Sometimes you might find difficult to understand some vocabulary regarding the purchase of your new Property, we have prepared a Spanish-English Real Estate glossary for you:

A

• Abogado: Lawyer, solicitor, attorney
• Acta de notoriedad: Legal Act or document
• Actos jurídicos documentados: Title Registry
• Administrador de fincas: property administrator
• Agente de la propiedad: Property Agent
• Agrupaciones de fincas: Group of country properties / consolidation of plots
• Alta catastral: Land register inscription
• Amortización: Repayment of mortgage
• API (agente de la propiedad inmobiliaria): Official Estates Agent
• Arrendamiento de obra: Building contract
• Arrendador: Landlord
• Arrendatario: Tenant
• Asiento de presentación: Provisional Property inscription at the land registry
• Aval: Loan guarantee
• Avalista: Guarantor

B

• Boletín de enganche: Electrical connection or water supply connection report. It contains information on how much power and water a property is permitted.

C

• Cancelación: Cancellation
• Catastro: Land Register, Cadastre
• Cláusula: Conditions in a contract
• Cédula de habitabilidad: Habitation certificate or Certificate of Occupancy which is a certification required by Spanish law with the aim of regulating health and safety conditions for any building that will be used as housing. It is a requirement in order to  contract water, power or gas for a residential property.
• Certificación: Certification
• Certificado bancario de divisas: Foreign currency bank certificate
• Certificado final de obra: Building completion certificate
• Código civil: Civil code
• Comisión de urbanismo: Building commission
• Comunidad de propietarios: Homeowners’ Association or community of owners
• Condición resolutoria: Condition to cancel a contract
• Condición suspensiva: Condition to postpone a contract
• Contrato de arrendamiento: Rental contract
• Contrato de obra: Building contract
• Contrato de opción: Optional contract, with the right to buy a property, generally by paying an initial 10% deposit
• Contrato privado de compraventa: Private purchase contract
• Copropietarios: Co-owners; when several persons own a property together
• Cuerpo cierto: Non-variable condition. A condition that can not be changed or modified
• Cuota: Quote

D

• Declaración de obra nueva: New build certificate
• Demarcación de costas: Coastal demarcation
• Derecho de retención: Deposit that the homeowner pay to the Internal Revenue Tax Authority office if the homeowner is a non-resident in Spain
• Derecho de superficie: Land management rights
• Derecho de tanteo/retracto: Purchasing rights that enable one to reserve an object with the option to then later purchase it or not

E

• Edificabilidad Máxima: Construction limits defining the nature and extent of buildable area permitted on a given piece of land and the scope of planning permissions
• Embargo: Repossession
• Escritura: Title deeds
• Escritura pública de compraventa: Public sales deeds

F

• Fianza: Deposit
• Finca: Country Property
• Finca registrada: Registered country property

H

• Hacienda pública: Internal Revenue or Spanish Tax Authority
• Hipoteca: Mortgage

I

• IBI (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles): Annual municipal Tax
• Impuesto de actos jurídicos documentados: Stamp Duty: Documented legal acts tax that is to be paid to lawyers
• Impuesto de transmisiones patrimoniales: Property transfer tax, x% of the indicated sum at the escritura
• Impuesto sobre construcciones, instalaciones y obras: Construction and installation tax.
• Impuesto sobre el patrimonio: Wealth tax
• Impuesto sobre sucesiones y donaciones: Succession and gift tax
• Impuestos municipales: Local taxes
• Información urbanística cédula: Urban planning department
• Institución de heredero: Appointment of heirs
• IRPF: Income tax
• IVA (impuesto sobre el valor añadido): VAT or Value Added Tax, a sales tax

L

• Ley de arrendamientos urbanos: Local rental laws
• Ley de la propiedad horizontal: Horizontal Property tax or Commonhold tax
• Ley del suelo: Land use regulations law. In Spain, this is a law that regulates the rights and obligations of landowners.
• Libre de cargas: Free of debts
• Licencia de obras: Building or construction permit

N

• NIE (número de identificación de extranjeros): Personal identification number issued by the Spanish government to foreign nationals
• NIF (número de identificación fiscal): Fiscal identity number
• Nota simple informativa: Land register certificate – Local search
• Notary: official authorised to certify contracts

O

• Obligación personal: Obligation to pay tax as a resident
• Ocupación máxima: Maximum occupancy

P

• Pago en efectivo: Cash payment
• Parcela: Plot
• Perito: Expert
• Permiso de obra menor: Minor building permission
• Plan Parcial: Urbanisation plan
• Planta: Floor or level
• Plusvalía: Capital gains or surplus value
• Poder: Authorisation
• Posesión: Possession
• Precio de venta: Sales price
• Préstamo hipotecario: Mortgage loan
• Procurador: Attorney at law
• Promotor: Promoter
• Propiedad: Property
• Propietario: Owner
• Protocolización: Formal regististration of a document, often in context of the notary
• Proyecto de ejecución de obras: Building execution

R

• Recepción  definitiva: Construction completion
• Referencia catastral: Cadastral reference
• Registro de la propiedad: Property registry
• Representante fiscal: Fiscal representative

S

• S.A. (sociedad anónima): Public limited company
• S.L. (sociedad limitada): Limited liability company
• Saneamiento: Reconstruction
• Se alquila: For rent
• Se vende: For sale
• Segregación de fincas: Country property positioning
• Segunda vivienda: Second home
• Separación a linderos: Distance between plots
• Servidumbre de tránsito: Right-of-way, access of easement
• Solar: Building plot
• Suelo no urbanizable: Plot or land not eligible for building
• Suelo rústico: rural plot or land
• Suelo urbanizable: Building land or plot
• Suelo urbano: plot or land classified as urban
• Superficie útil: Usable area

T

• Tarjeta de residencia: Residence card
• Tasa: Fee
• Tasación: Valuation of property
• Tipo de interés: Interest rate
• Toma de posesión: Taking possession
• Traspaso: Transfer

U

• Urbanización privada: Private urbanisation or residential community
• Uso de oficinas: Office use
• Usucapión: Usucaption or acquisitive prescription: gaining the right to land over the passage of time
• Usufructo: Right of use, usufruct
• UTM: Plot number at the land register

V

• Valor Catastral: Land register value
• Valor comprobado por la administración: Value confirmed by the Internal Revenue Tax Authority
• Valor real: real or market value

Z

• Zona de servidumbre de protección: Accessibility protected area.

Massimo Filippa