Investment approach
Investor's Glossary: 40 Spanish Real Estate Terms
Forty terms an investor meets when buying, renting, renovating and selling in Barcelona. Each definition is checked against the law or an official page and comes with a link.
This glossary has 40 Spanish real estate terms that an investor meets when buying, renting, renovating and selling in Barcelona. Each definition rests on a law or an official page, and where Catalonia has its own rule, the Catalan one is given. A definition explains a word and does not settle your deal: that takes an abogado (lawyer).
The rules on housing and taxes are changing right now. Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 of 6 October entered into force on 8 October and awaits validation (convalidación) in the Congreso; it touches the LAU (Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, the urban leasing law), IVA (Spanish VAT) on renovation, and plusvalía (BOE). The definitions below are given without taking that act into account. Separately, it changes the definition of gran tenedor in Ley 12/2023, and in the tax table this term means the ITP of Catalonia per the ATC. Check rates and conditions in the BOE.
Spanish real estate terms: the deal and documents
| Term | What it is | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Arras | Money the buyer pays the seller when the contract is concluded. In Catalonia by default it is part of the price, and the right to withdraw for a penalty (arras penitenciales) must be stated expressly | art. 621-8 CCCat |
| Escritura pública | The notarial document by which a deal is formalised. Documents attested by a notary count as public documents | art. 1216 CC |
| Notario | A public official who attests contracts and out-of-court acts | art. 1 Ley del Notariado |
| Registro de la Propiedad | The registry in which deals and rights over real estate are recorded, at the place where the property is | art. 1 Ley Hipotecaria |
| Nota simple | An informational extract from the registry: the property, the owners, the restrictions. It does not certify the contents of the entries | art. 222 LH |
| NIE | A foreigner's personal number for the Spanish administration. Those with economic ties to Spain are assigned one on application | art. 205 RD 1155/2024 |
| Poder notarial | A notarial power of attorney: the representative acts in your name. It rests on a mandate contract (mandato) | art. 622-21 CCCat, outside Catalonia art. 1709 CC |
| Apostilla | A stamp that replaces consular legalisation of a foreign public document between countries of the 1961 Hague Convention | Convenio de La Haya |
| Titular real | The individual who ultimately owns or controls more than 25% of the capital or votes of a legal entity (beneficial owner) | art. 4 Ley 10/2010 |
| Hipoteca | A charge on real estate (mortgage): it secures a debt and follows the property, whoever owns it | art. 104 Ley Hipotecaria, in Catalonia also art. 569-1 CCCat |
The types of arras are covered in the article on arras confirmatorias and penitenciales, and the registry extract in the article on the nota simple.
Rights over a property, owners and companies
| Term | What it is | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Usufructo | The right to use another's property and receive its income while preserving its form and substance | art. 561-2 CCCat |
| Servidumbre | A right that partly burdens one plot for the benefit of another, such as passage or vehicle access (easement) | art. 566-1 CCCat |
| Proindiviso | Several owners hold one property in shares; the share determines use, costs and liability | art. 552-1 CCCat |
| Propiedad horizontal | A regime in which an apartment belongs solely to its owner, while the common parts of the building belong jointly to all the owners | art. 553-1 CCCat |
| Opción de compra | The right, but not the obligation, to buy a property on terms set in advance by contract | art. 568-1 CCCat |
| SL | A limited liability company: capital is divided into participaciones, members are not personally liable for its debts, minimum capital €1 | art. 1 and 4 LSC |
Taxes and valuation
| Term | What it is | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| ITP | Tax on transfers for consideration (impuesto sobre transmisiones patrimoniales). In Catalonia from 27.06.2025 a 10–13% scale, 20% for a gran tenedor and for whole buildings | art. 7 TRLITPAJD, ATC |
| AJD | Tax on notarial, commercial and administrative documents (actos jurídicos documentados). In Catalonia 1.5% on a first transfer with IVA, 3.5% when the IVA exemption is waived | art. 27 TRLITPAJD, ATC |
| IVA | Indirect consumption tax (VAT). The first transfer of a building is taxed, later ones are as a rule exempt | art. 1 and 20 LIVA |
| Gran tenedor | A large holder of residential property. For ITP in Catalonia: an owner of more than 10 residential properties in Catalonia or more than 1,500 m² of housing, or five or more in stressed-market areas. Housing held by resellers also counts | ATC |
| IBI | The annual local tax on the value of real estate (impuesto sobre bienes inmuebles) | art. 60 TRLRHL |
| Plusvalía municipal | The local tax on the increase in urban land value on transfer. On a sale for consideration the seller pays, and if the seller is a non-resident individual, the buyer does | art. 104 and 106 TRLRHL |
| IRNR | Non-resident income tax on income earned in Spain, for example from selling or renting out a property | art. 1 TRLIRNR |
| Retención 3% (Modelo 211) | When buying from a non-resident, the buyer withholds 3% of the price and pays it to the tax authority as an advance on the seller's tax | AEAT |
| Valor de referencia | The Catastro's valuation based on the transaction prices that notaries report, capped at market value. The ITP base is no lower than the greater of it, the declared value and the price | DF 3ª TRLCI, art. 10.2 TRLITPAJD |
| Catastro | The Ministry of Finance's administrative register in which real estate is described | art. 1 TRLCI |
| Referencia catastral | An alphanumeric code by which a property is found on the cadastral map | art. 6 TRLCI |
The ITP scale is covered in the article on progressive ITP in Catalonia, and the gap between the valor de referencia and the deal price in the article on the valor de referencia.
Renting
| Term | What it is | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Fianza | The tenant's cash deposit: one month's rent for housing, two for non-residential premises. In Catalonia it is paid into Incasòl | art. 36 LAU, Incasòl |
| Uso distinto de vivienda | A lease of a building whose main purpose is not housing: industrial, commercial, craft, professional, social, cultural or educational activity | art. 3 LAU |
| Indemnización por clientela | Compensation to a tenant who has run a retail business for the last five years, at the end of the contract term, if four months earlier they declared they wanted to extend the lease for five years at market rent | art. 34 LAU |
| Renta antigua | A residential lease under a contract made before 9 May 1985, which is governed by the 1964 law | DT 2ª LAU |
| Zona tensionada | An area that the authorities have declared a zone of special risk of a shortage of affordable housing; the measures of the housing law depend on it | art. 18 Ley 12/2023 |
The building, licences and construction
| Term | What it is | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Cédula de habitabilidad | A document saying that housing meets minimum conditions (habitability certificate). In Catalonia it is required when housing is sold and let | Decret 141/2012 |
| Certificado de eficiencia energética | A technical specialist's document with an energy rating of the building. A copy is attached to the sale contract; for a lease, a copy of the label is attached | RD 390/2021 |
| ITE | Technical inspection of a residential building (Inspección Técnica de Edificios). In Catalonia it is done before the building reaches 45 years | Decret 67/2015 |
| Licencia urbanística | A municipal planning permit: in general needed for new construction, works requiring a project under the LOE, demolition and change of use to residential; there are exceptions under art. 187 ter | art. 187 LUC |
| Declaración responsable | A statement in which you confirm, on your own responsibility, that the requirements are met | art. 69 Ley 39/2015 |
| Declaración de obra nueva | A notarial record of a building that is built or under construction. The notary requires the permit and the technical specialist's certificate | art. 28 RDL 7/2015 |
| Promotor | The person who decides on, organises and finances works for themselves or for sale; responsible for licences and acceptance | art. 9 LOE |
| Seguro decenal | A ten-year guarantee against structural defects. For residential buildings, as a rule, mandatory | art. 19 LOE |
How these terms add up to the costs of a deal is shown by the foreign investor tax map.
Questions and answers
What is the difference between arras confirmatorias and penitenciales?
Confirmatorias are counted towards the price and confirm the deal. Penitenciales give a right to withdraw: the buyer loses them, the seller returns double. In Catalonia they must be stated expressly (art. 621-8 CCCat).
Why does the list link to the Catalan code?
Property rights and sales in Catalonia are governed by books V and VI of the Codi civil de Catalunya, so the definitions are taken from there.
Are ITP and IVA paid together?
Not on the same transfer. A transfer subject to IVA is not subject to ITP (art. 7.5 TRLITPAJD), while a later transfer exempt from IVA is subject to ITP. Which regime applies to your deal is for an asesor fiscal (tax adviser) to decide.
