The following is a brief list of the most common terms you may come across when buying or selling a property in Nerja (or in Spain in general), as used by the lawyers and local town hall.

  • Certificado Catastral: Complete description of the property. Location, buildings on it, boundaries, amount of land and structures in m2 etc…
  • Escritura Publica: Notarised Deed of Sale including Description of Property
  • Gastos de Comunidad: These are the Community Fees that might be levied to all owners by the Urbanisation in order to pay for lighting, communal swimming pool, maintenance of gardens etc… (Find out if there is such a charge before hand)
  • Impuesto Sobre Bienes Inmuebles: (IBI): Annual property tax (for council services), ie Council Tax.  Note that there is no wealth tax levied in Spain at this time.
  • Nota Simple: Short version/extract of the property register (deeds) showing property’s details and if any encumbrances (debts) are registered
  • Plan Parcial: In an urbanisation, this points out if it is legal and is registered and approved by the Town-Hall/Town Planning, a plan of building plots.
  • Referencia Catastral: Property Registration concentrating on the exact location, description and boundaries – (It should always be inscribed in the Title deeds for future reference, if it hasn’t been already – IBI Receipt of the property)
  • Registro de la Propiedad: Property Registry
  • Urbanisation: Housing developments/housing estate
  • Valor Catastral: Value of the property in terms of the Tax office. This is usually below market valuation.
Please Note:  The above terms are provided for information and guidance only.  You should always seek qualified legal advice before buying or selling a property in Spain.

 

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