowed roofed area of a property |
| opción de compra: | an option for purchase. can be registered at the land register |
P
| parcela: | plot of land |
| partición: | the division of a persons assets between their heirs |
| partida de defunción: | death certificate |
| permiso de obra menor: | license for small scale construction works on a property |
| plan parcial: | a development plan for an area or neighbourhood |
| planta: | floor |
| plusvalía municipal: | capital gains tax on the sale of property |
| poder: | power of attorney |
| poseedor: | possessor; e.g. a tenant is the possessor, but not the proprietor |
| posesión: | possession |
| precio: | purchase price |
| primera copia de la escritura de compraventa: | notarialy attested copy of purchase contract; first copy = primera copia, all others = copia autorizada |
| promotor: | property developer |
| propiedad: | property |
| propiedad horizontal: | property with some element of communality which is governed by the law of horizontal property (Lay de Propiedad Horizontal) Spanish law Nº 49/1960 |
| propietario: | legal proprietor |
| protocolización: | certification of a foreign document (provided with Apostille and certified translation) by a Spanish notary or counsel |
| proyecto de ejecución de obra: | the building plans and other details of the proposed development which are submitted to obtain the building licence |
R
| recepción definitiva: | final acceptance of construction work. This determines the beginning of the warranty period |
| registro de la propiedad: | land registry |
| residente: | person with domicile in Spain and also paying taxes in Spain |
| residuos sólidos: | recycling fees |
S
| S.A., sociedad anónima: | Spanish public limited company |
| S.L., sociedad limitada: | Spanish company with limited liability compare with Ltd. |
| saneamiento: | Mängelgewährleistung, Ansprüche, wenn die Kaufsache mit Fehlern behaftet ist |
| segregación de fincas: | separation of a part of a plot of land |
| segregación de una propiedad horizontal: | separation of a part of a property within a community |
| señal: | another term for "arras": a deposit paid by the purchaser as the private contract is signed. If "señal" has been agreed, then if the purchaser terminates the contract, he loses the deposit. If the vendor terminates the contract, he has to pay double the amount of the deposit to the purchaser |
| separación a linderos: | minimum distance between a structure and the boundary of a neighbouring plot |
| servidumbre: | servitude: obliges the property owner to do something or prohibits them from doing something as a condition of owning the land. They can be imposed by law, by the courts or by agreement between landowners. Servidumbre are imposed on a plot of land rather than the owner of the land and are therefore bought and sold with the land. An example would be access rights to a neighbouring plot which would oblige the property owner to allow the neighbouring owner to traverse his land for access purposes. |
| servidumbre de tránsito: | access rights allowing access to a property without direct public access |
| solar: | green areas or preserves which cannot be built on |
| suelo no urbanizable: | land designated as agricultural: the regulations require large plot of land to be able to build a small building |
| suelo rústico: | landwirtschaftliche Nutzfläche. Hier können Sie zumindest ein kleines Gebäude auf einer verhältnismäßig großen Fläche realisieren |
| suelo urbanizable: | building land: construction work should generally be free of legal problems on land of this category |
| suelo urbano: | building land in area under municipal control |
T
| tasa: | municipal fee for receipt of building license |
| tasa de recogida domiciliaria de basura: | municipal waste collection fee |
| toma de posesión: | taking possession of real estate e.g. by handing over the keys |
U
| U.T.M: | cadastral number: the number assigned to each property in the land register urbanización privada: private community, normally for upmarket developments |
| urbanismo: | public construction authority of local government |
| urbanización: | residential area |
| urbanización privada: | private residential area |
| uso: | permitted use |
| uso de oficinas: | permitted for use as offices |
| uso residencial: | residential area, also called "uso vivienda" |
| usufructo: | the legal right to use and derive profit or benefit from property that belongs to another person |
V
| valor catastral: | land-register value. Used as basis for ground-taxes |
| valor comprobado por la administracion: | assumed value of real estate as a base for the property tax |
| valor real: | market value |
Z
| zona comercial: | zone of influence which stretches up to 1 km inland and on which building development is restricted | |
| zona de servidumbre de protección: | protected beach zone which extends up to 200 m from the shoreline. Building development is very restricted and has many conditions imposed on it in this area. |
|
| zona marítimo terrestre: | seashore and directly adjoining area, which is public property. |