People have all sorts of questions about owning property in Tenerife, whether about going to the notary, the costs involved in a purchase, how to sell, valuations, taxes, you name it. Below are some of the questions I’m most often asked. If your question hasn’t been answered below, please just ask in the comment box at the bottom of the page. Just click on any question to expand it to show the answer.
If your question is about complexes, community life or the Law of Horizontal Division please see the Complexes FAQ page HERE.
Buying
When you buy an apartment. does the money have to be paid by bank draft or can it be transferred electronically? Also, does it have to be in Euros to go into a Spanish bank or can it be in Sterling if the seller wants it to go straight to the UK?
If a buyer pays a deposit and changes his mind, who gets the deposit: seller or agent or both?
Do you hand the notary the bank draft at the point of signing or give it to your solicitor to do so in our presence? Does the banker’s draft have to be for the agreed full amount? How does it all work?
We were thinking about buying our Spanish property in the children's names for convenience and inheritance tax purposes but I'm worried about any tax/legal implications of doing such a thing. Any advice?
Do all the same things apply to buying a mobile home, same taxes, ongoing costs etc?
Do we need to do anything about the rates after we buy or will we just be sent a bill when they are due?
Costs & Taxes
Could you tell me what costs are involved in buying a property, and how much I should allow for ongoing expenses?
We own an apartment but don't rent it out. We only use it for family holidays. We have just found out that we should be paying property tax based on assumed rental income? Is this true?
How and when is the Spanish tax due and payable? We have been told once a year, quarterly, that we both need to submit a tax return, even that we can and can't submit the declarations ourselves - all conflicting information. We know we cannot claim utilities against the income, only community charges and local taxes and we think we have to pay 24% on the rest.
Could you please advise me where I can download the modelo 210 declaracion ordinaria for impuesto sobre la renta de no residentes?
Just within 4 years of buying my property I received a notice from the tax office saying that their valuation was more then stated in the escritura and that I had to pay the purchase tax on the difference between the two prices. I complained about the valuation and the time they had taken to ask for their tax, but they replied that the law allows them up to 4 years to notify and charge you interest on the delay. What else can be done about this?
Please can you tell me what a Plusvalia is and why Solicitor says it must be paid by the Vendor and what it is based on?
We have been advised that we should arrange to transfer the ownership of our apartment into a UK Company to avoid substantial inheritance tax should anything happen to either of us, can you advise us on the above issues please?
I would like to transfer ownership of the apartment wholly into my wife's sole name and to do this officially and with no loose ends.how long would this take, what would the likely cost be, and would my wife have to be present at the notary where I assume this process would take place?
Valuations
Can I get a valuation of an apartment I am considering buying to submit to the tax people BEFORE I sign anything? If so, who gives me this valuation? and is this something my solicitor would do as part of his searches etc.
Is there any way of finding out recent sold prices in the area rather than relying on an estate agents estimate of value that has been given to the seller?
Letting
We are considering letting out our residential apartment for three months. How can I find out what we are required to have or provide – things like complaints book (what form should this take?), fire extinguisher, smoke alarm etc?
Is there a list of residential property areas to assist buyers?
What is to stop a sole agent on a touristic complex basically hiking up the % they take from an owner each year. Are there any safeguards in place legally to restrict the % they can take/charge for their services?
Mortgages
How are hipotecas (mortgages) registered? Is it registered against the Referencia Catastral of the property?
I've been told it's compulsory to have life and buildings insurances with my mortgages. Is this correct?
I am a 50% owner of a property which is mortgaged, but the mortgage is in the name of my co-owner. What happens if he stops paying?
We have paid off our mortgage. What happens now?
Selling
What are the costs involved in selling our property in Tenerife?
I am thinking of putting a for sale sign outside my house. I have it with a few estate agents. Would estate agents have any problem with this.
The agent selling our house says we need an energy certificate before they can show our house to clients. Is this true? and who should do this job as the agent said they have there own people.
What happens if you receive a fine, either refuse to pay or don’t have the means to pay and then a charge is levied against the property? Does this just stay there then until such time that the property is sold?
Can you advise of how long you have between selling and buying a property in Tenerife have you got to reclaim retention tax of 3%?
Is it correct that a resident over 65 who has been living in a house for three years is exempt from capital gains tax upon sale?
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