Selling an inherited property in Spain.

A Spanish property cannot be sold until legal title has been transferred from the deceased to the heirs. This is a formal Spanish procedure and it applies whether the deceased was a Spanish or a foreign national. It happens in this order:

• Death certificate. Original issued by the country of death. If issued outside Spain, apostilled under the Hague Convention and sworn-translated into Spanish.
• Certificado de Últimas Voluntades. Spanish last-wills certificate, obtained by the Spanish lawyer, confirming any Spanish will registered by the deceased.
• Will (Spanish or foreign). If foreign, apostilled and translated. The lawyer determines which will governs Spanish real estate under Regulation (EU) 650/2012 (Brussels IV) rules.
• NIE for every heir. Each heir applies for a Spanish tax identification number if they do not have one.
• Aceptación de herencia (acceptance of inheritance). Signed at a Spanish notary by all heirs (or their poderes). This is the moment the property legally passes to the heirs.
• Payment or deferral of Spanish inheritance tax (ISD). Within six months of death, extendable by six months. Rates and reliefs vary by autonomous region.
• Registration of the new title. The updated escritura is filed at the Land Registry. The property is now formally in the heirs' names and can be sold.

Only after that final registration is complete can a reservation contract be signed with a buyer.

The Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones (ISD) is charged on inherited assets. Two points every heir should know:

• It varies by autonomous region. The Valencian Community, where Orihuela Costa is located, applies substantial reliefs for close family (spouse, children, parents). Other regions differ significantly.
• Non-resident heirs are treated equally. Since the 2014 ECJ ruling and subsequent Spanish reform, non-resident heirs from EU/EEA states — and now in most cases from third countries — benefit from the same regional reliefs as resident heirs.

ISD is not the same as the capital gains tax that arises on a later sale. Both may apply and they are calculated separately. Personalised advice from a Spanish tax adviser is essential — never rely on public guidance alone for tax figures.

In most Orihuela Costa inheritance cases, heirs are spread across the UK, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Ireland. Two logistical realities:

• All heirs must sign — directly or via poder. The acceptance of inheritance and, later, the sale escritura, require every heir. Notarised and apostilled powers of attorney to a Spanish lawyer are the standard remote-signing mechanism.
• Disagreement blocks the sale. A single heir can hold up the sale. Where possible, alignment on outcome (sell / rent / buy out one heir) is best resolved at the acceptance-of-inheritance stage, not after a buyer has been found.

From this point, the sale follows the standard Orihuela Costa process. If the heirs are non-resident, the non-resident rules apply: the 3% retention at notary, Modelo 210 within four months, and plusvalía municipal on the increase in land value between the death (not the original purchase by the deceased) and the sale date. See the non-resident sale guide for the standard sale process.

Capital gains are calculated from the value declared at inheritance (the tax basis for the heirs), not the original purchase price paid by the deceased. This is an important difference from a straight resale and often the main tax question heirs bring to their adviser.

• Original death certificate (apostilled and translated if foreign).
• Copy of the Spanish will, or foreign will with apostille and sworn translation.
• Certificado de Últimas Voluntades (Spanish last-wills certificate — obtained by your lawyer).
• Original escritura of the Spanish property.
• Latest IBI receipt.
• Community fee certificate showing no debts.
• NIE for every heir (apply if not already held).
• Bank statements showing property-related payments (community, IBI, utilities).
• Contact details for the executor of the estate in the deceased's home country.