How to check a flat before you buy it in Spain: the full checklist
Before you make an offer on a flat anywhere in Spain, check four things. The building: its age, its last technical inspection (ITE), lift, condition. The flat: real size, energy rating, light and noise, and the cèdula (habitability certificate) in regions that require one, such as Catalonia. The papers: the nota simple, community debts, tourist flats. The money: the price against recent sales, transfer tax (6% in Madrid, 10% to 13% in Catalonia), any pending derramas. Almost all of it is public, if you know where each piece lives.
A first viewing in Barcelona or Madrid lasts about twenty minutes. The agent has three more after yours, the light is good because it's 11am, and the flat looks better than the photos. Almost nothing that decides whether it's a good buy is visible in those twenty minutes. It sits in registers, certificates and the community's minutes.
Barcelona City Council publishes its own advice for buyers. It lists the building's age and condition, light and noise, the owner in the Property Register, planning status and community debts (Ajuntament). This checklist follows the same logic for anywhere in Spain. Some checks are national: the Land Registry, the Catastro, the rules for communities of owners. Others depend on the region or the town, and the tables say which, with Catalonia and Madrid as the examples.
The building
| Check | Where to look | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Year built | Catastro, free, by address (the Basque Country and Navarre have their own cadastres) | 1950–1970: ask about aluminosis. Before 1980: little or no insulation |
| ITE inspection | The age and deadlines depend on the region and town. In Catalonia, ask the seller or the property manager (administrador de fincas) for the report and the certificat d'aptitud; the seller must hand them over. In Madrid city, look up the result online by address | Missing, expired or unfavourable. In Catalonia, "serious deficiencies" with a 3-year certificate |
| Lift | The viewing, and the community minutes | No lift above the 3rd floor, or one planned but not yet paid for |
| Façade, roof, stairwell | The viewing. Look up as well as around | Cracks, damp patches in the stairwell, netting on the façade |
| Planned works | The community minutes (actas) from the last two years | Approved works with a derrama that isn't paid yet |
Detail: the ITE guide and the year-built guide.
The flat
| Check | Where to look | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Cèdula (habitability certificate) | Only in regions that require one. In Catalonia, the Generalitat's search tool, using the cèdula number or cadastral reference. Madrid abolished the cédula in 2018 | In Catalonia: expired, or none at all (common in converted commercial premises) |
| Real size | Compare listing m² with the Catastro and, where there is one, the cèdula | The listing is bigger than every official figure |
| Energy rating | Anywhere in Spain, a copy of the registered certificate must be attached to the sale contract. In Catalonia, ICAEN's public register | E, F or G, and no recent window or insulation work |
| Light | Orientation, floor, width of the street | Low floor facing north-east on a narrow street |
| Noise | The city's noise map, plus a visit at night | A bar downstairs, or bedrooms on a main road |
Detail: the cèdula, square metres, energy certificate and sunlight guides.
The papers
| Check | Where to look | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Owner and charges | A nota simple from the Land Registry: €9,02 + VAT, online | The owner isn't the person selling, or there's a seizure (embargo) |
| Community debts | A certificate from the community's secretary. The seller must bring it to the deed unless you expressly waive it | Debts. The flat itself answers for the current year plus the three before, or the four before in Catalonia |
| Tourist flats | In Barcelona, the city's licence checker, flat by flat. Elsewhere, the town hall and the regional tourism department | Several in the building, or the one you're buying runs as one |
| Planning | The town hall's urban-planning information | The building is affected by a plan (afectación) |
Detail: the nota simple and tourist flats guides.
The money
| Check | Where to look | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Registered sales nearby, not other asking prices | The asking price is far above what flats in the building actually sold for |
| Transfer tax | Each region sets its own. On a resale: 6% in Madrid; in Catalonia 10% up to €600.000, rising in bands to 13% | Not in your budget |
| IBI (property tax) | The seller's last receipt | Unpaid IBI stays attached to the flat |
| Derramas | Community minutes | Agreed but unbilled works |
On a €400.000 resale, transfer tax comes to €24.000 in Madrid and €40.000 in Catalonia. Regions also have reduced rates for some buyers, such as 4% in Madrid for large families buying their home. Detail: the buying-as-a-foreigner guide covers taxes and costs.
When to do what
- Before the viewing, in 10 minutes: year built, which inspection rule applies and whether it's due, tourist flats, energy rating, size against the Catastro. If two of these are bad, save the trip.
- Before you make an offer, in an evening: order the nota simple, and ask the agent for the last inspection report, the energy certificate, the cèdula if your region has one, and the last two years of community minutes.
- Before you sign arras, over a few days: get the community-debt certificate, read the minutes, and have an independent lawyer read the arras contract. In Catalonia a deposit counts as part-payment unless the contract says otherwise. Elsewhere the rules differ, so ask the lawyer which kind of arras the contract sets up.
What a checklist can't tell you
Registers describe the building on paper. They don't see damp behind a new kitchen, an electrical installation from 1978, or a neighbour who plays drums. For an older flat, a physical inspection by an arquitecto técnico (arquitecte tècnic in Catalonia) is money well spent. For the contract, use a lawyer who works for you, not for the seller or the agency.
Questions
- What should I look at first?
- The year the building was built. It tells you whether an inspection is due (before 45 in Catalonia, from 30 in Madrid city), what insulation rules applied, and which questions to ask.
- Do the same rules apply everywhere in Spain?
- Partly. The Land Registry and the nota simple are national, and so is the Catastro outside the Basque Country and Navarre. The law on communities of owners is national too, except in Catalonia, which has its own civil code. Transfer tax, the cèdula, building inspections and tourist-flat licences depend on the region or the town.
- Can I check all this without the seller?
- Most of it, yes: the Catastro, the nota simple, the tourist-licence checkers, and in Catalonia the cèdula and energy registers. Madrid city publishes ITE results by address. The community certificate and the minutes have to come from the seller, and so does the ITE report in Catalonia.
- Is an old flat a bad buy?
- No. Many of Barcelona's best flats are in buildings over 100 years old. Age tells you which documents to ask for.
- Does the notary check any of this?
- The notary checks the deed's legality and the registry. The notary doesn't check the building's condition or whether the price is fair.
Sources
- Ajuntament de Barcelona: advice on buying and selling
- Registradores: nota simple price
- Ley de Propiedad Horizontal, art. 9: community debts (BOE)
- Ley 5/2015 (Codi civil de Catalunya, book V), art. 553-5: community debts in Catalonia
- Ministerio de Hacienda: regional tax measures 2026, chapter IV (transfer tax by region)
- Decret llei 5/2025: Catalan transfer-tax rates
- Real Decreto 390/2021, art. 17: the energy certificate in a sale (BOE)
- Decreto 111/2018: Madrid abolishes the cédula de habitabilidad (BOCM)
- Ayuntamiento de Madrid: ITE result lookup
- Catastro: territorial scope (FAQ)
