Before You Sign the Arras: The Due Diligence Checklist for a Luxury Property in Barcelona

A €1M+ property in Barcelona or on the coast is usually chosen with the heart: the light on a noble floor in Eixample, the view from a terrace in Pedralbes, the sound of the sea in Sitges. It should be bought with the head, and the moment to do that is before the arras contract, because in Catalonia that first signature carries more weight than many international buyers expect.

This guide covers why due diligence protects you, how a buyer-side team runs it, and the checklist itself.

Why due diligence belongs before the arras

In Catalonia, arras follow the Catalan Civil Code rather than Article 1454 of the Spanish Civil Code, and the default is different. Under Article 621-8 CCCat, a deposit is presumed to be confirmatory arras: a sign that the sale is concluded and a payment on account of the price. Penitential arras, where the buyer can walk away by losing the deposit and the seller by returning double, only apply if they are expressly agreed in the contract.

Once you sign, a problem discovered later becomes a negotiation, or a dispute. The law does give one specific protection: under Article 621-49 CCCat, if the contract anticipates bank financing, the buyer may withdraw and recover the arras by proving that the bank refused the loan, unless the parties agreed otherwise. For everything else, your protection depends on what you checked and on what the contract says.

Timing adds pressure. In practice, the arras are often signed within two to three weeks of an accepted offer, and the deed six to ten weeks after the offer (longer with a mortgage). A deposit of around 10% is market custom, not law, but on a €2M villa it is a meaningful sum. Good due diligence turns that short window into clarity and peace of mind.

How a buyer-side process runs the checks

Due diligence works best as a coordinated effort between three professionals who all work for you. A buyer's advisor reads the property and the seller's position with only your interests in mind, requests the documents and keeps the timetable honest. An independent lawyer reviews the registry, the title and the contract (our article on whether you need a lawyer to buy property in Spain explains the role). An architect or building surveyor checks the physical reality and compares it with what is licensed and registered.

At Barcelo Property Invest we work exclusively on the buyer's side and are never paid by the seller, so our role is to coordinate these professionals and to tell you plainly when something is not worth your time. A typical sequence looks like this:

• Before the offer: a nota simple from the Land Registry, a cadastral check and a first technical read during the viewing.

• Offer accepted: a written document request to the seller or their agent, with a deadline.

• In parallel: legal review by our lawyer, technical survey and planning check by your architect, and financing pre-approval if you need a mortgage.

• Drafting the arras: the findings become clauses, such as the type of arras, conditions, deadlines and who resolves each open point.

• Before the deed: an updated nota simple, the community certificate and the payment instructions for the notary.

The checklist: what to review before you sign

The table below summarises the core documents for a resale home.

Nota simple: ownership, mortgages, charges and embargos

The nota simple is an extract from the Land Registry. It costs €9.02 plus VAT online and shows the registered owner, the description of the property and any mortgages or other charges, including court attachments (embargos). Check that the person selling is the person registered, that the description matches what you visited, and that every charge will be cancelled at or before completion. Request a fresh extract just before the deed.

Arras clauses under Catalan law

Because confirmatory arras are the default, ask your lawyer to state the type of arras clearly. If you want the flexibility of penitential arras, they must be written in expressly. If you need a mortgage, make the financing condition explicit so that Article 621-49 works as intended. Penitential arras agreed for up to six months and deposited with a notary can even be entered in the Land Registry, an option worth discussing with your lawyer. Every open point from the checklist should be reflected in the contract: documents still to be delivered, works to be regularised, charges to be cancelled.

Habitability, energy and building inspection

The cédula de habitabilidad (in Catalan, cèdula d'habitabilitat) must be valid when a home is sold. It lasts 15 years for resale homes and 25 years for new builds. An energy performance certificate is also mandatory. For the building, Catalan rules require a technical inspection (the ITE, sometimes referred to as the IEE) before a residential building reaches 45 years old, and on a sale the building's certificate of fitness must be handed over, with a copy of the inspection report where one is required. For a noble floor in a modernist building, this report often says more about future costs than the flat itself.

Community of owners and IBI

The seller must declare whether community charges are paid and provide a certificate from the community secretary. Without it, the deed cannot be signed unless the buyer expressly waives it, and waiving it is rarely wise: the property remains liable for unpaid charges of the current year and the previous four years (Article 553-5 CCCat). Ask for the minutes of recent owners' meetings too, which reveal approved works, special levies and disputes. For the municipal property tax (IBI), request the latest paid receipts: unpaid IBI is legally tied to the property itself (Article 64 of the Local Finance Law).

Planning, licences and works already done

Terraces enclosed as living space, rooftop pools, extensions and garden buildings are common on luxury homes, and not all of them were licensed. Your architect should compare the property with the plans, the cadastral description and the licences on file, and confirm with the Ajuntament (city council) that there are no planning breaches, heritage protections or pending enforcement. When a seller says works are "being legalised", treat it as an open item until a licence or formal approval exists. Time passing is not the same as a licence.

Tourist licences: verify, never pay for one

If a listing mentions a tourist licence (HUT), verify its status, but do not attribute value to it. Barcelona grants no new licences and has decided that around 10,101 existing ones will not be renewed, ending in November 2028. Across the 262 Catalan municipalities covered by these rules, existing licences must adapt to new planning rules by November 2028. And since 3 April 2025, a new tourist rental in a building needs prior approval by three fifths of the owners.

The technical survey

Beyond the paperwork, an independent survey looks for damp, structural movement, the condition of roofs and facades, outdated electrical or plumbing systems, and the true state of pools and terraces on coastal villas. The report gives you facts to negotiate with, or the confidence to proceed.

Off-market properties: the same checks, with more discretion

Off-market sales often start with fewer documents and with sellers who value their privacy. That is a reason to ask discreetly, not a reason to check less. The nota simple is a public extract that can be obtained early without disturbing anyone, and a well-organised document request reassures a private seller that the buyer is serious. Our article on off-market properties in Barcelona explains how these sales usually work.

Seller status, source of funds and the notary

Two checks concern money. First, confirm whether the seller is tax resident in Spain. If the seller is non-resident, the buyer must withhold 3% of the price and pay it on Form 211 within one month, and the buyer is legally the substitute taxpayer for the municipal plusvalía, which is normally held back from the price. Second, prepare your own paperwork. Notaries are obliged parties under Spain's anti-money-laundering law (Ley 10/2010): they identify the buyer and the ultimate beneficial owner, and every means of payment must be identified in the deed, including the arras. If it is not, the registry refuses registration. Banks will also ask where international transfers come from, so keep a sale deed, bank statements or tax returns ready.

A realistic timeline

• Week 0: offer and reservation, with the nota simple already reviewed.

• Weeks 1 to 3: document request, legal review, survey and planning check, then arras signed with clear clauses.

• Weeks 6 to 10 after the offer: updated registry and community certificates, payment means confirmed, deed before the notary and keys. Longer if a mortgage is involved.

If you are considering a property in Barcelona, Sitges, the Maresme or Sant Cugat and would like your due diligence coordinated from the buyer's side, book a free 30-minute consultation with Myriam Lahlou. We will tell you honestly what we see, including when a property is not the right one.

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice; please confirm your situation with an independent Spanish lawyer or tax adviser.