Due diligence on a Marbella villa: title, licences and survey

Title and charges at the land registry

Your lawyer starts with a nota simple from the land registry (Registro de la Propiedad). It shows who owns the villa, how the property is described and what is registered against it: mortgages, embargoes, rights of way and other burdens. The seller must be the registered owner, or the chain of title to them must be clear.

A mortgage on the register is normal and is usually cancelled at completion from part of the price. What matters is that every charge is identified and that the contract states who clears it and when. A fresh nota simple is requested again just before signing, and our guide to the purchase process shows where these checks sit in the timeline.

Cadastre, registry and reality

The cadastre (Catastro) is the tax register, separate from the land registry, and the two do not always agree. Your lawyer compares the plot size, built area and boundaries in each with the villa on the ground. Differences are common in older villas that have grown over the years, and they often point to work that was never licensed.

Small discrepancies can be corrected, sometimes before completion. Larger ones affect value, financing and any future sale, so they belong in the negotiation rather than in a footnote.

Debts that follow the villa

Some debts attach to the property rather than to the person, so they can pass to you if the seller leaves them unpaid. Your lawyer asks for recent IBI receipts and, in a gated estate or any development with a community of owners, a certificate from the administrator confirming that the community fees are up to date.

Utility bills, the municipal rubbish charge and any works already approved by the community are checked too. Where something is outstanding, the contract can allow part of the price to be held back at completion to settle it.

Licences: building, occupation and AFO

Every villa should rest on a building licence (licencia de obras) that matches what stands on the plot. Traditionally a first occupation licence then confirmed that the house could be lived in. Under Andalusia's planning law LISTA (Ley 7/2021), many of these have been replaced by a sworn declaration (declaración responsable), so your lawyer looks for one or the other.

Where a villa, or part of it, was built irregularly but the deadline for enforcement has passed, it can obtain AFO status (asimilado a fuera de ordenación). This recognises the situation without legalising it, and it limits what you can do: work is typically restricted to maintenance and repair, and an extension is not normally possible. An AFO villa can still be a sensible purchase at the right price, provided you know exactly what the status allows and how your lender views it.

Marbella's planning position

Planning in Marbella has an unusual history. The 2010 general plan was annulled by the courts, with the Supreme Court ruling in 2015, and the town returned to its 1986 general plan. A new plan has been in preparation since.

For a buyer, this means checking the villa against the rules that apply today, not against what a seller or an older brochure assumed. Any licence, extension or building plot that relied on the 2010 plan deserves a closer look, and your lawyer can request planning information on the specific plot from the town hall.

Coast, countryside and unlicensed additions

Beachfront villas fall under the Coastal Law (Ley de Costas), which restricts building near the shore. Your lawyer checks where the official coastal boundary runs and whether any part of the plot lies within the protected zones, because that decides what you can rebuild or add. This matters on the Golden Mile and along every other stretch of beach.

Land classification matters just as much. On urban land (suelo urbano) a villa sits within the planned fabric of the town; on rustic land (suelo rústico) building is tightly restricted, and you cannot assume that a guest house, a second pool or an extension can be added later.

Look closely at pools, pool houses, enclosed porches and extra rooms. Each is compared with the licences and the cadastre, and the outcome can be legalisation, AFO status, a lower price or a reason to walk away.

The technical survey

Legal checks tell you what the villa is allowed to be; a survey tells you what it is. Instruct an independent architect or building surveyor to inspect the structure, damp in basements and walls, roofs and flat terraces, the pool and its plant room, and the electrical, plumbing and air-conditioning installations.

On hillside plots, retaining walls and drainage deserve special attention, since repairs are costly and can involve neighbours. If the survey points to work, our guide to renovating a villa helps you budget it before you agree the price, and new builds bring their own checks, covered in new build or resale.

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Before you commit to a purchase, instruct an independent lawyer (abogado) and a tax adviser, and make the contract conditional on their findings where you can.