08/06/2026
Hello, everytime I have to order one, I get asked: What exactly is a Nota Simple?
Nota Simple, a paper you will need in various occasions in Spain. But what exactly is it?
A Nota Simple is a legal document from the land registry, which is a short report of an existing property.
The datails it contains are the following:
- A brief description of the property, e.g. bedrooms, square meters, kitchen, etc.
- it describes the boundaries of a property
- the current owner and the type of ownership
- Any charges, tax debts, embargos, mortgages, communtiy debts, etc. that might lay on the property
- rights of way, rights of water (especially in rural properties)
- it also shows the type of property, if it is residential, rural – agricultural, social housing, etc.
So why are these details necessary? Well, sometimes the Nota Simple does not describe the property you actually viewed, maybe because you think about buying it. If the owner changed it and did not register the changes, the Nota Simple still shows the old details. Why that is important? Well, if you acturally visited a nice Villa with pool, but the Nota Simpel states farm land with a farm shed, it will be very difficult to get any loan to buy the property. It also might be impossible to change this, eg. the Villa is not legally built. Or the Nota Simple only states a pice of land, while there is a big house on it. You would only “buy” a pice of land for any mortgage company or bank, so you would have difficulties. And even if you would have the money and you do not need a mortgage, do not buy the property. If it is illegal it might get to the point where it is torn down and in the case you like to sell it, you have trouble of finding a buyer.
But it can sometimes also be not so obviously. Some apartments for example have 2 bedrooms, but the papers only show one bedroom, even then you might have difficulties to get a mortgage for the price of a 1 bedroom apartment.
So what should you do, if you want to buy what you see, but the Nota Simple states something else? The seller has to fix this, if he likes to sell the property. So please, do not make a contract with him that states, you will do the job. Once it can be very expensive and sometimes even impossible to legalize the house or the changes done.
Also the current owner of the property is stated in the Nota Simple, why that is important? Well, I had persons in my office who offered me an apartment/ a property to sell, but the person in my office was not the owner! Often happens in cases of inheritance, if the inheritance is not done, you can not sell the property. But a lot of people try. So when you like to buy a property make sure, the seller is the owner of the property.
The same applies when you like to rent a property, if the landlord is actually not the owner of the property you might get into trouble the moment the landlord finds out.
And always check the debts on the property, a lot of debts follow the property, so if you buy it you buy them as well! Of course in the process of a privat seller (with or without property agency involved), the pre-contract should state that the property will be sold debt free and notaries make sure that this is the case, if not before the sale then at the sale (like mortgages can be paid of at the sale). Or you do a contract, that states, that you as a buyer pay the debts, but you can minus that of the price. But be careful, what debts you buy.
Due to some debts following the property, banks can legally sell or auction properties with debts, so make sure you have seen a Nota Simple and understand the debts mentioned in there.
So please, if you like to buy a property, make sure you do see a Nota Simple before you sign a pre-contract and pay a deposit. Bring a translator or ask for an english copy (only costs a few Euros).
What are the normal situations you need a Nota Simple?
- Buying and selling a property (for the reasons mentioned)
- Letting a property
- Applying for a mortgage loan
- Inheritance proceedings
- Matrimonial proceedings
- Debt recovery
- Asset-hunting
- and sometimes the Law Enforcement Agencies are asking for it.
I hope this helps to answer the questions, what, why and do I really need one?
