Spanish property terms, in plain English

These are the Spanish words that appear on the paperwork of a property purchase, and what each means to a buyer. The most useful fact on the page: the property register and the cadastre are two different systems that can disagree about the same property, and the paperwork will tell you when they do.

The seventeen words

The Spanish property register (Registro de la Propiedad)

The public register of who owns each property and what is charged against it. It is a network of local registries with a national body above them. It is not the same as the cadastre and it is not a valuation service. What a search of it costs, by route, is on the Spanish land registry.

The land registry extract (nota simple)

The cheap, fast summary of what the register currently holds for one property: identification, owners, and the extent and limitations of their rights. Reglamento Hipotecario art. 332.5 says it is informative and does not attest to the entries. Every field of one is walked through on the nota simple.

The certified extract (certificación registral)

The form that does attest to the register's content, issued and signed by the registrar. It is the document you need when something has to be proved rather than merely read. The Colegio de Registradores publishes no flat price for one, because the cost depends on which tariff items apply. See the Spanish land registry.

The title deed (escritura pública de compraventa)

The public deed of sale, signed before a notary, by which ownership passes between buyer and seller. This is the closest thing Spain has to what a British buyer means by a title deed. It is not the nota simple, and confusing the two is the most expensive vocabulary error available. See buying property in Spain.

The cadastre (Catastro)

The state's own description of every property in Spain: where its boundaries are, how large it is, what it is used for and what the state values it at. It is run by the tax administration, not by the register, and the two are separate systems with separate rules. A basic consultation costs nothing at the Sede Electrónica del Catastro. See the nota simple.

The cadastral reference (referencia catastral)

The twenty-character code that identifies a property at the cadastre. It is the key you use to look a property up yourself, and it also appears on the nota simple, on the deed and on the annual municipal tax bill. If you have only an address, this is the thing to find first. See the nota simple.

Charges and encumbrances (cargas)

The section of the nota simple that decides most purchases. It lists what is registered against the property: mortgages, seizures, easements, tax charges and conditions. Everything in it follows the property rather than its owner, so it survives the sale unless somebody clears it first. See the nota simple.

The mortgage entry (hipoteca)

A loan secured on the property, entered on the register. Repaying the loan does not remove the entry: cancellation is a separate, paid step, and until it is registered the charge stands. If it is still there on the day you sign, it is yours. See Spanish mortgages for non-residents.

The seizure entry (embargo)

A note made at the register by a court or a public body that is owed money by the owner. It is the most serious thing an ordinary buyer finds on a nota simple, and it is what gov.uk means when it tells you to check for debts before you complete. See the nota simple.

The deposit contract (contrato de arras)

The private contract of sale, signed with a deposit, long before the deed. Código Civil art. 1454 describes only the kind that allows withdrawal, at the cost of the deposit or twice it. Which kind yours is depends on its wording, not its title. See the deposit contract.

The transfer tax (ITP)

Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales, the tax on buying a resale home. It is set by each autonomous community, so the rate depends on where the property is, and it is by far the largest single cost of a purchase. Rates and a worked example are on what buying a property in Spain costs.

Stamp duty (AJD)

Actos Jurídicos Documentados, the duty on certain notarial deeds. It applies to a new-build purchase alongside IVA, and to a mortgage deed, but not to a resale that already pays transfer tax. The rate is set by the autonomous community. See what buying a property in Spain costs.

The municipal capital-gains tax (plusvalía municipal)

A town-hall tax on the increase in the land value between two transfers. It is normally the seller's, but it is negotiable and it can be agreed otherwise, which is why it belongs in the contract rather than in an assumption. See what buying a property in Spain costs.

The community of owners (comunidad de propietarios)

The body of owners in a building or development, which sets and collects charges for shared costs. Its debts are not on the property register, so the only way to see them is a certificate from the community itself. See buying property in Spain.

The first-occupancy licence (licencia de primera ocupación)

The town hall's confirmation that a completed building may be lived in. Its absence is the practical consequence of building without permission, and it reaches utility connections and resale. See buying property in Spain.

The valuation (tasación)

The lender's valuation of the property, produced by a firm authorised and supervised by the Banco de España, valid for six months, and paid for by you. Your loan is a percentage of this figure, not of the price you agreed. See Spanish mortgages for non-residents.

The foreigner's identity number (NIE)

Número de Identidad de Extranjero, the identification number Spain issues to a foreigner. You cannot buy, be taxed or open an account without one, and if your only connection to Spain is the purchase you must apply for it yourself under Real Decreto 1155/2024. See the NIE number.

The register and the cadastre are not the same thing

This is the structural fact the whole site rests on, and it is the one thing to carry away if you read nothing else here.

The register records rights. Who owns the property, on what share, and what is charged against it. It is organised by finca, a legal unit, and its entries are made by a registrar who has judged whether the document lodged is fit to be entered.

The cadastre records the thing itself. Where it is, how big it is, what it is used for, and what the state thinks it is worth. It exists for tax and for geography, and it is organised by parcel.

They are populated by different bodies from different documents at different times. Nothing forces them to agree, and nothing corrects one from the other automatically. A nota simple can state in a single line that a property is no coordinada with the cadastre, and it is common for the floor area in one to differ from the other.

Neither figure is automatically wrong. A gap usually means work was done that never reached one of the two systems, and that is a planning question rather than an arithmetic one. If it appears on a property you are buying, it is a question for a lawyer before you sign — the routes and what each publishes are on who checks a Spanish property.

What this page does not cover

It is not a dictionary and it is not exhaustive. It covers the words that appear on the paperwork of a purchase and nothing else: not letting, not inheritance, not construction, not planning law beyond the one licence named above.

We are not lawyers and this is not legal advice.