Real estate · Marbella and the Costa del Sol
Buying, selling or letting a villa or apartment in Marbella, whether you live here or abroad. We go through the paperwork before any money changes hands, and we work with you in English.
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The costly surprises in a Marbella purchase are usually on paper well before completion day: an extension put up without a licence, a plot zoned differently from the agent’s description, service charges the seller never paid. We look for them before you pay a deposit, while there is still room to renegotiate or pull out. Phone us on +34 711 29 14 66, or come and see us at Centro Comercial Oasis.
Written and reviewed by the firm’s property team.
Updated on 4 October 2026.
We act on purchases and sales anywhere in the municipality, from the town centre and the Golden Mile to Nueva Andalucía, San Pedro Alcántara and the eastern urbanisations such as Elviria and Las Chapas. We order the Land Registry extract, ask the community what is owed on the property and check the planning position with the town hall, then prepare or go through the deposit contract and sit beside you at the notary.
You will need an NIE, the tax identification number for foreigners, which you can apply for in Spain or at a Spanish consulate. A Spanish bank account helps, as the notary records how every payment was made. If you cannot travel, you can sign a power of attorney in our favour at a notary’s office at home (apostilled, where your country is party to the Hague Convention) or at the consulate, and we sign for you. Bear in mind that buying a home no longer leads to residence: the property investor visa stopped being granted on 3 April 2025.
Marbella’s 2010 town plan was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2015, and the town fell back on its 1986 plan. On 18 September 2026 the council gave final approval to the new general plan, the PGOM, the first in Andalusia drawn up under the region’s 2021 planning law. It is now in force and replaces the 1986 plan for the town’s overall layout; the detail for each plot will come in a second plan, the POU, which is still being prepared. Around 18,000 homes were left outside planning rules over the years, and the new plan gives a basis for regularising them, but it does not by itself legalise a house built or extended without a licence. So we compare what stands on the plot with the licence, the Catastro and the Land Registry.
Letting to holidaymakers starts with a declaration to the Junta de Andalucía, after which the property gets a code on the Andalusian Tourism Register. If it is part of a building or urbanisation with a community of owners, a tourist let starting after 3 April 2025 also needs a vote in favour at the community meeting: three in five owners, holding between them three fifths of the shares, must back it expressly. Owners already on the register before that date may carry on.
What we handle
Land Registry, Catastro, licences, IBI and community debts checked before you commit.
We sign at the notary under your power of attorney and send you copies of everything.
What “asimilado a fuera de ordenación” status means and what works it still allows.
The buyer’s 3% withholding, form 210 and the municipal land tax, worked out before you set a price.
The development’s licence, and a bank guarantee or insurance for each payment to the developer.
The Andalusian register and the community’s approval, checked before you buy.
Who has to be disclosed as beneficial owner, and the company’s yearly taxes.
The paper trail your bank and the notary need before they accept the money.
Worth knowing
Buying a resale property in Andalusia costs transfer tax (ITP) at the general rate of 7%. The tax is worked out on the deed price, unless the Catastro has published a higher reference value for the property, in which case that value is used.
Buying a brand-new home from the developer means 10% VAT, plus stamp duty (AJD) on the deed at 1.2%, the standard rate in Andalusia. Any money you pay before completion has to be covered by a bank guarantee or an insurance policy taken out by the developer.
Legally it is the seller’s tax. The exception is a seller who is an individual and lives abroad: the law then puts the buyer in their place to pay the town hall, which is why the amount comes off the price on completion day. Where the land is worth no more than when the seller bought it, no tax arises.
Anyone buying from a non-resident keeps 3% of the purchase price aside and sends it to the tax agency on form 211, with one month from completion to do so. The seller then files a separate return, form 210, on the gain at 19%, during the three months after that first month, and gets back whatever was retained beyond the tax. Sell at a loss and the full 3% is refunded.
It can be done, and it changes the yearly taxes as well as those due on a later sale or on death, so we run the figures first. The notary and the bank will want to know the individual who ultimately owns the company. A company based in a jurisdiction Spain lists as non-cooperative (formerly called tax havens) also pays a special levy of 3% a year on the property’s cadastral value.
Notaries, banks, agents and lawyers taking part in a sale are bound by Law 10/2010 on money laundering, which makes them check who the buyer is and how the money was earned. The deed states how the price was paid, and if the parties refuse to say, the Land Registry will not register it. We help you assemble the evidence: bank statements, the sale of another property, an inheritance or company dividends.
How we work
Email us the link to the listing, or the cadastral reference if you have it, and we reply with a written quote. If you have already signed a reservation with the agent, we read that too.
Land Registry extract, charges, the community certificate, IBI receipts, the occupation licence or declaration, the energy certificate and the planning status of the plot.
We negotiate how much you pay, the date for completion and what happens if a problem turns up. Under the usual “arras penitenciales”, a buyer who changes their mind loses what they paid, while a seller who pulls out must return double.
We sign with you, or for you under the power of attorney, and check the payments, the cancellation of any mortgage and, if the seller is non-resident, the 3% withholding.
We pay the taxes, register your title at the Land Registry and transfer IBI, community fees and utilities into your name.
FAQ
Yes. You appoint us by power of attorney, signed at a notary’s office where you live, apostilled if your country uses the Hague apostille, or at a Spanish consulate, and we complete for you. You get copies of every document and notice of every payment.
For a resale home, 7% transfer tax, calculated on the price or on the Catastro reference value, whichever is higher. For a new build bought from the developer, 10% VAT and 1.2% stamp duty. You also pay the notary and the Land Registry.
It turns on when the work was finished. The town hall has six years from completion of the works to order them undone, and in some areas, such as green spaces or public land, there is no time limit at all. After that the house can be declared “asimilado a fuera de ordenación”: it can be lived in and maintained, but not enlarged, and it is still not legal.
Not unless the town hall gives express permission first. The Andalusian rules on tourist lets say so, which matters if you are counting on rental income to fund the purchase.
No. The investor visa for property buyers stopped on 3 April 2025. Living here now means applying for residence through another route, and our immigration team will tell you which suits your situation.
The buyer retains 3% for the tax agency and, if you are a private individual, the municipal land tax as well, paying it on your behalf. You then file form 210, pay 19% on the gain and get back whatever was retained beyond that.
The gain can be exempt if everything you received is put into a new main home. The relief covers residents of the EU and of EEA states that exchange tax information with Spain, and you claim it on form 210 or by asking for a refund later.
Yes. We handle sales and purchases all along the Costa del Sol, and in other parts of Spain too.
The fee reflects the price and how much checking the property needs. We send a written quote, in English or Spanish, before any work starts.
Client reviews
Excelentes abogados , muy profesionales y comprometidos . Me dieron confianza desde el principio y por muchos problemas que tuvo mi caso al final hemos llegado al gran resultado que queríamos . Muchas gracias , 100% recomendado.
Ha sido una experiencia bastante buena teniendo en cuenta que era la primera vez que me enfrentaba a algo asi, han sido muy cercanos y han facilitado muchas apartados del proceso a pesar de contar con horarios muy limitados. Gracias por todo y sin duda volvería a contar con ellos en caso de necesitarlo.
Grandes profesionales responsables, vengo a través de este feedback agradecer de nuevo al profesional que me atendió y aclaró muchas dudas que tenía, definitivamente volvere a contactar
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