Buying Property in Spain: A Legal Guide for French Buyers (2026)

If you have bought a home in France, you are used to a notaire who does almost everything — searches the title, holds the money, protects both sides and gives you a ten-day cooling-off period after you sign. Spain looks similar on the surface and works differently underneath, and the French buyers who get caught out are the ones who expect the Spanish notario to behave like a French notaire. He does not.

We have guided French buyers through Costa del Sol and Costa de la Luz purchases since 2006, and the same handful of assumptions cause almost all the surprises. This guide maps each familiar French step onto its Spanish counterpart — the contract, the notary, the taxes, the SCI, the inheritance rules — so you know exactly where your French instinct helps you and where it will quietly mislead you.

The same purchase, a different rhythm

Three differences do most of the damage. Understand these and the rest follows.

Compromis de vente vs contrato de arras

The French compromis de vente and the Spanish contrato de arras both come early and both commit you — but not in the same way. After signing a compromis you enjoy a statutory ten-day cooling-off period in which you can walk away without penalty. Spain has no such cooling-off period. Once you sign the arras and pay the deposit (usually 10%), you are bound: if you withdraw you forfeit the deposit, and if the seller withdraws they must return it doubled. The single most common French mistake is signing the arras expecting a French-style right to reflect. There is none, which is exactly why the review must happen before you sign, not after.

Notaire vs notario — the difference that matters most

In France the notaire is the axis of the whole transaction: drafting, searches, holding funds, safeguarding both parties. It is natural to assume the Spanish notario does the same. He does not. The Spanish notary authenticates the deed and confirms identities and payment, but he does not run the title search, check for debts, or protect your interests. In Spain that is the role of your own independent lawyer — a separate professional the French system does not require you to appoint. Expecting the notario to be a notaire is the most expensive misunderstanding a French buyer can bring to Spain.

Where the title lives

Just as France records title through the service de la publicité foncière, Spain has the Registro de la Propiedad. Before you commit, your lawyer obtains a nota simple — the register’s official extract showing the true owner, the exact description and any charges (a mortgage, an embargo, a lien). Reading it properly, before any money moves, is where a Spanish purchase is really won or lost.

What you will actually pay

Budget roughly 10–13% on top of the price — broadly the shape of French frais, but built from different parts.

• Transfer tax. On a resale in Andalucía you pay ITP at a flat 7%. A new build from a developer is taxed instead at 10% IVA plus AJD stamp duty (around 1–2% in Andalucía).
• Taxe foncière vs IBI. The annual local property tax in Spain is the IBI, calculated from the valor catastral — the counterpart to your taxe foncière, though there is no taxe d’habitation equivalent for owner-occupiers.
• Plusvalía municipal. A municipal tax on the increase in the land’s value, owed by the seller; your lawyer makes sure it is settled so it cannot attach to the property.
• Wealth tax — in two countries at once. If you are French-resident, your worldwide real estate — including a Spanish home — can fall within the impôt sur la fortune immobilière (IFI) once your taxable property exceeds €1.3 million. Spain also levies its own wealth tax on property here, which varies by region. You may therefore have obligations in both countries; the France–Spain tax treaty is designed to prevent genuine double taxation, but the interaction is case-specific and worth checking before you buy.
• When you later sell. As a non-resident seller, the buyer withholds 3% of the price against your Spanish capital-gains tax.
• Legal fees. Our work is a fixed fee agreed up front, never a percentage. Contact us for a fixed-fee quote.

Buying through an SCI — the French favourite that doesn’t always travel

French buyers often ask whether they should buy through an SCI (société civile immobilière), the civil property-holding company so widely used in France for joint ownership and to smooth succession. A French SCI can own Spanish property — but it rarely behaves the way it does at home. Holding Spanish real estate through a foreign company brings Spanish tax complexity: the entity may face Spanish non-resident obligations, annual filings and, in some cases, deemed-income treatment, and Spain has its own company vehicle (the SL) if a corporate structure is genuinely wanted. For many French couples, straightforward personal ownership with a properly drafted Spanish will achieves the same succession goal more simply and more cheaply. The SCI is not a reflex to apply automatically abroad; it is a decision to test, with Spanish and French advice together, before you sign.

Inheritance: réserve héréditaire, legítima and Brussels IV

Here France and Spain feel close: both apply forced heirship. Your French réserve héréditaire has a Spanish cousin in the legítima, so the idea that children are protected heirs will not surprise you. What differs are the reserved shares and, decisively, the tax — Spanish inheritance and gift tax (ISD) is regional and falls on the heir, not the estate.

The important tool is EU Succession Regulation 650/2012 (“Brussels IV”). As a French national you can make an express choice, in a Spanish will, that French law govern the succession of your Spanish assets — or simply keep Spanish rules if they suit you better. Made correctly, the election gives you control rather than a default. It must be stated expressly; a French will alone does not achieve it cleanly, and we routinely prepare a short Spanish will alongside a purchase for precisely this reason.

Your matrimonial regime follows you to Spain

How you and your spouse own matters more than French buyers expect. A couple married under the French communauté légale owns differently from one under séparation de biens, and Spain has its own default of gananciales (community of acquisitions). Your matrimonial regime affects how the property is held, how it passes on death, and how it is treated for tax. It is worth declaring your regime clearly when the escritura is drawn up, so the deed reflects the reality of your marriage rather than a Spanish default that may not fit it.

The mistakes we see French buyers make

• Expecting the notario to act like a notaire. He authenticates the deed; he does not run your searches or protect you. Appoint an independent lawyer.
• Expecting a ten-day cooling-off after the arras. There isn’t one — the arras binds on signature.
• Assuming the SCI is automatically the right vehicle. Abroad it often adds cost and tax rather than saving them.
• Relying on a French will alone. Without a Brussels IV election and, ideally, a Spanish will, the outcome may not be what you intend.
• Forgetting the wealth-tax interaction. A Spanish home can touch both the French IFI and Spanish wealth tax.
• Budgeting only for the price. Add 10–13% for taxes and fees from the outset.

What to do before you sign

• Instruct an independent Spanish lawyer (a colegiado) before you pay any deposit — do not rely on the notary alone.
• Get the nota simple checked — ownership, charges, planning and community accounts — and obtain your NIE.
• Read the arras in full, knowing there is no cooling-off once it is signed.
• Test the ownership structure (personal vs SCI vs SL) and declare your matrimonial regime on the deed.
• Put your succession plan in place — a Spanish will with a Brussels IV election where it suits you.
• Budget 10–13% over the price and take combined French–Spanish advice on the wealth-tax position.

Related reading

• The Spanish property conveyancing timeline, step by step
• Why you need an independent lawyer, not just the notary
• The contrato de arras explained

Frequently asked questions

Is the contrato de arras the same as a French compromis de vente?

They are similar but not the same. Both are early and binding, but the French compromis gives you a statutory ten-day cooling-off period. The Spanish arras has no cooling-off: once you sign and pay the deposit you are bound, losing the deposit if you withdraw, while the seller must return it doubled if they withdraw.

Does the Spanish notario do the same job as a French notaire?

No, and this is the key difference. The Spanish notario authenticates the deed and confirms identities and payment, but he does not run the title search, check for debts or protect your interests. In Spain that is the role of your own independent lawyer, whom you should appoint before paying any deposit.

Can I buy a property in Spain through my French SCI?

A French SCI can own Spanish property, but it often adds Spanish tax complexity, annual filings and non-resident obligations rather than saving them. For many French couples, personal ownership with a well-drafted Spanish will meets the same succession goal more simply. Test the structure with French and Spanish advice before deciding.

Which inheritance law applies to my Spanish property, French or Spanish?

By default Spanish forced heirship (the legítima) applies, but under EU Regulation 650/2012 (Brussels IV) a French national can expressly elect French law to govern their Spanish estate in a Spanish will. The election must be stated expressly; a French will alone does not achieve it cleanly.

Will I pay wealth tax in both France and Spain?

Possibly. If you are French-resident, a Spanish home can fall within the French IFI once your taxable real estate exceeds 1.3 million euros, and Spain also levies its own regional wealth tax on property here. The France–Spain tax treaty is designed to prevent genuine double taxation, but the interaction is case-specific and worth checking before you buy.

How much are the total costs of buying in Andalucia?

Budget roughly 10 to 13 percent on top of the price. On a resale you pay ITP at a flat 7 percent in Andalucia; on a new build you pay 10 percent IVA plus AJD stamp duty. Notary, Land Registry and independent legal fees complete the total.

Do I need to travel to Spain to complete the purchase?

Not necessarily. You can grant your Spanish lawyer a limited power of attorney, signed before a notary in France or a Spanish consulate and apostilled, so that they can obtain your NIE and sign the deed on your behalf to your written instructions.

This article is general information for international buyers, current as at July 2026, and does not constitute legal or tax advice — every purchase requires individual analysis. Reviewed by Maria de Castro, CEO at CostaLuz Lawyers (ICA Cádiz 2745), who has advised hundreds of international buyers on Spanish property since 2006.

See our complete legal guide to property investment due diligence for the wider legal-risk picture behind Spain’s property boom.