Buying a flat in Barcelona as a non-resident on your own: 15 steps from NIE to registration

Buying a flat in Barcelona: a 15-step plan

1. Get your NIE

   The NIE, the foreigner’s identification number, is needed for the escritura, paying the tax and registration. You get it in Spain from the Policía Nacional or through the Spanish consulate in your country of residence.

   • I chose where to apply: in Barcelona or at the consulate
   • I paid the fee with form 790 code 012
   • All future owners, including my spouse, have their number

   Where: Policía Nacional or a Spanish consulateTiming: depends on the appointment (cita previa)Cost: €9.84 per the Policía Nacional fee table

   When you need help: there are no free appointments and the completion date is already set. How it works: NIE in Barcelona step by step.

2. Open a Spanish account and prepare documents on the money

   Banks and notaries are obliged entities under Ley 10/2010 on preventing money laundering: they verify identity and establish the nature of the transaction. Without a clear history of the money, a transfer may be held up.

   • I opened an account with a Spanish bank (resident or non-resident)
   • I gathered documents on the source of funds: sale of property, income, inheritance, statements
   • I had the key foreign documents translated by a sworn translator

   Where: a bank in SpainTiming: allow several weeks before completionCost: bank charges

   When you need help: you are a citizen or resident of Russia or Belarus without an EU residence permit. EU sanctions regulations prohibit banks from accepting deposits of over €100,000 per bank from such persons; how this applies to your transfer is worked out with the bank and a lawyer before signing the arras. See how to open an account.

3. Work out the full budget

   The price of the flat is not what the purchase costs. Resale homes are subject to Catalan ITP on a scale of 10, 11, 12 and 13% depending on value (Decreto-ley 5/2025); a new build from a developer carries IVA at 10% plus AJD at the Catalan rate.

   • Tax: ITP for resale or IVA and AJD for new builds (taxes when buying in Catalonia)
   • Notary and Registro de la Propiedad at the official scale (aranceles)
   • A gestoría if you hire one, and tasación if you take a mortgage
   • A reserve for renovation, furniture and the first comunidad and IBI payments

   Where: ATC calculator, notary, bankTiming: before the reservationCost: depends on the property price

   When you need help: the seller is a company: depending on the situation the tax may be ITP, or IVA with AJD at the higher rate, and a mistake is costly. Also if you are claiming a reduced rate. See notary costs.

4. Sort out the mortgage

   Spanish banks lend to non-residents, but the terms, the share financed and the list of documents vary from bank to bank. Get pre-approval before the reservation, or you risk your deposit.

   • I asked two or three banks for indicative terms
   • I prepared proof of income, tax returns and statements with translations
   • If I’m buying with a loan, I put a clause in the arras covering a bank refusal

   Where: banks in SpainTiming: before signing the arrasCost: the bank’s terms

   When you need help: always, if the purchase depends on a loan: work out with a lawyer how to protect your deposit if the bank refuses. See mortgage for non-residents.

5. Study the market and the limits on tourist rentals

   If you plan to let the flat to tourists, bear in mind that the Ajuntament de Barcelona says it will not renew about 10,000 tourist flat licences (HUT) that expire in 2028.

   • I defined the goal: live there, let long term or hold as an investment
   • I compared prices of similar sales in the area
   • I’m not counting a tourist licence in the yield (tourist rentals in Catalonia)

   Where: Ajuntament de Barcelona, open data on salesTiming: before choosing a propertyCost: free

   When you need help: the seller says the flat has a tourist licence: its status is checked separately.

6. Order a nota simple

   The nota simple, an extract from the Registro de la Propiedad, shows the owner, the floor area, mortgages, attachments and other encumbrances.

   • I ordered the nota simple online on the Registradores website
   • I checked the owner, each owner’s share and the floor area
   • I listed the encumbrances the seller must clear before completion

   Where: Colegio de Registradores, onlineTiming: usually within a dayCost: €9.02 plus IVA per the Registradores page

   When you need help: the extract shows an attachment, a mortgage in favour of a private individual, a usufruct or several owners.

7. Check for IBI and comunidad debts

   IBI, the municipal property tax, is paid by whoever owns the flat on 1 January. Debts for the tax and for contributions to the comunidad de propietarios, the building’s owners’ association, can pass with the flat, so they are checked before completion.

   • I asked the seller for the latest IBI receipt
   • I got a certificado de deuda from the comunidad administrator

   Where: seller, building administratorTiming: a fresh certificate for the escritura dateCost: ask the building administrator

   When you need help: the building faces major repairs or has lawsuits. See what a comunidad is.

8. Gather the property documents

   An energy performance certificate with its label is mandatory for a sale: the label goes in the advertising, and a copy of the registered certificate is attached to the contract. In Catalonia you also check the cèdula d'habitabilitat, the certificate that the home is fit to live in, the status of the building’s technical inspection (ITE) and whether any layout changes are legal.

   • I got a copy of the energy certificate and the label
   • I checked the cèdula d'habitabilitat and its expiry
   • I asked for the result of the building’s ITE and any orders arising from it
   • I checked the flat’s plan against the cadastre and the works licences

   Where: seller, Generalitat de Catalunya, AjuntamentTiming: before the arrasCost: the seller prepares the documents

   When you need help: the area in the cadastre and the registry differs from the real one, or there are extensions or merged flats.

9. Make a reservation (reserva)

   A reservation takes the flat off the market for a short time while you do your checks. There is no specific law on reservations: everything depends on the wording of the document.

   • The reservation amount is paid by transfer, not in cash
   • The text states the term and when the money is refunded (bad nota simple, debts, bank refusal)

   Where: the seller or the seller’s agencyTiming: usually before signing the arrasCost: as agreed

   When you need help: you are asked to sign a reservation on arras penitenciales terms with no right to a refund.

10. Sign the contrato de arras and choose its type

    In Catalonia, money handed over by the buyer is treated by default as arras confirmatorias: confirmation of the deal and part of the price (Article 621-8 of the Codi civil de Catalunya). Arras penitenciales, where the buyer loses the deposit on withdrawing and the seller pays it back twice over, must be expressly agreed.

    • The contract expressly names the type of arras
    • It states the price, the escritura deadline, who chooses the notary and how costs are split
    • Conditions are written in: a clean nota simple, no debts, a mortgage (if needed)

    Where: private contract, possibly before a notaryTiming: from signing to escritura, as per the contractCost: deposit amount as agreed

    When you need help: it is always worth showing the draft arras to a lawyer before signing: this is where you most risk losing money.

11. Get the tasación, FEIN and acta de transparencia

    With a mortgage, the bank needs a valuation (tasación) from a valuation company approved by the Banco de España; you are entitled to bring a valid valuation from such a valuer yourself. Under Ley 5/2019 the bank gives you the FEIN and the draft contract at least 10 calendar days before signing, and the notary draws up, free of charge, a record that you received the documents and explanations.

    • I paid for the tasación: by law the borrower pays it
    • I received the FEIN, FiAE and draft contract at least 10 days ahead
    • I went to the notary in person for the acta de transparencia

    Where: bank, valuation company, notaryTiming: 10 calendar days before signingCost: the borrower pays the tasación, the notary’s record is free

    When you need help: you don’t speak Spanish and the contract and record are only in Spanish: you need an interpreter at the notary meeting.

12. Sign the escritura before the notary and pay the price

    The buyer has the right to choose the notary. The notary requests the registry data, checks for debts and records in the escritura how and from which accounts the price was paid. If the seller is a non-resident, the buyer withholds 3% of the price and pays it to Hacienda with modelo 211 within a month.

    • Payment by banker’s draft or transfer, with the details in the escritura
    • I didn’t pay in cash: the limit is €1,000 for professionals and €10,000 for a non-resident individual
    • If the seller is non-resident, I withheld 3% and filed modelo 211
    • If I can’t come, I arranged a notarial proxy (poder) in advance

    Where: a notary of your choiceTiming: the date set in the arrasCost: the notary’s arancel at the official scale

    When you need help: the seller is non-resident, you are buying through a proxy, or payment comes from several countries. See escritura and notary.

13. Pay ITP to the ATC (modelo 600)

    ITP and AJD in Catalonia are managed by the Agència Tributària de Catalunya (ATC), not the state Hacienda. The modelo 600 return is filed after the escritura within a short deadline set by Catalan rules; without it the registry won’t make the entry.

    • I filed modelo 600, paid the tax and kept a copy
    • I checked whether I qualify for a reduced rate (young buyers, protected housing)
    • I checked the filing deadline on the ATC page on the day of signing

    Where: Agència Tributària de Catalunya, onlineTiming: see the ATC page; counted from the escritura dateCost: per the ITP scale or the AJD rate

    When you need help: missing the deadline brings surcharges, and if the rate is wrong the ATC can assess additional tax. See AEAT and ATC.

14. Register the purchase at the Registro de la Propiedad

    Registration protects you against third parties. The notary can send the escritura to the registry electronically on the day of signing, which closes the registry to other documents concerning the flat.

    • I asked the notary to file the escritura with the registry electronically
    • I gave the registry proof of tax payment
    • I changed the IBI payer and transferred the utility contracts

    Where: Registro de la Propiedad where the property isTiming: see the registry’s pageCost: the registry’s arancel at the official scale

    When you need help: the registry has raised objections (nota de calificación) and refused the entry.

15. Pay the owner’s taxes and keep the taxes on sale in mind

    IBI comes every year. A non-resident who doesn’t let the flat declares deemed income with modelo 210: 1.1 or 2% of the cadastral value, taxed at 24%, or 19% for EU and EEA residents. A resident includes the flat in the Renta. On sale, the seller pays the plusvalía municipal to the Ajuntament and tax on the gain.

    • I set IBI up on direct debit
    • Non-resident: I file modelo 210 for 2026 between 1 April and 31 December 2027
    • I determined my tax residence (resident or non-resident)

    Where: Ajuntament de Barcelona, Agencia TributariaTiming: IBI on the Ajuntament calendar, modelo 210 every yearCost: based on the cadastral value

    When you need help: you let the flat, change your tax residence or sell. See modelo 210 and IBI and plusvalía.