The nota simple, and the four things you should read on it first

The nota simple is a one- or two-page extract from the Spanish Land Registry. It costs very little, it can be requested by anyone, and it is the cheapest piece of due diligence in the entire purchase. It is also routinely handed to buyers who do not know what they are looking at.

This page is about what to read on it, and, just as importantly, what it does not tell you.

What it is

Spain’s Land Registry, the Registro de la Propiedad, records ownership and the charges affecting each registered property. The nota simple is an informative extract of that record: not a certified document, but an accurate statement of what the register held at the moment it was issued.

Anyone with a legitimate interest can request one, including a prospective buyer. You do not need the seller’s permission and you do not need to be under contract.

It is issued through the registry system; your lawyer will normally obtain a fresh one, and “fresh” is the operative word. A nota simple from three months ago describes the register three months ago.

The four things to read first

1. Who owns it — titularidad. The names on the register, and in what proportions. If the seller is one of two registered owners, both must sign. If the register still shows a deceased person, the inheritance has not been formalised and the property cannot be sold cleanly until it is. If a company owns it, you are looking at a different transaction with different tax consequences.

2. What charges sit on it — cargas. Mortgages, embargoes, liens, easements, rights of way. A mortgage is normal and is usually cancelled at completion out of the proceeds, but it needs to be handled deliberately. Embargoes, court or tax seizures, are a different matter entirely and are a reason to stop and take advice.

Charges follow the property, not the person. This is the single most important sentence on this page.

3. The description — descripción. The property as the register knows it: surface area, boundaries, what is built on it. Compare this against what you have actually seen. A registered 180 m² house standing next to an unregistered 60 m² extension is a common and entirely fixable situation, but only if you know about it before you commit.

4. The regime. Whether the property is an independent unit or part of a horizontal-property regime. A community of owners, and what quota it carries. That quota determines your share of community fees and your voting weight.

What a nota simple does not tell you

This is where buyers go wrong, because the document looks comprehensive.

It does not tell you the property is legal. The register records what was registered. Planning legality is a matter for the town hall, evidenced through the works licence and the licence of first occupation. A building can be registered and still not have the licence it needed.

It does not tell you what the Cadastre says. The Cadastre, Catastro, is a separate, tax-oriented description of the same property, and the two can disagree on surface area and boundaries. Neither is automatically wrong; reconciling them is ordinary work. Discovering the discrepancy on completion day is not.

It does not tell you what may be built. Development potential is a planning question, answered by the plan in force at the town hall, not by the registry.

It does not tell you about community debt. Unpaid community fees can attach to the property, but they appear in a certificate from the community administrator, not on the nota simple.

It is not a valuation and says nothing about price.

Why this matters more in Marbella

Marbella’s planning history makes the gap between “registered” and “licensed” more than a theoretical distinction. The municipality reverted to a 1986 general plan after the Supreme Court annulled the 2010 plan in 2015, and the court’s own reasoning referred to a generalised situation of urban irregularity arising from development carried out outside what that earlier plan allowed.

The practical effect for a buyer: the registry description and the physical building diverging is a realistic possibility here, particularly on villas and on anything altered since construction. The nota simple is where you first see whether they do.

How to use it in practice

Get one early — before the reservation, not after. It costs a fraction of the deposit you are about to place.

Then read it against three other things: what you saw on the visit, what the Cadastre says, and what the licence of first occupation certifies. Where all four agree, the property is what it appears to be. Where they do not, you have found the question that needed asking, and you have found it while you still have the option of walking away.

An independent lawyer does this as routine. We mention it here because the buyers who get into difficulty are usually the ones who were shown a nota simple, nodded, and filed it.

Reading the charges section properly

The cargas section is where a nota simple earns its fee, and it is also the part most often skimmed. A few entries change what a purchase means.

A mortgage that is paid but not cancelled. Repaying a loan does not remove it from the register. Cancellation is a separate act, with its own deed and its own cost, and until it is done the charge remains inscribed. If it appears, the question is who cancels it and when, and that belongs in the contract rather than in a verbal assurance.

An afección fiscal note. A marginal note recording that the property answers for tax that may still be assessed on an earlier transfer. It has a life span, and it is the reason the reference value question from the previous sale can reach the new owner.

An embargo or seizure. Recorded on the property, often from a public authority. Nothing should be paid while one is live.

A condición resolutoria. A right to unwind the sale if a deferred payment is not made. Common where the seller financed a previous buyer.

Easements and rights of way. Neither a defect nor a detail: a right of way over the plot may sit quietly in the register for decades and matter enormously to what you can build.

A prohibición de disponer. A restriction on transferring the property, which means the sale cannot proceed as planned.

An entry in this section is not automatically a reason to walk away. It is a reason to ask what it is, whether it will be cleared before completion, and who carries the cost if it is not.

Registry, cadastre and reality: three descriptions

Almost every difficult purchase on this coast begins with three descriptions of the same house that do not agree.

The registry records ownership and rights, with a description that follows what was declared over time.

The cadastre records the physical property for tax purposes, with surfaces and a graphic representation.

The building itself is whatever was actually constructed, extended and roofed over the last forty years.

Where they differ, three questions decide the outcome. Which is right for what: the registry governs ownership and charges; the cadastre governs the values many taxes start from. Whether the difference is documented or not: an extension carried out with a permit and never declared is fixable paperwork, while one built without a permit is a legal position. And who fixes it: correcting either record has a procedure, a cost and a timescale, and each of those is negotiable before a deposit but not after.

A buyer who asks for the registry entry, the cadastral certificate and a measurement of what is actually there, and lays all three side by side, has done more than most buyers on this coast ever do.

Frequently asked questions

What is a nota simple?

An informative extract from the Spanish Land Registry showing who owns a property, what charges affect it, how it is described and what regime it falls under. It is not a certified document but it accurately reflects the register at the moment it was issued.

Who can request a nota simple?

Anyone with a legitimate interest, including a prospective buyer. You do not need the seller’s permission and you do not need to be under contract, which is precisely why it is useful before you commit.

Does a nota simple prove the property is legal?

No. It records what has been registered, which is a different question from whether the building was licensed. Planning legality is evidenced by the works licence and the licence of first occupation, both matters for the town hall. A property can appear correctly on the register and still lack the licence it needed.

What are cargas and why do they matter?

Cargas are the charges affecting the property. Mortgages, embargoes, liens, easements, rights of way. They follow the property rather than the person, so they become the new owner’s problem unless dealt with at completion. A mortgage is routine and normally cancelled from the proceeds; an embargo is a reason to stop and take advice.

Why do the registry and the Cadastre disagree about my property?

They are separate systems with different purposes. The registry records ownership and rights, the Cadastre describes property for tax purposes, and they are not automatically synchronised. Discrepancies in surface area and boundaries are common and usually resolvable, but they should be identified before completion rather than at it.

How recent does a nota simple need to be?

As recent as possible. It describes the register at the moment of issue, so one obtained months earlier may no longer reflect charges registered since. Your lawyer will normally obtain a fresh one immediately before completion as well as at the start.

Does the nota simple show unpaid community fees?

No. Community debt appears in a certificate issued by the community administrator, which is a separate document you should request if the property is part of a community of owners. Unpaid fees can attach to the property.

What should I do if the description does not match what I saw?

Raise it before signing anything. A difference between the registered description and the physical building (an extension, a converted basement, a pool house) is often resolvable, but the cost and feasibility depend on the specific case and on the municipality’s planning position. In Marbella this deserves a lawyer’s attention rather than a reassurance from the seller.

What should I look for in the cargas section?

Above all: a mortgage repaid but never cancelled, an afección fiscal note, an embargo, a resolutory condition, easements or rights of way, and any prohibition on transferring. None of these is automatically a reason to walk away, but each needs an answer on who clears it, when, and at whose cost.

Does repaying a mortgage remove it from the register?

No. Cancellation is a separate act with its own deed and its own cost, and until it is completed the charge stays inscribed. If one appears on the nota simple, put the cancellation into the contract rather than relying on a verbal assurance.

Why do the registry, the cadastre and the building disagree?

Because they record different things. The registry records ownership and rights, the cadastre records the physical property for tax purposes, and the building is whatever was actually constructed and extended. What matters is whether the difference is documented, and who fixes it before completion.