Buying a Home in Spain with a Partner: Protecting Each Person's Share

Spain makes it entirely possible for an unmarried couple, including partners of different nationalities, to buy a property together. The notary will simply record the percentage each buyer owns in the title deed (escritura), based on what each person actually contributed or agreed to contribute. There is no requirement to be married, in a civil partnership, or even resident in Spain.

What Spanish law does not do is treat an unmarried partner like a spouse. Without marriage, a registered "pareja de hecho" in some regions, or a private agreement, a surviving partner has no automatic right to the other's share if something goes wrong. For couples moving money across borders, often one in sterling and one in euros, this makes the ownership structure worth planning carefully before signing anything.

The most common structure is simple co-ownership, known as proindiviso: both names appear on the escritura, each with a stated percentage share. That percentage should normally reflect who paid the deposit, who is contributing to any mortgage, and who will cover the renovation or furnishing costs afterwards. Spanish notaries are used to recording unequal shares, for example 70/30 or 60/40, and this is entirely routine for mixed-nationality couples.

Getting the proportion wrong, or leaving it vague "to sort out later", is one of the most frequent sources of friction we see. If one partner is British and paying in pounds sterling, currency movements between the offer and completion can change what each person actually contributed in euro terms, so it helps to fix the agreed share in writing before transferring funds, not after.

Two documents do most of the protective work that marriage would otherwise provide. A private cohabitation or co-ownership agreement, drafted with a lawyer, can set out what happens if the couple separates: whether one partner can buy out the other, how a sale is agreed, and who covers ongoing costs such as community fees and IBI in the meantime. It sits alongside the escritura rather than replacing it.

A Spanish will covering the property is the second essential piece. Spain allows a foreign owner to choose the law of their own nationality to govern inheritance of Spanish assets, which many British buyers use to keep their estate under English or Scottish rules. Without a will naming the partner, Spanish default succession rules may not include an unmarried partner at all, so this is not a step to leave for later.

On top of the price, buyers face the regional transfer tax (ITP) on a resale home, or VAT at 10% plus stamp duty on a new build, along with notary, land registry and gestoría fees. A lawyer is optional under Spanish law but usual for buyers living outside Spain, and particularly useful for drafting the cohabitation agreement alongside the purchase contract.

Once you own the property, each partner who is a non-resident normally files an annual Modelo 210 tax return, and the double taxation agreement between Spain and the United Kingdom means a local adviser should confirm exactly how rental income or any future gain must also be reported to HMRC. Community fees and IBI are yearly costs regardless of how the ownership is split, so the cohabitation agreement should state clearly who pays what share of these.

Spanish mortgages for non-residents exist, and our partner Colibrí Finances can discuss what might be arranged for a joint application, though no lender guarantees approval and we never state a financing percentage in advance. If only one partner is borrowing, the loan and the ownership share do not have to match exactly, but the cohabitation agreement should say how mortgage payments affect each person's equity over time.

Because the United Kingdom uses sterling rather than the euro, both partners should budget for exchange-rate movement between agreeing a price and completing at the notary, and for the cost of converting and transferring funds. Note too that the Spanish Golden Visa route for property investors ended on 3 April 2025 and is no longer available, so residence planning for a non-EU partner now depends on the ordinary visa and permit routes.

Spain is a relatively short flight away from most UK airports, making regular visits to a Spanish property straightforward for owners based in Britain. Many British buyers are drawn to Spain for its climate, coastal lifestyle and established expatriate communities. One practical point to bear in mind is that Spanish inheritance law differs from UK rules, so it is worth taking specific advice on how it may affect the property and one's estate. Currency movements between sterling and the euro can also affect the overall cost of purchase and ongoing expenses.

Spain and the United Kingdom have a double taxation agreement in place, and a local tax adviser should confirm how rental income or gains from Spanish property must be declared and reported to HMRC.

As the United Kingdom is no longer an EU member state, British citizens may stay in Spain for up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa, and must apply for a visa or residence permit for longer stays.

Since the United Kingdom uses the pound sterling (GBP) rather than the euro, buyers should factor in exchange-rate movements and currency conversion costs when paying for a property or transferring funds to Spain.