Selling property
Dear Sir,
WE HAVE decided to sell our home in Spain, as we want to be near our growing family in the UK.
We have been told that we will need an energy efficiency certificate and an occupation licence.
We have also been told that 3% of the sale price will be withheld by the notary to cover any debts we might have, which are attached to the property.
Could you confirm that this is true?
Answer
You are obliged by law to hand over to your buyer The energy efficiency certificate and the occupation licence. The EEC is issued by an architect or an engineer and has a validity of 10 years.
The occupation licence is issued by the town hall, and you will need to have an architect’s certificate to prove to the town hall that the property fulfils all requirements to be habitable. The first occupation licence has a period of validity of 10 years and the second and following occupation licences have a validity of 5 years.
The notary does not retain 3% of the sale price. It is the obligation of the buyer to retain this amount and deposit it with the tax office, when the vendor is a nonresident.
This payment to the tax office is considered to be a payment on account of any capital gains tax. If this tax is lower than the 3% that has been retained, the vendor is entitled to refund of the difference. If this tax is higher, the vendor is obliged to pay the difference.
The notary might offer the service of depositing this amount with the tax office, but it is not legally required that the notary does this.
If the buyer does not deposit this amount with the tax office, as required by law, the property object of the transaction will be subject to this tax and therefore the buyer will be obliged to pay this tax plus any surcharges and any penalties that may be applicable.
If your buyer is using a mortgage loan to finance the purchase of the property, it will be the bank that will deal with retaining this amount and depositing it with the tax office.
This payment to the tax office is made using official tax form number 211.
If you are entitled to a refund, please bear in mind that this is not automatic and has to be applied for. You will need a copy of the form 211 that was used to deposit this money and include it with the application form.Any refund will be only done to the vendor of the property.
The tax office will not send the refund to another person or company, and therefore you will need to include proof that the account is yours. For a Spanish bank account, this document is called “certificado de titularidad”.
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This column is intended for informative purposes only and we strongly advise any readers to seek professional advice prior to taking any action.