Certificado registral: This certificate which can be obtained from the Spanish Property Ownership Registry gives information about debts relating to a specific property.

Obtaining certification is a straightforward process and essential in order to guarantee who the legal owner of a property is. It is always important to ask yourself these questions: Is the person who claims to be the legal owner really so? Is the property being used as a guarantee for other debts? Does it have an unpaid mortgage attached to it or any other cargas? If you want to avoid any unpleasant surprises before you sign a property sale contract is it important that you or your Spanish lawyer find out this information beforehand.

It is important to differentiate between the different certificates which the Property Ownership Registry can issue.

A nota simple has exactly the same information as the certificado registral but as its name suggests, it is purely informative (simple) and as such it cannot be used as a legal document in a court of law. On the other hand the Certificado registral does have the status of a legal certificate so that the information it contains about debts and the legal ownership of a propertycan be presented as a legal document in a Spanish court of law if necessary.

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