Editorial library
Sources, evidence and limits explained with care. No remote diagnoses, uncalibrated percentages or identifiable cases.
The costliest mistake when buying a resale flat in Spain is paying the deposit before checking the building and the paperwork: after signing the arras, pulling out costs you that money. The ten most common mistakes and how to avoid them.
8 min read
A derrama is a special levy the owners' association charges for works. If one is already approved when you buy, Spanish law puts it on whoever owns the flat when each payment falls due, so find out and agree it in writing before the arras.
7 min read
From abroad you can check the Catastro record, the nota simple and the flood maps online, and sign through a power of attorney. No screen shows the state of the building: for that you need the owners' association papers and someone on site.
6 min read
Spain's official flood map is the SNCZI viewer of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition. It is free but in Spanish: this guide explains, step by step, how to see whether a flat falls in a 10, 100 or 500-year flood zone.
6 min read
Aluminosis is the decay of concrete made with high-alumina cement, used in Spanish floor joists in the 1950s and 1960s. The word weighs on a sale more than the material itself: here is what it means, the Spanish terms and what to ask.
6 min read
It can be, if the building is well kept: Madrid alone has 592,691 homes in buildings from 1961 to 1980, according to the 2021 census. What decides is not the decade but the building inspection and the pending works.
6 min read
Five ways show how a Spanish building is doing: the registered inspection, a surveyor, the owners' association papers, the viewing and a report of official records. In Valencia and the Basque Country, inspection is compulsory from 50 years.
6 min read
Before signing an arras contract in Spain, close 15 checks on paperwork, the building, community fees, location and costs. If you pull out afterwards, you lose the deposit you paid (article 1454 of the Spanish Civil Code).
9 min read
The year of construction of any building in Spain is free to look up in the Cadastre's online office. That year shows which rules applied: insulation required since the 1979 NBE-CT-79 standard, asbestos banned since June 2002.
6 min read
A flat's Spanish cadastral reference has 20 characters: the first 14 identify the plot the building stands on and the last 6 the specific unit. That is why every flat in a block shares the same first 14 characters.
6 min read
In the Valencia region and the Basque Country, a residential building over 50 years old must pass a building inspection every 10 years; in Catalonia, before it turns 45. Before signing, check the result, pending works and deadlines.
7 min read
Spanish law gives a buyer six months from handover to claim for hidden defects, and visible ones are excluded. What you see at the viewing matters: this guide shows where to look, what to note and when to call in a surveyor.
8 min read
The report takes five minutes to read: confirm on the cover that it is your home, read «The essentials» and run down the ratings of the 22 checks. ⚠ calls for action; ○ means there is no data, never that all is well.
6 min readThis content is general and educational. A specific building requires evidence from its own context and, where appropriate, assessment by competent technical staff.
Read methodology and limitationsOptional analytics is switched off. You can keep it that way or allow us to measure visits to public pages, including with Google Analytics and its cookies. Data from your check or your reports is never sent.
See cookies and analytics