How off-plan (sobre plano) works in Spain

Buying “sobre plano”, off plan, is a mainstream route into new homes on the Spanish coasts. Unlike in many markets, the buyer’s advance payments are protected by a specific legal guarantee. Your job as a broker is to make sure that guarantee actually exists for each payment, that the buyer understands the delivery terms, and that nobody pays a cent before the building licence is in place.

The short version

1. Off-plan advances are protected by the first additional provision of Law 38/1999 (the Building Act, LOE), as rewritten by Law 20/2015 from 1 January 2016.
2. The developer must give each buyer a bank guarantee or insurance covering all advances, taxes and legal interest.
3. Advances must go into a special account used only for that development.
4. The duty starts once the building licence is granted. No licence, no payment.
5. A common schedule: a reservation of a few thousand euros, about 20% to 30% during construction, and the balance at delivery.
6. Delays are common. Read the delivery date, grace period and penalty clauses before signing.
7. Delivery should depend on the first occupation licence.
8. New homes pay 10% VAT plus AJD stamp duty.

The legal framework

For decades, buyers’ advances were protected by Law 57/1968. Law 20/2015 repealed it from 1 January 2016 and moved a similar regime into the first additional provision of Law 38/1999. The Banco de España’s claims service summarises the current rules:

• The duty to guarantee arises when the building licence is obtained.
• The developer must guarantee the refund of all advances, plus applicable taxes, plus legal interest from each payment until the expected delivery date. The old fixed 6% interest was replaced by the legal interest rate.
• The guarantee can be an insurance policy or a joint bank guarantee (aval) from a registered institution.
• Advances must be paid into a special account, separate from the developer’s other money, and used only for the construction.
• A bank that opens that account must require the guarantee “under its own responsibility”.

Breaching these rules is a consumer law infringement, open to regional fines.

The payment schedule

There is no legal schedule. Each developer sets its own. Pineapple Homes, an agency in Málaga, described a typical Costa del Sol pattern in January 2026:

• Reservation: €3,000 to €10,000 to take the unit.
• During construction: about 20% of the price over 6 to 18 months, sometimes up to 30%.
• At delivery: the remaining 70% to 80%, often with a mortgage.

Costa Luz Lawyers add two rules for the buyer: do not pay anything until the building licence has been issued and verified, and do not pay until you hold an individual guarantee certificate in your own name covering what you have paid.

Worked example

These figures are illustrative only. The contract and the guarantee decide.

Apartment in Estepona, €450,000.

Stage	Payment	Paid to date	Guarantee should cover at least
Reservation	€6,000	€6,000	€6,000 + VAT + interest
Private contract (to 10%)	€39,000	€45,000	€45,000 + VAT + interest
Instalments during works (to 30%)	€90,000	€135,000	€135,000 + VAT + interest
Delivery	€315,000	€450,000	Guarantee ends

On each stage the buyer also pays 10% VAT to the developer, so €135,000 of price means €148,500 paid in total by the end of the works. At the deed, AJD stamp duty is added: 1.2% in Andalusia, so €5,400 on this example (Interforo).

How the guarantee is used

The Banco de España report sets out the steps when the developer does not start or does not finish the home on time:

1. The buyer sends the developer a formal, provable demand (in practice, a burofax) for the refund of all amounts.
2. If the developer does not pay within 30 days, the buyer can claim against the bank or insurer.
3. If a prior demand to the developer is not possible, for example after insolvency, the buyer can go straight to the guarantor.
4. The guarantee lapses if two years pass from the developer’s breach without the buyer asking to cancel and claim the refund.

The guarantee ends normally when the first occupation licence or habitability certificate is issued and delivery is offered, or if the buyer refuses to take a finished home.

Costa Luz Lawyers note that courts have held banks liable to return buyers’ money when they accepted deposits for a development without the guarantee, and that the Supreme Court said in January 2026 that interest on unrefunded deposits runs until actual repayment. Even with old or missing guarantees, a buyer may still have a claim, so send them to a lawyer.

Delays and the buyer’s options

Delays are the most common off-plan problem. Look at these clauses before the buyer signs:

• Delivery date and any automatic extension. Pineapple Homes found clauses giving the developer 180 to 365 days of extra time without penalty.
• Grace period. Costa Luz Lawyers say about 90 days for justified delays (weather, supplies) is typical.
• Penalties per day or per month of delay after the grace period.
• Termination rights and what the buyer gets back.

When the date has passed, Costa Luz Lawyers describe two routes: keep the purchase, send a burofax setting a final date, and claim the penalties; or terminate for serious delay and claim all deposits plus legal interest from each payment. Claims against the developer are generally possible for five years, and against the bank or insurer for two years.

First occupation licence

The first occupation licence (licencia de primera ocupación, or the equivalent declaration in some regions) shows that the finished building matches its licence and can be lived in. Pineapple Homes recommends making delivery and the deed conditional on it, with utilities connected. Costa Luz Lawyers warn that without it the buyer may not be able to register utilities or sell later. Never let a buyer sign the deed on a new build without seeing it.

Snagging and later defects

Before the deed, the buyer or a surveyor should walk the home and list every defect. Costa Luz Lawyers advise a written, signed snagging list with a firm deadline for repairs, and not to complete on a home with serious defects unless there is an enforceable repair agreement. After delivery, new builds carry a ten-year structural insurance (seguro decenal) for significant structural defects.

Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca

• Málaga province (Costa del Sol) and Alicante province (Costa Blanca) are the two biggest off-plan markets for foreigners. Registradores data reported by Alicante Plaza in August 2025 put foreign buyers at about 33% of home purchases in Málaga and 43% in Alicante.
• Andalusia: VAT 10% plus AJD 1.2% on new builds.
• Valencian Community: VAT 10% plus AJD 1.4% from 1 June 2026 (Guía Fiscal).
• Tourist rental plans: if a buyer plans holiday lets, check the municipality’s limits first. In Andalusia, councils can cap tourist homes by building or zone, and community statutes can ban them (Colegio de Arquitectos de Málaga).
• No visa: the property golden visa ended on 3 April 2025, so investor marketing must not promise residence.

What to check on the developer and the project

• The building licence: number, date and the plot it covers.
• An individual guarantee certificate for each payment, naming the buyer.
• The special account details, in the developer’s name and tied to the development.
• The specification and plans attached to the contract. Costa Luz Lawyers note that brochures and quality specifications can be legally relevant.
• The developer’s track record: finished projects, delivery delays, disputes.
• The delivery, extension and penalty clauses.

Red flags

• Payment requested before the building licence.
• No individual guarantee, or a promise that one will come “later”.
• Payments to an account that is not the development’s special account, or to an intermediary.
• Unlimited extensions of the delivery date.
• A deed offered without the first occupation licence.
• Marketing that promises a golden visa or guaranteed rental returns.

Off-plan rules apply nationally, but licences and taxes vary by region. This guide was checked on the date shown above. It is general information, not legal or tax advice. CloserPass is not affiliated with any developer, bank or authority.

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