Real estate careers in Spain

The rules a broker must know

Public bodies

No national broker regulator. Housing is a regional power, so each autonomous community decides whether agents must register: Catalonia runs a mandatory Register of Real Estate Agents (Registre d'Agents Immobiliaris de Catalunya), the Valencian Community a mandatory register under Decree 98/2022, Andalusia created a Register of Specialised Real Estate Agents in the Residential Sector through Law 5/2025, and the Balearic Islands a voluntary official register (Law 3/2024). Nationally, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda (MIVAU) sets housing policy, SEPBLAC supervises anti-money laundering compliance, the land registries (Colegio de Registradores) and notaries (Consejo General del Notariado) record deeds, and the Tax Agency (AEAT) and regional tax offices collect property taxes

Licence

Spain has no national broker licence and no compulsory exam. Royal Decree-law 4/2000 (Article 3) opened real estate intermediation to anyone, with no need for the official Agente de la Propiedad Inmobiliaria (API) title or membership of a Colegio de APIs; the API title and the colleges still exist and are a mark of quality, not a legal requirement. Regional rules then add conditions where an agent has premises. Catalonia (Law 18/2007 and Decree 12/2010) requires every agent who works regularly and for pay to register, with recognised training, an office open to the public (or an online-only regime), professional liability insurance of at least EUR 100,000 per claim and EUR 600,000 per year per office, and a surety of EUR 60,000 per year per office (EUR 300,000 for online-only agents), according to the Generalitat. The Valencian Community made registration mandatory with Decree 98/2022, but in January 2025 the Valencian High Court (TSJCV), on an appeal by the competition authority CNMC, struck out the EUR 60,000 guarantee, the EUR 100,000 liability insurance and two other requirements; the ruling could be appealed to the Supreme Court. Andalusia's Housing Law 5/2025 (BOJA 24 December 2025, BOE 8 January 2026) creates a register that its preamble calls mandatory, with entry based on a sworn statement and conditions such as an API title, a relevant degree, or four years of documented experience, plus 100 hours of specific training for the owner and half of the staff, insurance or guarantees and a clean record; a final provision leaves the start of the register to a later step, and its launch date was not confirmed as of October 2026. The Balearic register is voluntary.

Who can be an agent

Because there is no national licence, any EU, EEA or Swiss citizen can work as an agent in Spain, either employed or self-employed, after obtaining a foreigner identity number (NIE) and an EU registration certificate when staying beyond three months. Non-EU nationals need a residence permit that allows work: an employee permit sponsored by an agency, or a self-employed (cuenta propia) residence and work permit, both governed since 20 May 2025 by the new immigration regulation, Royal Decree 1155/2024. Freelancers register as autónomos with the Tax Agency (census form 036 or 037) and the Social Security special scheme for the self-employed, and agencies are usually set up as an SL company. In Catalonia, the Valencian Community and, once its register opens, Andalusia, the agent or agency must also meet the regional registration conditions where it opens premises. Agency staff who only show properties for a registered agency are covered by the firm's registration.

Brokerage rules

Sale commissions are not regulated or capped: traditional agencies usually charge about 3% to 7% of the price, often around 5% on the Costa del Sol, plus 21% VAT, normally paid by the seller, while some agencies also bill the buyer (HelpMyCash, February 2026). A written mandate (nota de encargo) is good practice everywhere and required by the regional rules in Catalonia and the Balearics; it should state the price, the fee, exclusivity and duration. Deposits are usually paid under a private reservation and then an arras contract (often 10% of the price) before the deed is signed in front of a notary. Real estate agents and developers are obliged subjects under anti-money laundering Law 10/2010: they must identify clients and beneficial owners, apply risk-based due diligence and report suspicious deals to SEPBLAC. For long-term rentals, the Housing Law 12/2023 (in force 26 May 2023) amended the Urban Leases Act so that agency fees and the cost of drawing up the lease are paid by the landlord, not the tenant, when the landlord is the one who hired the agency.

Foreign buyers

Anyone, resident or not, of any nationality, can buy property in Spain; the buyer needs an NIE, and a Spanish bank account is the usual route for paying taxes and bills. The main exception is military or defence zones, where some non-EU buyers need prior authorisation. The investor residence permit (golden visa) for property purchases of EUR 500,000 or more was abolished by Organic Law 1/2025 with effect from 3 April 2025 (La Moncloa); applications filed before that date are decided under the old rules, and permits already granted stay valid and can be renewed under the conditions of the original grant. A bill to tax non-EU, non-resident buyers at up to 100% of the price was filed in Congress in 2025, but it had not been passed as of October 2026. Foreign demand is at a record: in Q2 2026 foreigners made 15.98% of all home purchases (about 26,800), led by British (6.99%), Dutch (6.94%), German (6.11%), Moroccan (6.09%), Romanian, Italian, French and Polish buyers (Registradores).

Tax and fees

On a resale home the buyer pays the regional transfer tax (ITP): 7% in Andalusia (6% for a main home up to EUR 150,000 and 3.5% for buyers under 35 up to EUR 150,000), and in the Valencian Community 9% for deeds from 1 June 2026 (previously 10%) and 11% on the whole price when the property is worth more than EUR 1 million. On a new build bought from a developer, the buyer pays 10% VAT (21% on plots and commercial units) plus stamp duty (AJD) of 1.2% in Andalusia and 1.4% in the Valencian Community from June 2026 (previously 1.5%), with reduced rates for some main homes. Notary and land registry fees are set by official tariffs and together usually come to well under 1% of the price. The seller pays the municipal land value tax (plusvalía municipal, on the gain in land value, using either the objective or the real gain method) and income tax on the capital gain. Non-resident sellers pay 19% on the gain, and the buyer must withhold 3% of the price and pay it to the Tax Agency within a month (form 211). Non-resident owners pay yearly non-resident income tax: on rent, 19% of net income for EU and EEA residents and 24% of gross income for others; on an unlet property, an imputed income of 1.1% or 2% of the cadastral value taxed at the same rates. Owners also pay the yearly municipal property tax (IBI).

Off-plan

Off-plan homes are protected by the Building Act, Law 38/1999 (LOE). Its first additional provision, as reworded by Law 20/2015, requires developers who take money before completion to pay it into a special account at a credit institution and to guarantee the full amounts paid on account, plus legal interest, by a bank guarantee or an insurance policy, so the buyer gets the money back if the building is not started or not finished on time or does not obtain its occupation licence. The guarantee should be handed to the buyer with each payment receipt, and Supreme Court case law holds the bank liable for buyer payments it accepted into the developer's accounts even without an individual guarantee. The LOE also gives buyers a ten-year structural guarantee backed by compulsory ten-year damage insurance (seguro decenal) for homes, plus three years for habitability defects and one year for finishing defects. A typical payment plan is a reservation fee, then 20% to 40% in instalments during construction, with the balance and taxes at completion. Buyers should check the building licence, the guarantee certificate and the land registry entry of the development.

Rentals

Long-term leases fall under the Urban Leases Act (LAU, Law 29/1994) as amended by Housing Law 12/2023: a minimum term of five years (seven when the landlord is a company), a legal deposit of one month's rent for homes, agency fees paid by the landlord, and rent caps only in areas a region declares 'stressed'; Catalonia applies them, while Andalusia and the Valencian Community had not declared such areas as of October 2026. Holiday lets need a regional registration (in Andalusia the Register of Tourism, in the Valencian Community the tourist housing register) and, since 1 July 2025, a national registration number from the Single Rental Register (Registro Único de Arrendamientos, Royal Decree 1312/2024) to be advertised on platforms. Since 3 April 2025, Organic Law 1/2025 also requires the approval of three fifths of the owners' community before a flat in a building can start being used as a tourist let. Cities can go further: Málaga suspended new tourist flat registrations in August 2025 for up to three years while it changes its urban plan.

Platforms

Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad) and Colegio de Registradores statistics (ERI)Catastro (cadastral value and reference value)Notaries (Consejo General del Notariado, Portal Estadístico del Notariado)Agencia Tributaria (non-resident tax forms 210 and 211, autónomo census 036/037)Regional tax agencies (ATRIAN in Andalusia, Agència Tributària Valenciana)SEPBLAC (anti-money laundering supervision, Law 10/2010)Police foreigners offices (NIE and residence cards)Registre d'Agents Immobiliaris de Catalunya and Valencian agents register (Decree 98/2022)Andalusian Register of Specialised Real Estate Agents (Law 5/2025)Registro Único de Arrendamientos (short-term rental registration number)INE housing price index and Banco de España mortgage data