Documents for selling a flat in Catalonia: what to prepare and when

Selling a flat in Catalonia takes a file of seven or eight documents: the escritura (the notarial deed of purchase), a nota simple (an extract from the Land Registry), an energy efficiency certificate, the cédula de habitabilidad (habitability certificate), a certificate of debts to the comunidad de propietarios (owners' association), IBI receipts (IBI is the annual property tax) and, if there is a mortgage, a bank certificate of the outstanding balance. Part of it is needed already for the listing: the energy certificate is valid for up to 10 years, and for class G up to 5 (art. 13 of Real Decreto 390/2021). The rest is gathered before the deposit.

Which documents make up the seller's basic file

The seller's file is the set of papers without which the notary will not authorise the sale or the buyer will refuse to pay the arras (the deposit under the preliminary contract). The order of gathering matters more than the list itself: the energy certificate is needed before the listing, and the comunidad certificate is refreshed before signing.

The order of gathering by stage:

1. Before the listing: the energy certificate, a nota simple, a check of the cédula's validity.
2. Before the arras: the bank's certificate of the mortgage balance and the IBI receipts.
3. After the price is agreed and before the notary: notice to the tenant, if the flat is let, the certificate from the comunidad secretary and a repeat nota simple.
4. After signing: repayment of the mortgage and removal of the entry in the Registro (cancelación registral).

If the flat has been renovated, papers on the legality of the works and on guarantees are added to this file; see the article on documents after a renovation.

What is needed before the listing goes live

The energy certificate and a fresh nota simple are needed before the listing. Anyone who publishes information about the sale, on a portal, at an agency or on a website, must state the energy rating (art. 17.3 of RD 390/2021). A copy of the registered certificate and the label are attached to the sale contract (art. 17.2). Validity: up to ten years, up to five for class G. Details are in the article on the energy certificate.

The nota simple shows the owner and the registered charges on the date of issue: mortgage, attachments, easements. The seller needs it to see the same thing the buyer will see and to clear up questions in advance.

What the notary checks in Catalonia

The notary demands two papers under Catalan law. They can be dispensed with only on the buyer's express waiver, and for the cédula only in the cases the law lists.

Cédula de habitabilidad. Under art. 132 of Llei 18/2007 (the Catalan housing law), before a home is sold the notary requires a valid cédula. In the sale of a resale home the buyer may expressly release the seller from this obligation, for example if the flat is to be refurbished or demolished; in the case of refurbishment, the notary is given a technician's opinion that the cédula can be obtained after the works. The cédula is exactly what the electricity, water and gas companies require to open a supply contract (art. 26.3). More in the article on the cédula de habitabilidad.

Certificate of debts to the comunidad. In Catalonia this matter is regulated by the Código Civil de Catalunya (art. 553-5), not by the Spain-wide Ley de Propiedad Horizontal (Horizontal Property Act). The seller declares that fees are paid, or lists the debts, and attaches the secretary's certificate. It also states approved expenses that have not yet fallen due and contributions to the reserve fund. Without the declaration and the certificate the escritura is not signed unless the parties expressly waive them. The flat answers for debts of the current year and the four previous ones, so the buyer will insist on this certificate.

Which documents are added in special cases

The standard file expands in four situations, and each is better reviewed with an abogado (lawyer) before the listing.

1. Mortgage. The bank issues a certificate of the outstanding balance and, after repayment, a zero-debt certificate; then the entry in the Registro is removed (cancelación registral).
2. Inheritance. Before the sale, acceptance of the inheritance is executed and registered, and payment of the inheritance tax is confirmed.
3. Non-resident seller. A power of attorney signed abroad usually needs an apostille and a sworn translation. The buyer withholds 3% of the price on account of the seller's IRNR (non-resident income tax) (art. 25.2 TRLIRNR); see the article on the 3% withholding.
4. Flat let to a tenant. The tenant has a right of first refusal (derecho de adquisición preferente): 30 calendar days from a fehaciente (verifiable) notice of the price and terms (art. 25 LAU, the urban leases law). To register the purchase, it must be shown that the notice was given; if the flat is not let, the seller states so in the escritura. Since 8 October 2026, under Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 (BOE), the tenant's waiver of this right cannot be written into the contract, and in a sale together with other properties the notice states the price attributable to this flat. The Congreso has not yet validated the decree, and whether the ban reaches contracts signed earlier is for the lawyer to check.

When the standard list does not work

It does not work if the flat belongs to a company and what is sold is a stake in it, not the property: then both the documents and the taxes change. It does not work if the flat has works done without permission or the floor area in the Registro differs from the real one: the discrepancy is first corrected, or disclosed to the buyer before the arras.

It also does not work for a property without a cédula if the buyer does not plan to refurbish it: the seller can be released only in the cases of art. 132. How the whole process looks step by step is covered in the article on how the sale of a flat in Barcelona goes.