Property valuation (tasación) for a Spanish mortgage

What the law requires

Article 13 of Ley 5/2019: the properties offered as security “habrán de ser objeto de una tasación adecuada antes de la celebración del contrato de préstamo”. The valuation is made by one of:

• a valuation company, or a valuation service of a credit institution, regulated by Ley 2/1981 on the mortgage market, and/or
• a professional approved under Royal Decree 775/1997 and additional provision 10 of Ley 5/2019,

in every case independent of the lender or credit intermediary, “utilizando normas de tasación fiables y reconocidas internacionalmente, de conformidad con lo establecido por la Orden ECO/805/2003”. Additional provision 10 told the Government to approve, within six months of the law’s entry into force, the approval scheme for professionals who may value, and the Ministry to assess whether to amend the Orden to add other kinds of valuation. I did not find, in the sources I read, a separate scheme for individual professionals; check the Banco de España register for what exists today.

Who counts as an approved valuer

Royal Decree 775/1997 makes administrative approval (homologación) mandatory for valuations to take effect as mortgage security for the mortgage-bond cover pool, among other purposes (art. 1). Two kinds of entity are approved by the Banco de España:

• valuation companies (sociedades de tasación), which must employ at least ten professionals, three of them “vinculados” (experienced, contractually tied) and hold liability insurance (art. 3). Their registration in the special register gives them a registration number, and the registration is published in the BOE (art. 5);
• valuation services of credit institutions, which may only value within the mortgage market, for loans of their own group (art. 7), and also need Banco de España approval and registration (art. 8).

Both must show the Banco de España registration number on documents affecting third parties (art. 12). The professionals are architects or technical architects for urban property and residential buildings (art. 2). Valuers may not value assets of their own group, shareholders, directors or their close relatives (arts. 6 and 10). These rules protect the independence the law asks for; see also the page on property valuers.

How the report is made and how long it lasts

Orden ECO/805/2003 sets the valuation rules (article 2 lists the mortgage-security purpose first) and the content of the report. On validity, article 62 states:

• the issue date of a report may not be more than two months after the last visual inspection of the property (up to six months for land or exceptional, justified cases);
• the issue date counts as the valuation date;
• “Los informes y certificados caducarán, necesariamente, a los seis meses contados desde la fecha en que haya sido emitido el informe.”

Articles 63 and 64 require the report to show the name and Banco de España registration number of the issuing company or institution, and the issue date, last visit date and final validity date. These are details you can check yourself on the report.

Can I bring my own valuation?

The Banco de España’s customer portal (post dated 12 March 2024) says the valuation is a precondition of a mortgage; that the client bears the cost and “podrá escoger el tasador homologado y utilizar el informe para negociar con varias entidades financieras, que deberán aceptarlo siempre que no esté caducado”; and that if the loan is refused, the bank returns the original report so you can use it elsewhere while it has not expired. The same post says the loan is usually up to a maximum of 80% of the valuation. That 80% is a practice, not a legal cap: I searched the text of Ley 5/2019 and found no fixed loan-to-value ceiling.

The older transparency order (Orden EHA/2899/2011) contained a similar rule on accepting a valuation brought by the client, but it dealt with the pre-2019 documents, so I do not rely on it. Ask the lender, in writing, whether it accepts a report from an approved valuer you choose, before you order one.

Why the figure matters

The valuation sets the base for how much the lender may lend, and a government-backed guarantee may refer to it: the ICO line refers to the lower of valuation and price (see ICO guarantee). A valuation below the price means a larger deposit from you if the lender’s ratio is applied to the lower figure.

Which professional to consult

A valuation company or a valuation service registered with the Banco de España, which you can look up in its official register of valuation companies (check the registration number printed on the report). A lawyer registered with a Spanish bar association (colegio de abogados) can review the lender’s conditions; see property lawyers and mortgage lenders.