Buying property on the Costa del Sol: the complete guide (2026)

This guide covers the purchase of a second-hand (resale) home in Andalucia, from the moment you have agreed a price to the moment the property is registered in your name. It is written for the buyer, and it assumes you may be resident or non-resident. The figures are the ones in force for 2026, and they are Andalucia-specific where the region sets its own rate. Confirm your own numbers before you commit, because a single reduced-rate condition or a non-resident seller can change the arithmetic materially.

The process is a sequence, not a leap. Each step protects the next, and skipping one to save time usually costs more later.

The buying sequence at a glance

A resale purchase in Spain follows a settled order. You do the groundwork (identity and banking), then you commit progressively through two private contracts, and finally you formalise ownership before a notary and register it. Understanding the whole path before you start the first step is what keeps a purchase calm.

1. 1Obtain an NIE (your Spanish foreigner identification number) and open a Spanish bank account.
2. 2Agree terms and sign a reservation, then an arras (deposit) contract that fixes the price and takes the property off the market.
3. 3Complete due diligence and sign the private purchase contract (contrato privado de compraventa).
4. 4Sign the public deed of sale (escritura publica) before a notary, paying the balance.
5. 5Pay the transfer tax and register the deed at the Land Registry.

Step one: NIE and a Spanish bank account

The NIE

Every foreigner buying property in Spain needs an NIE (Numero de Identidad de Extranjero). It is a tax and identification number, not a residence permit, and you cannot sign the deed without it. The legal framework changed recently: the old Reglamento de Extranjeria (Real Decreto 557/2011) was repealed, and the current framework is the new Reglamento approved by Real Decreto 1155/2024, developing Ley Organica 4/2000, in force from 20 May 2025. The NIE is issued by the Direccion General de la Policia. Non-residents apply either through a Spanish consulate abroad or at a Comisaria or Oficina de Extranjeria in Spain, using form EX-15.

Apply for the NIE early. It is the one document whose absence can stall an otherwise ready transaction, and appointment availability varies with the season.

A non-resident bank account

You will need a Spanish account in practice: to pay the deposit, to fund the notary and taxes, and later to set up direct debits for utilities and community fees. A non-resident can open a non-resident account with a valid passport and a certificado de no residencia, obtainable from a police station, an Oficina de Extranjeria or a Spanish consulate (roughly a week to issue, valid for three months). Banks apply anti-money-laundering checks under Ley 10/2010 de prevencion del blanqueo de capitales and will ask for clear evidence of the source of your funds, so assemble that documentation in advance.

Step two: reservation and the arras contract

Once terms are agreed, a modest reservation deposit takes the property off the market while the arras (deposit) contract is prepared. The arras contract is the first document with real financial consequence, and its wording deserves close reading.

The legal basis is article 1454 of the Codigo Civil: where arras or a deposit have been given, the contract may be rescinded, the buyer forfeiting the deposit, or the seller returning it doubled. This describes arras penitenciales, a deposit that lets either party walk away at a defined price. If the buyer withdraws, the deposit is lost. If the seller withdraws, they must repay it doubled. The point that catches buyers is this: Spanish case law treats the penitential character as exceptional, and it must be expressly agreed. Where it is not, arras are presumed merely confirmatory, and the remedy for a breach may be enforced completion or damages rather than a clean forfeit. Read the clause, and know which type of arras you are signing.

The arras clause decides what happens if either side walks away. Do not sign it until you are certain which kind of deposit it is.

Step three: the private purchase contract and due diligence

The private purchase contract (contrato privado de compraventa) sets out the full terms: price, payment schedule, completion date, what is included, and what warranties the seller gives. It is binding, so the due diligence behind it must be complete before you sign. This is the stage where an architect-led review earns its place, because the condition of the building and the legality of what has been built are as important as the paperwork.

• Registry check: obtain a nota simple from the Registro de la Propiedad to confirm the seller's ownership, the exact description of the property, and any charges, mortgages or embargoes registered against it.
• Cadastral check: verify the cadastral reference and cadastral value at the Direccion General del Catastro, and confirm the registered area matches reality. The cadastral value also drives the IBI and the plusvalia calculation.
• IBI: confirm the annual property tax (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles) is paid up to date, since unpaid IBI can attach to the property and pass to you.
• Community: request a certificate confirming community fees are current and check the minutes for pending special levies or disputes.
• Licences: confirm the first-occupation licence and that any extensions, pools or reforms were built with permission and match the registered description.
• Short-term letting: if you intend to let, note the 2025 registration rules covered below before you commit.

Step four and five: the notary deed and the Land Registry

The escritura publica

Ownership transfers when both parties sign the public deed of sale (escritura publica) before a notary and the balance of the price is paid. The notary is a public officer who verifies identity, capacity and the legality of the act, and whose fees are not negotiable. Notary fees for a purchase deed are set by a regulated state tariff, the Arancel de los Notarios (Real Decreto 1426/1989), based on the value of the transaction. Because the tariff is fixed, the same operation costs the same at any notary, and the fee is modest relative to the price, typically a few hundred to low thousands of euros.

Land Registry inscription

After signing, the deed is presented for inscription at the Registro de la Propiedad. Registration is what gives you the protection of the public registry (fe publica registral), so it is not optional in practice. Registry fees are likewise set by a regulated state tariff, the Arancel de los Registradores de la Propiedad (Real Decreto 1427/1989), calculated on the value of the property, and they are similarly modest and fixed.

The buyer cost stack: what you actually pay

On top of the price, a straightforward resale purchase in Andalucia carries additional costs that commonly land in the region of 8 to 10 per cent. The single largest line is the transfer tax.

ITP: the Andalucia transfer tax on resale

A resale home is subject to Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales Onerosas (ITP, also written TPO). In Andalucia the general rate is a single flat 7 per cent, in force since 28 April 2021 and consolidated in Ley 5/2021 de Tributos Cedidos de Andalucia. It replaced the former progressive 8/9/10 per cent scale. The buyer pays it, self-assessed on Modelo 600, normally within 30 working days of the deed.

Reduced rates exist for a habitual (primary) residence. A rate of 6 per cent applies where the value does not exceed 150,000 euros. A rate of 3.5 per cent applies to a primary residence up to 150,000 euros bought by persons under 35, by victims of gender violence or terrorism, or in depopulation-affected municipalities; and to a primary residence up to 250,000 euros for buyers with a disability of 33 per cent or more or members of a familia numerosa. These are conditional reliefs, so confirm eligibility against the current wording of Ley 5/2021 for your own case. Note that a professional-reseller reduced rate of 2 per cent was tightened from 1 January 2026 (Ley 8/2025, the Andalucia budget): it now applies only where the declared value per unit does not exceed 500,000 euros, with the resale window cut from five years to two. That rule affects investors and traders, not typical private buyers.

New build is different (a footnote)

This guide is about resale. For completeness: a new build or first transfer is not subject to ITP but to IVA at 10 per cent plus AJD (stamp duty on the notarised document), which in Andalucia is 1.2 per cent. AJD also applies to mortgage deeds. A standard resale purchase pays ITP on the transfer, not AJD. Off-plan carries a further protection: any advance payment made before completion must be secured by a bank guarantee or insurance policy under the first additional provision of Ley 38/1999 de Ordenacion de la Edificacion, as amended by Ley 20/2015. That is the subject of a separate guide.

The full stack, illustrated

The percentages are what matter. ITP at 7 per cent is the driver; everything else is comparatively small. That is why a well-run purchase budgets 8 to 10 per cent above the price and treats anything materially higher as a signal to check the assumptions.

When the seller is a non-resident: the 3% withholding

This is a buyer obligation that surprises people. Where the seller is a non-resident acting without a permanent establishment in Spain, the buyer must withhold 3 per cent of the agreed price and pay it to the Agencia Tributaria as an advance on the seller's non-resident income tax, using Modelo 211 within one month of the deed. The basis is article 25.2 of the Texto Refundido de la Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta de no Residentes (Real Decreto Legislativo 5/2004). In practice you pay the seller 97 per cent and the tax authority 3 per cent. That 3 per cent is a payment on account: the seller then settles the final tax on the gain, charged at 19 per cent for EU and EEA residents, on Modelo 210. If you fail to withhold, the unpaid amount can create a charge on the property, so it is the buyer who bears the risk. No withholding is required if the seller provides an AEAT certificate of Spanish tax residence. Establish the seller's residence status early, because it changes how completion funds are split.

Who pays plusvalia municipal

The plusvalia municipal (IIVTNU, the tax on the increase in value of urban land) is paid by the seller, who is the taxpayer as transmitente under the TRLHL (Real Decreto Legislativo 2/2004). It is worth understanding as a buyer because it can affect a seller's net position and, occasionally, negotiations. Since the 2021 reform (Real Decreto-ley 26/2021, which adapted the law to Constitutional Court judgment STC 182/2021), no tax is due where there has been no increase in land value between acquisition and transfer, and the taxpayer may choose between the objective method (cadastral land value multiplied by annually updated coefficients) and the real method (the actual gain on the land). The seller files and pays within 30 working days of the deed. The actual rates and coefficients are set by each municipality within legal maxima, so Marbella, Estepona and Malaga differ, and any specific figure should be dated and confirmed against the relevant municipal ordinance.

What changed for 2026, and what did not

Three shifts are worth flagging because they alter decisions rather than just paperwork.

• Golden Visa abolished. Spain's residence-by-investment permit, including the 500,000 euro real-estate route under articles 63 to 67 of Ley 14/2013, was repealed by Ley Organica 1/2025, effective 3 April 2025. Buying property no longer grants any residence right. Applications filed before that date continue under the old rules, and permits already granted remain valid until expiry and can be renewed.
• Short-term rental registration. Buyers intending to let short-term or for holidays must obtain a single national registration number per property, which must appear in online listings. The Registro Unico de Arrendamientos was created by Real Decreto 1312/2024 and became fully effective on 1 July 2025. This is additional to Andalucia's own tourist-let registration (the VFT registry), not a replacement for it.
• Solidarity wealth tax still live. The state Impuesto Temporal de Solidaridad de las Grandes Fortunas, on net wealth above 3,000,000 euros (Ley 38/2022), was extended indefinitely by Real Decreto-ley 8/2023 and remains in force in 2026. It is relevant to high-value buyers, and it interacts with Andalucia's 100 per cent bonification of its own regional wealth tax.

What did not change: the Andalucia resale ITP rate remains a flat 7 per cent for 2026 under Ley 5/2021. Stable, but always worth confirming as current before you sign.

A worked cost example

Take a straightforward resale in Marbella or Estepona at 750,000 euros, bought by a non-resident, from a resident seller (so no 3 per cent withholding applies), as a non-primary residence (so the general 7 per cent ITP applies). The figures below are illustrative and rounded, and legal and admin fees vary by provider.

The result sits inside the usual 8 to 10 per cent band, with ITP accounting for the overwhelming majority. Two things would move it: a reduced ITP rate if the purchase qualifies as a primary residence within the value thresholds, which would lower the largest line; or a non-resident seller, which does not add to your total cost but changes how you split the completion payment, since 3 per cent goes to the tax authority rather than the seller. Model your own numbers with your own rate and your own seller's status before committing.

Budget 8 to 10 per cent above the price. If a quote sits far outside that band, the assumptions behind it are worth questioning before the money moves.