Buying a Property

In order to avoid problems, it is very important before buying any property (house,land,business), to verify its existing planning approval and to establish if there are any outstanding debts.

The property should be free of debts. If there are outstanding bills, the owner should pay them before selling or deduct them from the sale price.

To fully guarantee your purchase, you shoud consult the following offices for information.

1. Planning department of the Town Hall
2. Property Registry in Arroyo de la Miel
3. Tax Office in Benalmadena Pueblo
4. Community of Owners 9if the property is part of a community)

   Yourself, or your representative can request this information. the following is an explanation of the requirements of each of these departments:

   1. Town Planning Department (urbanismo)

   (Town Hall, 1st floor, mondays to ridays from 9:00 to 14:00; telf. 952 579 876)

   Before buying a house or land, it is essential to consult with the Town Planning Department about the planning approvals of the property. this will avoid problems such as: being a house under construction and later being fined for not having a building license, no electricty connected to the house, no connection to the municipal water system etc.

   To obtain precise information, it is preferable to take a plan, photographs of the area and of the house and name of the owner or builder.

   2. Property Registry (Registro de la Propiedad)

   (Av. Ciudad de Melilla, 17. Benalmadena. Telf. 952 444 446)

   This office will inform you of the name of the owner and if the property has an embargo, mortgage or outstanding debts. You must apply for Nota Simple to check that the property is free of charges. for this you need to indicate the complete address of the house or the name of the owner if it relates to land.

   3. Benalmadena tax Office (Oficina de Recaudacion)

   (Arroyo de la Miel, Paseo del Generalife, Telf. 952 576 558
   Benalmadena pueblo, Town may. Telf. 952 579 809 / 836)

   This office will inform you if there are any outstanding municipal debts such as IBI, plusvalia etc. Before buying, you should confirm that there are no outstanding debts, as the debts go against the property and not against the previous owner. If debts are not paid within a determined period, you could receive a notice of embargo.

   4. Community of Owners

   If the building belongs to a community, you should find out who is the administrator of the community and verify that the house, apartment, business premises, garage or land does not have any outstanding debts.

   This information has been reproduced with permission from the booklet “Living in Benalmadena” compiled by Joanna Drozdowska from the Foreign Residents Department at Benalmadena Town Hall.