Before you make an offer on a property in Spain, there’s one document your gestor should pull immediately. Here’s what it is, what it tells you, and why it matters.
When I was buying property in Alicante, one of the first things my gestor did was obtain a nota simple for the property I was considering. I didn’t fully understand what it was at the time. By the time I’d completed, I understood it was one of the most important documents in the entire process.
If you’re buying property in Spain, here’s what you need to know.
What is a Nota Simple?
A nota simple is an official extract from the Registro de la Propiedad — the Spanish land registry. It’s a summary document that shows the current legal status of a property: who owns it, what rights are attached to it, and whether there are any charges or debts registered against it.
It’s not the full title deed. Think of it as a snapshot of the property’s legal position at the moment it’s requested. For a buyer, it’s the first and most essential due diligence check.
What Does a Nota Simple Show?
Property description — the address, size, and classification, along with the referencia catastral. This is the property’s unique identifier in Spain’s cadastre system — a separate government database used for tax and planning purposes that runs in parallel to the land registry. Your gestor will check that the cadastral record and the registry entry match, as discrepancies between the two can cause complications with taxes and planning. The classification also confirms whether the property is registered as residential — a property without residential classification cannot legally be lived in or rented out without formal conversion.
Ownership — who currently holds title and in what capacity. Full ownership (pleno dominio) is what you’re looking for. Other rights that may appear include a usufruct — a legal right to use the property held by a third party, often a family member retained from a previous transfer — which needs to be resolved before or at completion.
Charges and encumbrances — any mortgages, debts, or legal claims registered against the property. In Spain, property debts follow the property, not the owner — so if you complete on a property with an unresolved mortgage or debt, it becomes your problem. A clean nota simple shows no cargas. Other things that can appear include:
- Mortgages (hipoteca) — must be formally cancelled before or at completion
- Easements (servidumbre) — rights of way or access for neighbours
- Court embargo — a legal freeze due to an ongoing dispute
- Right of first refusal — a third party’s right to buy before you
- Heritage or planning restrictions
Previous ownership history — the chain of title showing past owners and transactions.
A Note on Non-Resident Sellers
The nota simple will show the names of all current owners. If any seller is a non-resident in Spain — including UK nationals living abroad — this triggers an important legal obligation for the buyer.
You are required by law to withhold 3% of the purchase price attributable to that seller and pay it directly to the Spanish tax authority (Agencia Tributaria) via a Modelo 211 declaration. This covers their potential capital gains tax liability. If you fail to do this, the liability falls on you as the buyer.
In my own purchase, one of the sellers was resident in the United States. She also asked for her portion of the payment to go to her brother, one of the other owners. Both of these points needed to be handled and documented carefully by the gestor to ensure everything was correctly recorded.
It is the kind of complication that is entirely routine if you have the right professional handling it — and potentially very costly if you don’t.
When Should You Get One?
Before making any offer or paying any deposit. A nota simple typically costs €10–€20 and can be obtained quickly online through the Colegio de Registradores website. Your gestor will do this as a matter of course, but it’s worth knowing you can request one yourself.
Do not pay any deposit to any party before a nota simple has been reviewed and confirmed clean.
What a Nota Simple Doesn’t Tell You
A nota simple is a legal snapshot, not a structural survey. It tells you about the registered legal status of the property — not whether the roof leaks, the plumbing works, or the building has structural issues.
For an apartment in a block, you’re also buying into a community of owners. The nota simple won’t show unpaid community fees unless they’ve been formally registered as a charge. Your gestor should request a certificate from the community administrator confirming there are no outstanding debts.
The Bottom Line
A nota simple is the starting point of any serious due diligence on a Spanish property. It’s cheap, fast, and tells you the most important things you need to know about who owns the property and what’s attached to it.
Get one before you commit to anything.
Want to understand who pulls the nota simple and what else they do? What is a Gestor in Spain explains the professional you need handling your paperwork.