The five documents your lawyer should have reviewed before the arras

The arras contract is the moment the deal becomes binding. You leave 10% of the price on the table; the seller takes the property off the market. From that point on, withdrawing typically costs you the 10%, and the seller withdrawing typically costs them 20%. Most of the mistakes I see in tax appeals five years later trace back to a document that should have been read in the week before that signature — and was not.

Below, the five documents your lawyer should have on the table before you sign. In this exact order.

1. Nota simple — the registry's mirror of the property

The nota simple is a snapshot from the Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad) showing who owns the property, what charges exist on it, and any restrictions. Costs around €10. Refresh date should be within the last 30 days.

What we read on a nota simple:

• Owner identity matches the seller exactly. Joint ownership, deceased co-owners, divorce decrees still pending — all visible here.
• Mortgages and embargoes. A standing mortgage must be cancelled at notary or the price reduced accordingly. An embargo (court seizure) means the deal cannot proceed at all.
• Easements (servidumbres). Right of way, shared wells, neighbour access — silent on the listing, loud here.
• Description match. The square metres, plot, and built area must match what you saw. Properties enlarged without licence are very common on the Costa Blanca, and the gap between registry and reality is the seller's problem if you spot it before arras — yours if you don't.

2. Cédula de habitabilidad — the licence to be lived in

The cédula de habitabilidad (called licencia de segunda ocupación in some municipalities) is the certificate that the property meets habitability standards. Without it, you cannot legally connect water and electricity in most Valencian Community towns, and you cannot rent short-term.

The certificate has an expiry date, typically 10 years. If the seller cannot produce a current one, request it before arras. The inspection that issues it can take 4–8 weeks; agree the cost split in writing.

3. Community debts certificate — the silent inheritance

When you buy a flat or anything in a urbanisation, you inherit any outstanding community fees attached to the property. Spanish law covers debts from the current year and the preceding three. On a coastal urbanisation with a dispute over pool repairs, that has been €4,000–€8,000 of unwelcome welcome present.

The seller must obtain a certificado de estar al corriente from the community administrator confirming there are no debts. It is not optional and it is not on the buyer to chase — but it gets forgotten on rushed sales.

4. Planning file (urbanismo) — what was actually licensed

A request to the town hall (certificado urbanístico) tells you whether the building licence matches the building, whether extensions, pool, or annex were licensed, and whether any planning infraction is open against the property. Cost: €30–€80, depending on town. Time: 1–4 weeks.

This is where I see four recurring traps:

1. The unlicensed extension. A fourth bedroom, a built-out terrace, a pool added without licence. Owner inherits the fine. Some can be regularised; some cannot.
2. The planning infraction file (expediente urbanístico). Once opened, it travels with the property, not the seller.
3. Coastal law (Ley de Costas) zoning. Properties inside the 100m maritime-terrestrial zone are governed by different rules and may have demolition orders. Always check.
4. Special protection. A house listed for architectural protection cannot be remodelled freely. The renovation budget you wrote on a napkin doubles.

5. Tax charges — IBI, plusvalía, non-resident filings

The last layer is tax. Three documents matter, in this order:

• Latest IBI receipt with the cadastral reference and value. You will need both for Modelo 210 and for the transfer tax (ITP) calculation.
• Plusvalía estimate from the town hall. The municipal capital-gains tax falls on the seller by law, but the allocation gets renegotiated more often than people realise. Have the estimate before you negotiate.
• Seller's Modelo 210 history if they are non-resident. A seller who has not filed for years has a debt with Hacienda — and Hacienda can attach it to the property if unresolved.

What good due diligence actually looks like

A clean file delivered to the buyer two days before arras contains: the nota simple (under 30 days old), cédula de habitabilidad with expiry date, community debt certificate signed by the administrator, urbanism certificate from the town hall, latest IBI receipt and plusvalía estimate, and the seller's tax compliance proof if non-resident.

This is what we send our clients. Not because we are conservative, but because each of those documents has, at various points in twenty years, been the difference between a purchase and a regret.