This matter is regulated in our legal system by the Spanish Law Royal Decree 515/1989, of 21 April on consumer protection, regarding information to be provided in the acquisition and renting on properties, in place since November 17, 1989.

The acquisition or rental of a dwelling is a fact of great importance in the life; therefore several aspects such as the building materials, expenses for the buyer and documentation to be delivered in the transaction are regulated.

The promoters must have available to the public the following information:

1. Name, domicile and registration details of the vendor entity or leasing company at the Mercantile Registry.

2. Location and specific floor plans of the property.

3. Useful area of the property and general description of the building.

4. Reference to the materials used in the construction.

6. Identification details of the registration of the property at the Land Registry.

7. Purchase-sale price or rent income and way of payment.

In the event of sale, the following documentation has to be available for the public:

a) Required legal authorisations for the construction or occupation of the property. (Such as building licence and licence of first occupation).

b) By Laws and rules of Community of Owners.

c) Information concerning payment of any taxes related to the property or its use.

 d)  Way in which it is intended to have the agreement documented, terms and general conditions of the contract.

 e) Date of delivery and phase of the construction at any moment.

 f) In the case of first transmission (new property sold by promoter), it will be indicated the name and domicile of the architect who intervened in the project and the name and domicile of the constructor.

If you want to wish to know more about the information and documentation required in the purchase and renting of your property,  please contact this Spanish law firm settled in Marbella. Buy a property in Spain with all your guarantees using the services of Arcos & Lamers Asociados, as we will advise and assist you at the signing of your purchase or rental contract and your interests will be protected. More information on the purchase process, taxes involved and selling procedure of a property in Spain can be found at “Conveyancing in Spain”

María Teresa Arcos, lawyer in Spain

Wim Lamers, Economist in Spain

Marbella, October 2013.

We go to a notary to sign, among others, the deed for the acquisition or sale of your property, to grant a Power of Attorney, to make a Will and to set up a Spanish company.  In Spain, the notary is guarantee of security, legality and independence.

What information appears in you Purchase Sale Title Deed?

At the beginning of the document, you will find the following contents:

- The place and date of signing of the deed, and name of the notary.

- Identification of the parties, including name, nationality, marital status, professional activity, domicile and identification documents.

-In addition it is stated if someone is appearing on behalf of another, showing the Power of Attorney which authorizes that.

-Also, it is included if there is an interpreter, in the event that any of the appearing parties do not know the language in which the deed in drafted.

The notary will give faith of the capacity with which the parties appear.  Then, the document includes the statements made by the parties related to the property as follows:

1.- Description of the property and Land Registry particulars.

 2.- Rates reference and situation concerning payment of rates (IBI).

3.- Statements concerning payment of Community fees and attachment of certificate issued by the Community of Owners concerning payments on the property.

 4.- Charges and encumbrances on the property.

 5.- Delivery to the purchaser of the Energy Certificate.

 6.- Attachment to the deed of information from the corresponding Land Registry.

 7. Possessory situation: If the property is free of tenants and occupants, or not.

 8.- Conditions of the transaction such as: object, price, way of payment.  Payment of expenses arising in the deed and settlement of Plusvalia Tax.

Finally, the deed will expressly include the fact of having read the contents of the same, the serial number of the pages where the document begins and ends and its signature by the parties and the notary.

If you have any questions about the content or execution of your deed, please do not hesitate to contact us. The lawyers and tax advisers of our Spanish law firm will advise you in the granting of your Purchase Sale Title Deed or we will clarify the doubts you may have regarding your document already signed. We will provide you a fast and effective advice to meet your needs.

María Tersa Arcos, lawyer in Marbella

Wim Lamers, Economist in Marbella

Marbella, September 2013.

With effect from 28^th June 2013, the “ Spanish Law 8/2013 June 26 concerning rehabilitation, regeneration and urban renewal” has been approved, which is primarily aimed at the improvement of the energy efficiency of the “Spanish building stock”.

One of the main elements to mark about the new law is the called “Building Evaluation Form” (Informe de Evaluación de Edificios, IEE), which would a supplement to the not so old “technical inspection of buildings” (Inspección técnica de edificios, ITE).

The IEE is regulated under Title I of the new Spanish law and the main point to take into account are the following ones:

1. The IEE will identify the Spanish property, with its cadastral reference and shall contain in detail:

a) The evaluation of the conservation status of the building.

b) The assessments of the essential conditions for the accessibility and non-discrimination of those people with disabilities to access and use of the building, establishing whether the building is capable or not of reasonable accommodation.

c) The certification of building energy efficiency, with the content and by the procedure ruled by the applicable regulations (see our blogs on Certification part one and part two).

Many times we will find that by the regional or municipal regulations, there is already a “technical inspection of buildings” (Inspección técnica de edificios, ITE), where is contemplated points a) and b) above, therefore in these cases, only the certification referred in letter c) should be obtained.

2. This Spanish new law provides certain deadlines to dispose of that IEE, being:

a) Buildings of collective housing residential typology older than 50 years, the maximum term of five years from the date on which they reach that age, unless they already have a technical inspection in force.

b) Buildings whose owners intend to benefit for public subventions in order to undertake conservation works, universal accessibility or energy efficiency, prior to the execution of the corresponding application for these subventions.

c) The rest of the buildings, when so determined by regional or municipal regulations, which may establish application specialties of the mentioned IEE, depending on their location, age, type or predominant use.

3. When the IEE is made on behalf of the community or group of communities that refer to an entire building or building complex, will extend its effectiveness to all existing buildings and dwellings.

4. The IEE will have a periodicity of ten years, although the regions and municipalities may set a lower frequency.

5. The breach of duty to complete on time and form the IEE, will be considered urban infraction.

6. Acopy of that IEE must be submitted to the Public Organism that determines each region, so that this information is part of a integrated and sole registry.

7. Finally, and in order to not extend longer  and alter the purely informative nature of our blogs, to say that the IEE will be signed by qualified competent technician , ie those who are in possession of any of the academic and professional qualifications for drawing up building projects and execution management of building works.

Please do not hesitate to contact the English speaking Spanish lawyers and accountants in Marbella of Arcos & Lamers Asociados, lawyers in Spain and tax advisors inMarbella, we have an expert team ready to answer your questions and to provide legal and fiscal advice in Spain.

Approach the multilingual Spanish property lawyers of Arcos & Lamers Asociados for any legal, tax, labour and company advice you may need!.

Félix Ruiz, Lawyer in Spain

Marbella, August, 2013.

Conveyancing lawyers in Spain.

We often find situations in which clients arrives to our office who desire to buy a home in Spain, having paid and signed a “reservation”, “deposit” or “arras” document, a deposit for the purchase of the same, to be followed by document or private purchase contract, that in most cases does not contain the minimum legal requirements.

And sometimes we wonder, why going to the lawyer after paying a reservation of the property and not before?

In most cases, the not-resident purchasers, approach the corresponding Real Estate with their concern -otherwise normal- to lose the property of their dreams if the payment of the reservation is not done immediately, to “take the property out of the market”. However, as indicated, these documents lack in most cases, the minimum legal requirements to be met by any bilateral agreement between purchaser and vendor. Do not forget that the purchase is a contract between two parties and the reservation document should be the first step in that agreement.

It is true that in many cases, the “bargains” are short time in hands of Real Estate Agents, so the astute buyer should reserve them as soon as possible to prevent other potential acquirers. And we know that in those moments of it could be difficult to locate a property lawyer for advise. Do not hesitate to contact our firm as we are conveyancing lawyers and solicitors specialized in Spanish properties transactions.

Therefore, from this post, we would like to state 8 points to take into account at the time of signing a reservation document in Spain:

1. That the reservation contract contains full details of the vendors: full name, address and identity card (ID card, passport, NIE, Residence card ….)

2. It clearly identifies the object of purchase: house, villa, apartment, etc with the appropriate number and address as fully as possible. Also to identify elements attached to the property, such as storage or parking places.

3. Whether the property is transferred furnished, if any, attached to the reservation document an inventory of the furniture.

4. Total price of the sale.

5. Amount of the reservation and that the same will be deducted from the final price.

6. Clarify who assume the costs of the transmission. Generally all expenses and taxes will be paid by the purchaser with the exception of Plusvalia tax that will be paid by the vendor.

7. If the vendor is not present to sign the reservation document, indicate in the contract that the deposit paid shall be retained by the real estate agency until the signing of the Purchase Deed (or until the signing of a private contract with the vendor).

8. That reservation document is subject to study of the property by the purchase´r lawyer to ensure that the property is free of all liens and encumbrances and that complies with planning regulations in the area where the property is locate. Otherwise, the reservation must be returned to the buyers.

Once your reservation document is signed your lawyer in Spain should advise you properly during the process of buying property.

For additional information please click below:

1)      Purchase of a property in Spain guidelines

2)      Taxes and disbursements involved at the time of buying your home in Spain.

3)      Running costs of a Spanish property

4)      Procedure to take into account at the time of the sale.

5)      Taxes involved at the time of the sale.

Please do not hesitate to contact the English speaking Spanish lawyers and accountants in Marbella of Arcos & Lamers Asociados, lawyers in Spain and tax advisors inMarbella, we have an expert team ready to answer your questions and to provide legal and fiscal advice in Spain.

Approach the English speaking Spanish Lawyers of Arcos & Lamers Asociados for any legal, tax, labour and company advice you may need!.

Félix Ruiz, Lawyer in Marbella

Marbella July 2013

Litigation law firm in Spain.

In a previous blog we talked about the first two chapters of the law 1/2013, of May 14, that entitles measures to strengthen the protection to mortgage debtors (see HERE). This Spanish law was published in the Official Gazette (Boletín official del Estado- B.O.E.) on 15.05.2013.

Arcos and Lamers Asociados, your leading litigation law firm in Spain would like to go deeper this time in two remaining chapters of the above mentioned law that is mentioned measures that affects the Spanish Civil Law (Ley de enjuiciamiento civil) providing additional protection to the borrowers of a mortgage facility in Spain and implementing instructions to the government of Spain to take steps for the creation of a social fund for properties.

Chapter 1 and 2: see HERE.

Chapter 3:

Amendments were made to the Civil Procedure Act (Ley de enjuiciamiento civil) in order to ensure that the execution of the mortgage facility, part of the foreclosure process, protects on a better way the interest of the borrower and with the intention to speed up the legal procedure in Spain.

In particular, as a measure of great relevance, establishing the possibility that the process to recover remaining debt may entitle a donation of the same, providing the compliance with certain payment obligation, if after an execution of a mortgage facility there are still outstanding amounts due.

It lowers the guarantee that one should settled at the court in order to be part of an action from 20 to 5% of the valuation of the property.

This law also doubles the time frame for the bidder of an auction to consign the price of the property among other improvements in the auction procedure.

Chapter 4:

Through this law, the Spanish Government is authorized to undertake the necessary measures to establish a social fund for properties to provide coverage to those who have been displaced from their primary residence for non-payment of a loan.

Feel free to contact with this litigation law firm in Marbella, Arcos & Lamers Asociados for any legal and tax advise you may need.

Are you a borrower of a loan in Spainand you have difficulties to fulfil your liabilities? Are you a lender of a mortgage in Spain and the borrower is not fulfilling his duties? Do you need Spanish legal and/or tax advise? Do not hesitate to contact the litigation lawyers of Arcos & Lamers Asociados for all your legal and tax advise you may need!

Maria Teresa Arcos, lawyer in Marbella

Wim Lamers, registered accountant (economist) in Marbella.

Marbella, July, 2013.

Inheritance in Spain

Besides our this general web site, our multi-lingual proactive law firm would like to invite you to visit the just launched micro web “Inheritace in Spain” by Arcos & Lamers Asociados.

At this new web we are providing deep going information on the following subjects:

1)      Spanish Inheritance procedure.

Here you will find a guideline of the steps to take into account at the legal procedure of an Inheritance in Spain. In addition, information on the Spanish law is provided.

2)      Inheritance tax in Spain, examples.

Information on Spanish Inheritance Tax is provided, The provided Inheritance tax scale would be applicable for non tax residents in Spain and may vary in the event that the heirs are fiscal resident in Spain.

3)      whether the national or regional law is applicable.

The collection of the Spanish Inheritance tax and the right to produce additional legislation to the National Inheritance law in Spain have been transferred to the different Regional Inland Revenue’s as per law 21/2001 of 27th December.  Here you will find the explanations on which law is applicable.

4)      information on drafting a Will in Spain, among others.

How to insure your love ones are protected in the event of the death of a relative? Arcos y Lamers Asociados, Spanish law firm settled in Marbella specialized in Spanish Inheritance procedures, recommends in any case, the granting of your Will in Spain before a Spanish Notary relating to your assets located in Spain, since it will mean in the future, a smooth streamlining in the procedure for acceptance and receiving the inheritance in Spain by the appointed heirs.

The English speaking accountants and tax lawyers of this law firm in Spain are always searching to find the best solution for its clients, taking advantage of the newest state of the art technology

Do not hesitate to contact this Spanish law firm for all your Spanish legal and tax enquiries.

María Teresa Arcos, lawyer in Marbella

Wim Lamers, registered accountant (economist) in Spain.

Marbella, July, 2013.

If you are a purchaser of a property in Spain and agree to a certain price with the vendor, you may receive from the corresponding Spanish Tax Office a “Complementary settlement”, once signed the Purchase and Sale Title Deed. Regional and National Inland Revenue may claim the settlement of the tax according to criteria established by law inSpain. The tax authority is empowered to review the values set by the parties freely.

In Andalucía, the Order of February 13, 2013approves the coefficients applicable to the cadastral values (rateable value) to estimate the real value of properties in order to settle additional bill´s with regards to the transfer tax and stamp duty, inheritance and gift tax inSpainand or the well know Capital Gain Tax. This Spanish law establishes the rules for applying them and the methodology used to obtain valuations on properties in Spain.

Imagine, you as purchaser of an already existing not newly built property in Spain, agree with the vendor a certain purchase price. This price is freely agreed by both parties that for all purposes is a market price, however you need to keep in mind that if that price is lower than that established by the regional law – the so-called tax/fiscal value -, you, the purchaser, will receive in a relatively short time since the signing of the Purchase and Sale Title Deed a “complementary settlement” claiming the difference in transfer tax originally paid, plus legal interest (and remote fines).

Take a practical example that allows you to understand the above:

Purchaser and vendor agree on a price of 100.000,00 euros for an urban property in the Andalusian municipally of Cuevas de Almanzora.

The rateable value of the property in the municipality is 45.000 euros and the multiplier applicable to this town for the year 2013 is 3,60. We find that the fiscal value of this property is of 162.000,00 euros, (45,000 x 3,60).

At the time of the signing of the purchase Title Deed, the Purchaser has paid the transfer tax to 8% over 100,000 euros = transfer tax liability of € 8,000.

Well, please be ensured that the Tax Office of the municipality of Cuevas de Almanzora, will send a “complementary settlement” requiring payment of the transfer tax on a total value of 162,000.00 euros, with a tax to be paid of 12,960 euros, discounting the initially tax of 8,000 euros, plus interest applicable.

The above would also be applicable to Inheritance and Gift Tax inSpainas well as the well known Capital gain tax in Spain.

Before proceeding with the purchase of a property and agree a price with the vendor, keep in mind that there are a number of values that may affect the taxes of the transaction. Do not hesitate to contact the leading multi-lingual law firm,Arcos & Lamers Asociadosfor any tax or legal matter in Spain.

Please do not hesitate to contact the English speaking Spanish lawyers and accountants in Marbella of Arcos & Lamers Asociados, your property lawyers in Spain and tax advisors in Marbella, in the event that you need professional advice regarding the matter proposed in this blog or any other that you may have at the time of selling or purchasing your property in Spain, we have an expert team ready to answer your questions and to provide legal and fiscal advice in Spain.

Arcos & Lamers Asociados, property lawyers in Spain, property lawyers in Marbella, property law firm in Spain, conveyancing lawyers in Spain, Spanish legal advisers.

Approach the English speaking Spanish Lawyers of Arcos & Lamers Asociados for any legal, tax, labour and company advice you may need!.

Félix Ruiz, lawyer in Marbella.

Marbella, June, 2013.

Income tax in Spain

Tax adviser in Spain informing on Spanish Income Tax.

The initial name of the Spanish income tax was “general contribution to Spanish income” (contribución general sobre la renta) , which was approved, long time ago, by the law of November 20, 1932, under the government of Mr. Manuel Azaña and as Minister of Finance Mr. James Carner Romeu. The law, which took effect on January 1, 1933, set a minimum exemption of 100,000 pesetas and tariffs from 1 to 7.70%.

By Act of November 14, 1935, as Minister of Finance Joaquin Chapaprieta, the free threshold was lowered to 80,000 pesetas and maximum rates were increased upto 11%, maintaining the minimum 1%. Several relevant amendments took place between 1940 and 1960. Central Spanish State reform in a decentralized state in the 90s resulted in more changes.

During the last decade additional changes have been introduced in the Spanish tax law leaving the following scales applicable for year 2012. With other words, the Income Tax declaration to be presented in 2013 that entitles income information obtained during 2012 will be taking into account the following scales:

As an example, a taxpayer, tax resident in Andalucía, with a gross income from work of  Euros 60,000 will mean a payment of Euros 9458.31 Euros taxed by the general national scale, Euros.1.314, 51 as per the above mentioned additional scale plus Euros. 9.458.31 as by the Andalucian regional scale, making a total of Euros. 20.231.13 with an average rate of 33.72%. Kindly note that this data is obtained regardless of the family status and is for informative purposes only as no deductions have been taken into account such as those generated at the time of contributions to Spanish pensions plans, contributions to Social security, etc..

Do not hesitate to contact the multi-lingual lawyers, accountants and tax advisers in Spain of Arcos & Lamers Asociados, specialists in the Spanish tax system, for any legal, tax and labour inquiry.

María Teresa Arcos, registered lawyer in Spain.

Wim Lamers, registered accountant (economist) in Spain.

Arcos & Lamers Asociados, Spanish tax lawyers in Marbella, tax lawyers in Spain, income tax in spain specialists, accountants in Spain, accountants in Marbella, tax advisers in Spain, tax advisers in Marbella.

Marbella, June, 2013.

Income tax in Spain

INCOME TAX FISCAL RESIDENTS IN SPAIN.

Pursuant to article 96 of the Spanish Income Tax law and article 61 of the regulation (reglamento) of the mentioned law, the following persons are required to submit the Income tax declaration of 2012 in Spain.

a) Taxpayers who have obtained an income in the year exceeding the amounts for each class or source that are highlighted below.

b) Those taxpayers in Spain who, regardless of the amount and nature or source of the income earned, would be entitled to a deduction for investment in there prime home, special savings account for the purchase of their first home, international double taxation, or have made contributions to individuals with disabilities, pension plans, insured pension plans, corporate pension plans, etc.

c) Taxpayers in Spain who are required to file the Spanish income tax and apply for the refund arising from the Income Tax regulation to which they are entitled if proceeds.

d) Taxpayers who are not required to file their Spanish Income Tax due to the amount and nature or source of their income earned during the year, but are applying for the refund arising from the Income Tax regulation in Spain.

Who is not required to file Spanish Income Tax at the Inland Revenue?

1. Taxpayers whose income is derived solely from the following sources, provided they do not exceed any of the limits mentioned in each case:

A) Gross salary out of work (including, among others, retirement pensions, including those from abroad, as well as non-exempt alimony and annuities for alimony) for an amount not exceeding:

• Euros 22,000 per year, generally.
• Euros 11,200 per year in the following cases:

a) When income is paid by more than one employer.

However, the limit is Euros 22,000 per year in the following cases:
1 ° where, the income is generated by more than one employer, the sum of the amount received from the second and other employers may not exceed the total amount of 1.500 Euros.

B) Income from immovable capital (non-exempt dividends, interest on accounts, deposits or fixed income securities, etc.) and capital gains (gains from reimbursement on shares in investment funds, prizes for participation in competitions or lottery, etc.), provided that the income has been subject to advanced tax payments and the overall amount does not exceed the amount of 1,600 euros per year.

C) Deemed Income Tax, income from immovable capital not subject to advanced tax payments arising from treasury bonds and subsidies for the acquisition of subsidized housing with a limit of 1,000 Euros per year.

For any legal or tax inquiry, do not hesitate to contact the multi-lingual tax lawyers of Arcos & Lamers Asociados, your Registered Accountants (economists), lawyers and tax advisers in Spain.

María Teresa Arcos, Lawyer in Spain.

Wim Lamers, Registered Accountant (Economist) in Spain.

Arcos & Lamers Asociados:Accountants in Spain, tax advisers in Spain, Spanish tax specialists, Income tax specialists in Spain, tax lawyers in Spain, Tax law firm in Spain.

Marbella, May, 2013

Specifically chapter two of the mentioned law is including relevant reductions at the Spanish Income Tax. Of course, limitations on these reductions have been included as well. The reduction entitles a relevant decrease of 20% of the positive income generated. Congratulations!

Limitations to the mentioned reductions:

1)      That the individual who starts the activity has not carried out any activity for one year.

2)      The reduction of 20% is applicable for the first 100.000 Euros profit only.

3)      The reduction of 20% is not applicable in the event that more than 50% of the income is generated by the same client (individual or company) that was contributing previously to the Income out of Work (rendimientosdeltrabajo).

In Andalucía, the general Spanish scale with regards to the Income tax in Spain goes from 24,75%  up to 52,00%.

As a guide-line:

Addition information with regards to the reduction of Spanish Company tax that is appearing at the mentioned Spanish law 04/2013 can be found here .

The professional team of Arcos & Lamers Asociados has the legal/fiscal knowledge, resources, experience and skills to help clients deal with any matters related to the services listed below.

CIVIL LEGAL AND EXTRAJUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS
PURCHASE & SALE OF REAL ESTATE
TAX LAW: TAX AND ACCOUNTING ADVICE
CORPORATE LAW, TRADE COMPANIES
INHERITANCE, WILLS AND SUCCESSION
SPANISH EMPLOYMENT ADVICE
TRADEMARKS AND PATENTS
CRIMINAL LAW
BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS
LEGAL AND FISCAL ADVICE IN GENERAL
OTHER SERVICES

Do you need an efficient registered accountant in Spain? Contact now, Arcos & Lamers Asociados, your multilingual registered accountants (economists) inMarbella, solicitors and lawyers inSpain under one roof!

This information has been published byArcos & Lamers Asociados, your registered accountants in Spain! The same is not legally binding as the above is for informative purposes only.

Marbella, April, 2013.