Glossary of Spanish property terms
The Spanish words you will meet in documents, bills and conversations with your lawyer or gestoría, explained in plain English. Where a term only applies in one region, it says so.
- AEAT
- Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria, the Spanish national tax agency.
- AJD
- Actos Jurídicos Documentados, the stamp duty on deeds.
- Arras
- The deposit paid on signing the private purchase contract, and by extension the contract itself.
- ATIB Balearic Islands
- Agència Tributària de les Illes Balears, the Balearic tax agency.
- ATV Costa Blanca
- Agència Tributària Valenciana, the Valencian tax agency.
- Catastro
- The land survey register used for tax, which sets cadastral and reference values.
- Comunicación previa Balearic Islands
- Prior notice to the town hall for minor building work.
- Comunidad de propietarios
- The owners' association of a building or development, which charges community fees.
- Cuotas de urbanización Costa Blanca
- Charges for building the roads and services of an area under development, recorded against each plot.
- Cédula de habitabilidad Balearic Islands
- Certificate of habitability; in the Balearics valid for ten years.
- Declaración responsable Costa Blanca
- A responsible declaration filed with an authority instead of waiting for a licence: for minor building work, for occupation of a home and to register a tourist let.
- DRIAT Balearic Islands
- The responsible declaration filed to start letting a home to tourists.
- Empadronamiento
- Registration on the town hall's register of residents (padrón).
- Entidad urbanística de conservación Costa Blanca
- A legally constituted body of owners that maintains an urbanisation not handed over to the town hall; its fees are compulsory.
- Escritura
- The public deed signed before a notary.
- ETV, ETVPL, ETV60 Balearic Islands
- The three Balearic tourist letting licence types.
- FEIN
- The standard European information sheet for a mortgage offer.
- Finca Balearic Islands
- A country property, usually on rural land.
- Finca Costa Blanca
- A property. In registry documents any registered house, flat or plot (finca registral); in everyday use, a country property.
- Fuera de ordenación
- Outside planning rules: a building that can be kept but not enlarged.
- Gestoría
- An administrative agency that files taxes and paperwork on your behalf.
- IBI
- Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles, the annual local property tax.
- ICIO
- The town hall's tax on construction work.
- Informe de compatibilidad urbanística Costa Blanca
- The town hall's report confirming that tourist letting is allowed at an address.
- IRNR
- Impuesto sobre la Renta de No Residentes, non-resident income tax.
- ITP
- Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales, the transfer tax on resale homes.
- IVA
- Value added tax (VAT).
- Licencia urbanística
- Building licence from the town hall.
- Minimización de impacto territorial Costa Blanca
- The Valencian procedure to regularise houses built on rural land before August 2014.
- Modelo 210, 211, 600, 650, 651, 714 Costa Blanca
- Tax forms for non-resident income tax, the 3% withholding, transfer tax and stamp duty, inheritance tax, gift tax and wealth tax.
- Modelo 210, 211, 600, 714 Balearic Islands
- Tax forms for non-resident income tax, the 3% withholding, transfer tax and wealth tax.
- NIE
- Número de Identidad de Extranjero, the foreigner's identity number.
- Nota simple
- A short extract from the Land Registry showing the owner and charges.
- Okupa
- A squatter.
- Plazas turísticas Balearic Islands
- Tourist places: the number of guests a licensed home may accommodate.
- Plusvalía municipal
- The town hall's tax on the increase in land value when a property changes hands.
- Recepción Costa Blanca
- The formal handover of a finished urbanisation to the town hall.
- Registro de la Propiedad
- The Land Registry, which records ownership and charges.
- Renta imputada
- Notional income taxed on a home that is not let.
- Segunda ocupación Costa Blanca
- The declaration that an existing home is fit to live in.
- Suelo no urbanizable Costa Blanca
- Rural land, either común (ordinary) or protegido (protected).
- Suelo rústico Balearic Islands
- Rural land, either común (ordinary) or protegido (protected).
- Suelo urbano
- Urban land.
- SUMA Costa Blanca
- The provincial office that collects local taxes for most towns in the province of Alicante.
- Urbanización Costa Blanca
- A private estate of villas, bungalows or apartments, usually outside the town centre.
- Valor catastral
- Cadastral value, an administrative value shown on the IBI bill.
- Valor de referencia
- Reference value set by the Catastro, used as a minimum tax base.
- Vivienda de uso turístico (VUT) Costa Blanca
- A home registered for tourist letting in the Valencian region.
- Vivienda habitual
- Main home, the basis for several reliefs reserved for residents.
From the glossaries of the Non-Resident Guides (2026–27 editions). General information, not legal or tax advice.
Buying a Home in the Balearic Islands as a Non-Resident (2026–27 edition) covers the whole process, from the first offer to who inherits, with worked examples and deadlines.
Buying a Home on the Costa Blanca as a Non-Resident (2026–27 edition) covers the whole process, from the first offer to who inherits, with worked examples and deadlines.