Signing at the notary in Spain: what happens on the day

Who's there on the day

There's the buyer, the seller — every title holder, and both spouses if the property is the marital home — and the notary; if there's a mortgage, the bank's representative too. In Spain, the notary is a legal professional and a public official, and one of their duties is to inform and advise both sides free of charge and impartially: they assist the buyer and the seller equally, and in particular whichever one needs more help. The buyer chooses the notary, and the fee is the same for everyone.

What the notary checks, asks for, and warns about

• The identity, legal capacity and standing of both parties, and the seller's title.
• The state of the cargas (charges) on the property: the notary sets out any mortgages, court attachments or other encumbrances.
• The tenancy status: the notary requires the seller to declare in the deed whether the property is free of tenancies and occupants or not.
• Payment of the fees owed to the comunidad, the owners' association. The Ley de Propiedad Horizontal is clear: without the certificate of any debts to the comunidad, the public deed can't be authorised, unless the buyer expressly waives that requirement.
• The energy performance certificate, the receipt for the IBI (the local property tax) and the referencia catastral, the cadastral reference. On IBI debts, the law requires the notary to ask for information and to warn both parties expressly.
• If a company is on the other side, the beneficial owner, under anti-money-laundering rules.

How you pay

The escritura records how and when the property was paid for, and which account the money left from and which it arrived in, in the case of a transfer. It isn't a formality: it's the reason everything gets prepared beforehand. The two ways that work without surprises are a banker's draft issued by the Spanish bank, handed over at the table, and a transfer carried out and documented before the sitting. An international transfer sent that same morning pushes the signing back.

If you don't speak Spanish

The Reglamento Notarial provides for this: if the person signing doesn't know the language of the deed well enough and the notary can't communicate its content to them directly, an interpreter chosen by that person is needed, who does the translations, declares that the original matches the translation, and also signs the deed. At the foreign party's request, the deed can be drawn up in two columns, in both languages.

After the signing

On the same day as the signing, the notary sends an electronic copy of the deed to the Registro de la Propiedad, the property registry, so it can be registered. What's left is settling the taxes — different in the Canary Islands from the mainland, and covered in the buying guide — and changing the name on the utilities, IBI and the comunidad. Many people leave this part to a gestoría; I want it wrapped up before I say the job's finished.

This is a general explanation, not legal or tax advice. Every sale has its own particularities: get help from a qualified professional.