Buying Property in Marbella: A Step-by-Step Guide

You've found homes you like in Marbella, but the process behind the listings is less clear, from who checks the paperwork to when money changes hands and what Brexit changed for British buyers. The order matters, because signing a deposit contract before the checks are done can cost you the deposit, and a flat bought for holiday lets without a look at the community rules may be one you can't legally let.

Buying property in Marbella follows Spanish national law and Andalusian tax rules, and foreign buyers, UK citizens included, buy on the same legal terms as Spaniards. The sequence is fixed, running from the NIE and a Spanish bank account through your lawyer's checks and the deposit contract to completion at the notary, the tax and registration.

In this guide, you'll learn each step in order, what changed for UK buyers after Brexit, what the buying costs are and which rules apply if you plan to rent the property out.

Buying property in Marbella, step by step

There are nine steps, and the first two need to be in place before you sign anything binding.

Get an NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero, or foreigner identification number).

Open a Spanish bank account for the price, taxes, fees and utilities.

Appoint your own abogado (lawyer), not the seller's, to check title, debts, licences and planning and review every contract.

Reserve the property with a payment that takes it off the market for a short period.

Sign the contrato de arras (deposit contract), which fixes the price, the completion date and the deposit.

Arrange your mortgage, if you need one.

Complete by signing the escritura pública (public deed) before a notario (notary) and paying the balance.

Declare and pay the purchase tax, usually through your lawyer or a gestor (tax agent).

Register the deed at the Registro de la Propiedad (Land Registry).

Paperwork and checks

You can apply for the NIE at the Spanish Consulate General in London, which asks for form EX-15, your passport and proof of why you need the number, charges £8.65 and normally issues it within three weeks, or through a representative in Spain. The separate guide on how to get an NIE number covers the application.

Once you have a property in mind, your lawyer checks the nota simple (land registry extract), the licencia de primera ocupación (first occupation licence), the energy certificate and whether community fees are up to date. That last check matters because the property itself answers for unpaid community fees for the current year and the three previous calendar years, under article 9.1.e of the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal (Spanish Horizontal Property Act). Most problems surface here, and my page on the pitfalls of buying property in Spain sets out what an independent check covers. Separate guides cover reading a nota simple and the first occupation licence.

The deposit

The deposit is paid under the contrato de arras. With arras penitenciales (a withdrawable deposit), a buyer who walks away loses the deposit and a seller who walks away pays it back doubled, under article 1454 of the Código Civil (Civil Code). Spanish law doesn't set the amount, so buyer and seller agree it and write it into the contract. The deposit contract guide explains the different types of arras and what to look for in the wording.

Completion and registration

If the seller isn't resident in Spain, you hold back 3% of the price and pay it to the Agencia Tributaria (Spanish Tax Agency) on Modelo 211 within one month of completion, as the Agencia Tributaria explains. In Andalucía the ITP or AJD return, Modelo 600, is due within two months of completion, and the Land Registry will only register the deed once that tax has been declared.

New rules for buying property in Spain since 2025

Four changes since 2025 affect Marbella buyers, and for non-EU buyers the biggest is the end of the golden visa. From 3 April 2025, Ley Orgánica 1/2025 stopped new residence permits based on property investments of 500,000 euros or more, so buying a home no longer gives you a route to residency. Permits already granted stay valid until they expire.

Two of the changes concern holiday lets. Since 3 April 2025, starting a tourist let in a building needs the express approval of three-fifths of the owners, under the same Horizontal Property Act. Since 1 July 2025, short-term lets advertised on online platforms also need a number from the national Registro Único de Arrendamientos (single rental register), under Real Decreto 1312/2024.

The fourth is still only a proposal. A bill registered by the Socialist parliamentary group on 30 May 2025 would tax purchases by non-EU non-residents at 100%. It had not become law by October 2026, so ask your lawyer about its status before you commit.

Buying property in Spain from the UK

Spanish law lets foreign nationals buy residential property on the same terms as Spaniards, resident or not, so buying property in Spain as a foreigner, and from the UK in particular, follows the same legal process. The differences are practical. You need an NIE, you can sign through a representative instead of flying out, and you move money out of sterling. You're also taxed as a non-resident unless you become tax resident, which among other tests happens if you spend more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year (Ley 35/2006, article 9).

If you can't be there for completion, you can give a poder notarial (power of attorney) to your lawyer or someone else you trust, who then signs the contracts and the deed for you. A power of attorney for buying property in Spain that you sign in the UK is normally made before a UK notary and then apostilled, but ask the Spanish notary beforehand what form they'll accept.

Spanish banks lend to non-residents. Under Ley 5/2019, the mortgage credit law, you must receive the loan documents at least 10 calendar days before signing, and the notary's advice on them is free. Once you own the home, GOV.UK points out that non-resident owners file a Spanish tax return every year, even if the property is never let.

Staying longer after Brexit

Buying property in Spain after Brexit works the same way it did before, and what changed is how long you can stay. British visitors can spend up to 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen area, which includes Spain, without a visa, according to GOV.UK's entry requirements for Spain. Days spent in other Schengen countries count towards the same limit, and owning a home in Marbella doesn't extend it.

To live in Spain you need a residence visa, and two common routes are these.

The Consulate General of Spain in London publishes the requirements for both, and the euro amounts move whenever IPREM and the minimum wage change, so check the current figures before you apply. EU citizens don't need a visa to live in Spain.

The cost of buying property in Spain

For a resale home in Marbella, the main cost is Andalucía's 7% Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales (ITP, property transfer tax), plus notary, Land Registry and legal fees. A new build bought from the developer pays 10% IVA (VAT) and 1.2% Actos Jurídicos Documentados (AJD, stamp duty) instead. Transfer tax is charged on the higher of the price you pay and the reference value set by the Catastro (the Spanish cadastre).

Reduced ITP rates of 6% and 3.5% apply to a main home worth up to 150,000 euros, under conditions set out in Ley 5/2021. In September 2026 the Junta de Andalucía announced plans to lower the general rate from 7% to 6.75% from 2027, so check which rate applies on your completion date.

With a mortgage, the bank pays the notary, registry and gestor costs of the mortgage deed and you pay the valuation (Ley 5/2019, article 14), and the bank also pays the stamp duty on that deed (Real Decreto-ley 17/2018). The taxes you'll pay each year as an owner are covered in the guide to Spanish property taxes.

What changes if you buy to rent out?

Buying property in Spain to rent out to holidaymakers adds three requirements: the home must be registered as a vivienda de uso turístico (tourist-use dwelling) in Andalucía, your owners' community must approve it, and it needs a national registration number before you advertise it online.

Holiday lets in Andalucía are governed by Decreto 28/2016, as amended by Decreto 31/2024. You file a declaración responsable (a self-declaration) to enter the home in the Registro de Turismo de Andalucía (Andalusian Tourism Register), and councils can limit the number of tourist homes per building or zone.

Before you buy a flat to let to holidaymakers, find out:

whether the community statutes prohibit tourist use

whether three-fifths of the owners would approve a new tourist let

whether the council has limited new tourist registrations in that zone

Every one of the properties I currently recommend is analysed before I list it.

Before you sign the deposit contract

The deposit contract is where walking away starts to cost money. When you're buying property in Marbella, the checks that protect you on title, debts, licences, community rules and price all belong before that signature. This guide reflects the rules as of October 2026 and is general information, so confirm the current position with a Spanish abogado or asesor fiscal (tax adviser) before you sign or pay.

If you already have a property in mind, my independent property check reviews its paperwork, licences, community position and price before you commit. You can read more about how I work with buyers, or contact me with the property details and your timing.