{"id":103257,"date":"2026-05-12T08:00:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T06:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/?p=103257"},"modified":"2026-05-12T08:00:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T06:00:14","slug":"10-documents-buying-house-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/buyers\/10-documents-buying-house-spain\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"The 10 documents you need to know before buying your home in Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"<table class=\"table table-striped table-color-200\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>The process begins by <strong>obtaining a NIE and a Spanish bank account<\/strong> to subsequently request the <strong>Nota Simple, IBI receipts, and community bylaws<\/strong> to prove ownership and the absence of debts.<\/li>\n<li>It is mandatory to verify the <strong>Energy Efficiency Certificate (CEE), the Certificate of Occupancy, and the Technical Building Inspection (ITE)<\/strong> to ensure habitability and be aware of potential assessments for structural renovations.<\/li>\n<li>After the official appraisal for the mortgage, it is customary to sign an <strong>earnest money contract (contrato de arras)<\/strong> as a reservation, culminating in the signing of the<strong> public deed<\/strong> before a notary to register the change of ownership.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"5\">Buying a house in a new country can raise many questions about <strong>which documents are truly necessary to avoid legal problems. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"5\">At Fotocasa, we explain in simple terms <strong>which documents you must request to buy a home in Spain, who issues them, and at what stage of the process you will need them<\/strong>. In this guide, we will review everything from the Nota Simple to the bank appraisal so that your investment in Spain is completely secure.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"5\">Do you know exactly which document confirms who the real owner of the house is before you hand over any deposit?<\/p>\n<h2 data-path-to-node=\"6\">What property documents should I know about before buying?<\/h2>\n<p id=\"p-rc_a78ac59b12b0d5d6-59\" data-path-to-node=\"7\"><span data-path-to-node=\"16,0\">To guarantee a secure purchase, you must review documents that certify three key areas: <b data-path-to-node=\"16,0\" data-index-in-node=\"97\">ownership and encumbrances<\/b> (Nota Simple), the <b data-path-to-node=\"16,0\" data-index-in-node=\"136\">technical and energy status<\/b> (CEE, Certificate of Occupancy, and ITE), and the <b data-path-to-node=\"16,0\" data-index-in-node=\"189\">financial solvency<\/b> of the property (IBI, utilities, and community fees)<\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"16,2\">. These papers confirm the legal, physical, and financial situation of the property you are about to acquire and are mandatory for formalizing the deed before a notary<\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"16,4\">. We explain them all below.<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"7\"><section class=\"mini-posts\"><div class=\"row align-items-center\"><div class=\"col-4 col-md-3 pt-2 pb-2\"><div class=\"mini-posts__image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/buyers\/how-to-buy-a-house-in-spain-as-a-non-resident-foreigner\/?lang=en\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/How-to-buy-a-house-in-Spain-as-a-non-resident-foreigner-355x230.png\" alt=\"How to buy a house in Spain as a non-resident foreigner\" title=\"-\"><\/a><\/div><\/div><div class=\"col-8 col-md-9 pt-2 pb-2\"><h3 class=\"mini-posts__title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/buyers\/how-to-buy-a-house-in-spain-as-a-non-resident-foreigner\/?lang=en\">How to buy a house in Spain as a non-resident foreigner<\/a><\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/section><\/p>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"8\">1. What is the Nota Simple Informativa? The property&#8217;s \u00abID card\u00bb<\/h3>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9\"><span data-path-to-node=\"9,0\">The Nota Simple is the most important document at the start of the home-buying process. It serves to verify the actual status of the property in the Land Registry. <b data-path-to-node=\"9,0\" data-index-in-node=\"184\">It must be requested from the Land Registry<\/b> through their website or in person, although <strong>it is customary to request it from the seller or the real estate agency before signing any reservation contract<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9\"><span data-path-to-node=\"9,0\">It is essential to request it before signing any reservation contract<\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"9,2\">. Its cost is low, usually less than 10 euros if requested directly from the Registry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"10\">What information can we find in a property&#8217;s Nota Simple?<\/p>\n<ul data-path-to-node=\"11\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"11,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"11,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Property address<\/b> and other identification data, such as the <b data-path-to-node=\"11,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"64\">CRU<\/b> (Unique Registry Code).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"11,1,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"11,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Exact surface area<\/b> of the home in square meters.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"11,2,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"11,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Identity of the owners<\/b> and the rights they hold, such as a usufruct.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"11,3,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"11,3,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Charges affecting the property<\/b>, such as outstanding mortgages, liens, or easements.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"12\">2. Is the Energy Efficiency Certificate (CEE) mandatory?<\/h3>\n<p id=\"p-rc_a78ac59b12b0d5d6-61\" data-path-to-node=\"13\"><span data-path-to-node=\"13,0\">Yes, it is a <b data-path-to-node=\"13,0\" data-index-in-node=\"108\">document required by law<\/b> to sell a home in Spain. The Energy Efficiency Certificate provides information on the property&#8217;s energy consumption and CO2 emissions on a scale from A to G. <b data-path-to-node=\"13,0\" data-index-in-node=\"174\">The seller is responsible for obtaining it<\/b>, and must hire a competent technician to provide it before the sale<\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"13,2\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"14\">3. How to request utility receipts and Community debts?<\/h3>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"15\"><span data-path-to-node=\"15,0\">These documents should be<b data-path-to-node=\"15,0\" data-index-in-node=\"100\"> requested directly from the seller<\/b> before going to the notary<\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"15,2\">. <\/span><b data-path-to-node=\"16,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Electricity, water, and gas receipts <\/b>should be requested to ensure the owner is up to date with payments and that there are no service cut-offs or outstanding bills.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fotocasa is the expert real estate portal if you are looking for your home in Spain and want to resolve your doubts about housing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":282,"featured_media":103267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"yes","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13472],"tags":[13692,13548,14978,15028,14821,13552,13551,13549,13550,13547],"class_list":["post-103257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buyers","tag-buy","tag-buy-in-spain","tag-documentacion-inmobiliaria","tag-documents-for-buying-a-house-in-spain","tag-foreign","tag-housing-doubts","tag-housing-experts-in-spain","tag-housing-purchase-market-spain","tag-live-in-spain","tag-real-estate-market"],"modified_by":"Patricia Andr\u00e9s","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/282"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103257\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fotocasa.es\/fotocasa-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}