Land registry fees in Spain: scale, cap and reductions

The scale

For the registration of each property or right (annex I, no. 2.1) the registrar charges:

The text adds that the overall fee “no podrá superar los 2.181,673939 euros ni ser inferior a 24,040484 euros”. The base is the value checked for tax purposes and, failing that, the value declared in the document (annex II, rule 1). For a document presented more than ten years after it was signed, the declared value is updated by a coefficient (rule 1.3).

Two 5% reductions

Two separate texts reduce the amount:

1. The general rebate. Annex I, no. 2.1, says “se aplicará una rebaja del 5 por 100 del importe del arancel” on all registrations (it also refers to Real Decreto-ley 8/2010).
2. The home-sale reduction. Real Decreto-ley 6/2000, art. 36.1, says the registrars’ fees “se reducen en un 5 por 100” for the sale of dwellings (and for mortgage deeds), and adds that where the rules already contain a rebate, the new reduction “se aplicará a la cantidad que resulte una vez deducida la rebaja inicial”.

So the second 5% is taken from the amount that remains after the first. That order is stated. What the texts do not say expressly is whether the minimum and maximum are applied before or after the two reductions. Payotte applies the scale, then the cap and floor, then the two cuts; that is its interpretation, and the difference only matters for very high values (near the cap) or very low ones.

The presentation entry

Number 1 of the scale charges €6.010121 for the asiento de presentación (presentation entry) of each title, whatever the number of supporting documents. It is the first entry in the registry’s daybook. The date of the registration is the date of that entry (Ley Hipotecaria, art. 24), and once a title is presented, no other incompatible title can be registered for 60 days (art. 17). The presentation entry is charged apart from the registration scale.

Calculation on three prices

These are Payotte’s calculations, using the scale, the two 5% cuts in the order above, and the presentation entry. The cap and the floor do not come into play at these prices.

Other registry services have their own fees: a nota simple (informational extract) costs €3.005061 on the scale (no. 4.1.f), but the fee charged online may differ; see the nota simple guide for what Payotte read.

Who pays

The tariff itself says (annex II, rule 8) that the registrar’s fees “se pagarán por aquél o aquéllos a cuyo favor se inscriba o anote inmediatamente el derecho, siendo exigibles también a la persona que haya presentado el documento”. For a purchase that is the buyer, since the buyer is the person whose title is registered. This is a rule of the registry tariff itself, separate from the Civil Code rule on deed costs between buyer and seller. Anyone with an interest, buyer or seller, may ask for the registration (Ley Hipotecaria, art. 6). The registrar must issue an invoice (minuta) showing the base and the tariff numbers, and it can be challenged within 15 working days (rule 6).

Why registering protects the buyer

This is a reading of the Ley Hipotecaria, not legal advice:

• Art. 32: titles to real estate that are not duly registered or noted “no perjudican a tercero” (do not harm third parties).
• Art. 34: a third party who acquires in good faith, for value, from a person who appears in the registry as entitled to transfer, “será mantenido en su adquisición, una vez que haya inscrito su derecho”, even if the transferor’s title is later annulled for causes not shown in the registry. Good faith is presumed.
• Art. 38: registered rights are presumed to exist and to belong to their holder as the entry says.
• Art. 33: registration does not validate acts that are void under the law.

So the registry cannot fix everything, and the sale between buyer and seller does not depend on it. But a buyer who has not registered is exposed to someone who did. Registration also fixes the priority date (art. 24). Before signing, read the nota simple; the sequence is in the steps of a purchase.

Which professional to consult

The registrar qualifies the deed and issues the invoice. A property lawyer registered with a Spanish bar association can advise on a registry refusal or a defect; Payotte lists no registrars.