Common legal risks when buying property in Spain

An outstanding mortgage that was not cancelled, an attachment for the seller's unpaid taxes, an easement in favour of the adjoining property. All of this appears on the current Land Registry extract. We never accept a Registry extract provided by the seller that is more than two weeks old.

Enclosed extensions, terraces converted into rooms, pools built without declaration. These works are inherited with the house. In some Adeje or Arona municipalities the town hall has opened planning enforcement files years after the purchase. Checked by direct municipal enquiry.

A contract that does not distinguish penitential, confirmatory or penal deposits; that sets no realistic completion deadline; that does not condition the transaction on mortgage approval where financing is required; or that forces the buyer to lose the deposit on any delay, even if it is the seller's. Solved by careful drafting.

A tenant with a live contract does not disappear on completion: the new owner is subrogated into the lease. An unlawful occupant is worse. Before the deposit we verify occupancy on site and require a written declaration from the seller.

Community-of-owners debts from the last three years attach to the property itself, regardless of ownership at any given moment. We always request an up-to-date community certificate before signing. Current-year IBI is apportioned.

The notary must document the source of funds under anti-money-laundering rules. Transfers between accounts held by the same person, without evidence of the initial origin (prior sale, salary, inheritance), can block the signing. We prepare the documentation in advance.