Property lawyer in Marbella — complete legal protection for your Costa del Sol purchase
Property lawyer in Marbella specialising in luxury real estate purchases for international buyers. Due diligence, purchase contracts, ITP, NIE and notarial completion on the Costa del Sol.
Speak to a Marbella property solicitor- REAF
- ICAM
- 5 Offices in Spain
- 25+ Years
- 30+ Jurisdictions
The problem
Buying a property in Marbella is one of the most significant financial decisions an international buyer can make, and one of the most legally complex. The Costa del Sol property market has its own specific characteristics: properties with undisclosed charges and mortgages, planning irregularities in municipalities like Benahavís and Estepona where development history is complex, ownership through foreign companies that require additional due diligence, and a Spanish notarial process that is fundamentally different from the conveyancing systems used in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries. The Spanish system places no obligation on the notary to investigate or disclose hidden charges or planning issues — that is the role of the buyer's own solicitor. Buyers who rely on the estate agent (who represents the seller) or on the notary to protect their interests are taking a risk that can cost hundreds of thousands of euros.
Our solution
BMC provides complete property legal services in Marbella and across the Costa del Sol: from initial offer through to registration of the title in your name at the Land Registry. We conduct full legal due diligence, negotiate and draft the private purchase contract, manage the ITP or VAT payment, obtain your NIE if required, and either accompany you to the notary or represent you by power of attorney if you cannot travel to Spain. All communication is in English, and our team has extensive experience working with buyers from the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, and the Middle East.
How we do it
Legal due diligence on the property
We obtain and analyse the nota simple from the Land Registry, verifying charges, mortgages, easements and encumbrances. We check unpaid IBI (council tax) and community fees, review the licence of first occupation (licencia de primera ocupación), verify the cadastral status, and investigate any planning issues or urban discipline proceedings with the relevant municipal authority — Marbella, Benahavís, Estepona, or whichever town applies.
Negotiation and private purchase contract
We draft or review the arras contract (reservation agreement) or private purchase contract, negotiate terms with the seller's legal representative, and include all necessary protective clauses: conditions precedent for mortgage, retention for outstanding charges, guarantees regarding the licence of first occupation, and penalties for breach. We explain every clause to you before you sign.
NIE, taxes and financial management
We obtain your NIE (Número de Identificación de Extranjero, the Spanish tax number required for the purchase), assist with opening a Spanish bank account for the transaction, calculate and manage payment of the Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales (ITP, 7% stamp duty on resale properties in Andalucía) or VAT plus AJD on new build, and file the returns with the Junta de Andalucía.
Notarial completion and registration
We prepare the purchase deed and coordinate the notarial appointment in Marbella or the relevant municipality. If you prefer not to travel to Spain, we represent you under a notarised and apostilled power of attorney. After completion, we file the deed at the Land Registry and the Catastro, and provide you with certified copies of all documents.
We were buying a villa in Nueva Andalucía from Switzerland and needed a team in Marbella we could trust completely. BMC carried out the due diligence, found an outstanding community debt the seller had not disclosed, resolved it before completion, and managed everything remotely via power of attorney. The process was smooth from start to finish.
Property lawyer in Marbella: the one professional the buyer must have
In the Marbella property market, buyers are typically represented by an estate agent who works for and is paid by the seller. The notary, while an essential figure in the Spanish property system, is a public official whose role is to verify identities and give legal validity to documents — not to investigate the legal history of the property on behalf of either party. The buyer’s solicitor is therefore the only professional in a Spanish property transaction whose legal duty runs to the buyer and no one else.
BMC’s property legal practice in Marbella combines the due diligence rigour that international buyers expect with a deep knowledge of the local market, the planning histories of Marbella’s various urbanisations, and the practical processes of the local Land Registry, notarial offices and Andalucían tax authority.
What can go wrong without legal due diligence in Marbella
The Costa del Sol has a complex property history. The rapid development of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s created significant numbers of properties with planning irregularities — properties built without the correct licences, extensions added without planning permission, or urbanisations developed on land that was not properly zoned for residential use. Some of these irregularities have been normalised by subsequent legislation; others have not and remain a legal risk for unwitting buyers.
Common issues discovered in BMC due diligence on Marbella properties include: outstanding mortgages not cancelled on the Land Registry, unpaid community fees running into thousands of euros, IBI debts charged to the buyer by the law of the property, licences of first occupation that were never obtained or that apply only to part of the building, and properties built under planning permissions that have been subsequently challenged.
Buying a Marbella property remotely: how the power of attorney works
International buyers who cannot travel to Spain for the notarial completion can authorise BMC to act as their legal representative by means of a notarised power of attorney. The power of attorney is executed in the buyer’s home country before a local notary, apostilled under the Hague Convention, and then translated into Spanish if required. BMC then represents the buyer at the Spanish notary for the completion, at the Junta de Andalucía for the tax payment, and at the Land Registry for the inscription — with the buyer remaining in their home country throughout the process.
Frequently asked questions
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