A new recruit in Madrid asks which national licence she must hold before she can broker a flat sale in Spain. What is the correct answer?

1. The official API title issued by the Ministry of Housing
2. None: since 2000 anyone may broker property without a title or college membership
3. A licence from the Colegio de Registradores after a written exam
4. A national broker card renewed every three years

An investor wants to start renting out a flat to tourists in a building in Valencia city in 2026. What must he obtain from the community of owners under the reform in force since 3 April 2025?

1. Nothing: the community can only regulate noise, never the use itself
2. A simple majority of owners present at the meeting
3. Unanimous consent of every owner in the building
4. Express prior approval voted by three fifths of owners holding three fifths of the quotas

You plan to open an agency office in Barcelona. What does Catalan law require before you start trading?

1. Registration in the Register of Estate Agents of Catalonia (the AICAT register)
2. Nothing beyond a city business licence, as in the rest of Spain
3. Membership of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce
4. A written exam set by the Catalan Notaries' Association

Your Catalan agency has one office open to the public in Girona. What minimum professional liability cover does the Catalan register require for that office?

1. EUR 30,000 per claim with no annual cap
2. EUR 1,000,000 per claim and EUR 5,000,000 per year
3. EUR 100,000 per claim and EUR 600,000 per year
4. No insurance, only a bank guarantee

Besides insurance, a Catalan agent must lodge a guarantee (surety or bond) to protect client money. What minimum applies to a standard office, and to an agent who works only online?

1. EUR 10,000 for both
2. EUR 60,000 per office, EUR 300,000 for an online-only agent
3. EUR 300,000 per office, EUR 60,000 for an online-only agent
4. EUR 600,000 per office, no guarantee online

Which of these professionals is NOT obliged to join the Catalan register of estate agents?

1. A Barcelona agency that only lets flats, never sells
2. A company working only online that sells homes in Tarragona
3. A one-person agency in Sitges that charges sellers a 3% fee
4. An agent established in another EU country with no office open to the public in Catalonia

A colleague wants to work in Alicante. Which rule created the Valencian register of real estate intermediation agents, and what training does it ask for?

1. Decree 98/2022, with at least 200 teaching hours of real estate training
2. Law 18/2007, with a university law degree
3. Royal Decree-law 4/2000, with no training at all
4. Decree 12/2010, with a 40-hour online course

In January 2025 the Valencian High Court (TSJCV) ruled on an appeal by the competition authority (CNMC) against the Valencian agents register. What was the outcome?

1. The whole register was annulled and closed
2. The appeal was fully rejected and all requirements stand
3. Several requirements, including the EUR 60,000 guarantee and the liability insurance, were annulled, and the ruling could be appealed to the Supreme Court
4. The court ordered all Valencian agents to also join the Catalan register

A French agent moves to Marbella to join your team. What does she need to work legally?

1. A work permit sponsored by your agency
2. Nothing at all, not even a tax ID
3. A golden visa
4. No work permit, but she must register as an EU citizen (registration certificate with her NIE) for stays over three months

A Moroccan friend holding a Spanish tourist stay wants to start showing villas on commission next week. What is the correct advice?

1. She needs a residence authorisation that allows work (employed or self-employed) under the immigration rules before she starts
2. She can work for 90 days on a tourist stay
3. An NIE number alone gives her the right to work
4. Commission-only work is not considered work, so no permit is needed

A freelance agent will invoice commissions in her own name. What two registrations must she complete before her first invoice?

1. Land Registry and Notaries' College
2. Tax census with the Agencia Tributaria (form 036/037) and the self-employed social security scheme (RETA)
3. Chamber of Commerce and the Bank of Spain
4. Only a bank account in Spain

A seller signs an exclusive mandate (nota de encargo en exclusiva) and then sells privately during the term. How did the Supreme Court approach such clauses in ruling 263/2019?

1. Exclusivity is always void in Spain
2. The agency always earns double the agreed fee
3. Exclusivity is valid in civil law, but the clause must pass consumer law checks such as clarity and proportionate compensation
4. Only notaries can sign exclusive mandates

Your agency's template mandate says the seller owes 100% of the commission if he sells to a buyer he found himself during the exclusive period. According to the Consumer Affairs report on exclusivity pacts, how is this clause viewed?

1. As standard practice that courts always uphold
2. As clearly abusive, since case law generally treats penalties above 50% of the fee as disproportionate when the agency did not bring the buyer
3. As valid only if the mandate lasts more than one year
4. As abusive only when the property is worth over EUR 1 million

A seller asks what commission is 'legal' in Spain. Which answer is accurate?

1. Fees are fixed by law at 2% for all sales
2. The buyer must always pay 5%
3. Fees are capped at 3% including VAT
4. Fees are freely agreed, usually around 3% to 7% of the price, and 21% VAT is added unless stated as included

Example figures: you sell a flat in Malaga for EUR 350,000 with an agreed 4% commission plus 21% VAT. What total does the seller pay you, VAT included (in EUR)?

You find a tenant for a long-term flat in Seville. Under the Housing Law 12/2023, who pays the agency's management and contract fees?

1. The landlord
2. The tenant
3. Half each
4. Whoever the agency chooses

In February 2024 the Consumer Affairs ministry warned agencies that were charging tenants one month's rent plus VAT as a 'management fee'. What fine range did it cite for this serious infringement?

1. EUR 150 to EUR 3,000
2. EUR 3,001 to EUR 10,000
3. EUR 10,001 to EUR 100,000, or up to four to six times the illicit profit
4. Only a written warning, with no fine

Your agency brokers both sales and lettings. When does Spain's anti-money laundering Law 10/2010 also cover your rental work?

1. Never: only sales are covered
2. For every rental, whatever the rent
3. Only for tourist rentals
4. When the monthly rent is EUR 10,000 or more

A Spanish-resident buyer offers to pay your agency's EUR 6,000 fee in cash. Which response matches Spanish law?

1. Accept it, as cash below EUR 10,000 is always fine
2. Refuse: cash payments of EUR 1,000 or more are banned when one party acts as a professional, and the client must be identified under Law 10/2010
3. Accept it if he signs a receipt
4. Accept it but split it into two receipts of EUR 3,000

A Chinese investor asks in 2026 whether buying a EUR 600,000 villa still gives him a Spanish golden visa. What do you answer?

1. Yes, the threshold is still EUR 500,000
2. Yes, but only in Andalusia
3. No: investor visas were abolished by Organic Law 1/2025 with effect from 3 April 2025
4. No: the threshold rose to EUR 1 million in 2025

Since 1 July 2025, what does a host need before a short-stay rental can be listed on platforms that take bookings and payments online?

1. A registration number from the national Single Rental Register, issued through the Property Registry
2. Only a regional energy certificate
3. A notarised lease for each guest
4. Nothing new: the national register only applies to hotels

A buyer in Fuengirola wants to run a 40 m2 studio as a holiday let (VUT) for four guests. Under Andalusia's rules as amended by Decree 31/2024, what is the problem?

1. None: Andalusia has no size rules for tourist flats
2. Studios can never be tourist flats in Andalusia
3. He must first obtain a golden visa
4. The decree requires at least 14 m2 per guest, so 40 m2 allows only two places, and the flat must be filed in the Andalusian Tourism Register