The rules you follow every day in Spain

Spain’s rules for agents are lighter than in many markets, but the ones that exist are enforced. Most problems come from a weak mandate, a careless advert, cash or a fee charged to the wrong person. This lesson turns the rules into daily habits.

1. Get a written mandate first

Your contract with the seller is the nota de encargo. Without it, you will struggle to prove your right to a fee. Catalonia’s Decree 12/2010 treats it as the document that starts an agent’s work, and the Balearic register sets a minimum content for it.

A solid nota de encargo states:

• The parties, the property and its Land Registry details.
• The asking price.
• The fee, and whether it is plus VAT or VAT included.
• When the fee is due. OCU advises at the signing of the deed.
• Whether it is exclusive, and for how long. OCU found exclusive terms of 3 to 6 months, sometimes with automatic renewal.

Be fair with exclusivity. The Supreme Court has accepted exclusive mandates, but courts check them under consumer law: clear wording, a fixed term, real work by the agency and proportionate compensation. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs notes that courts usually see penalties above half the fee as excessive when an owner sells on their own. A template that charges 100% in that case is a risk.

Also get every buyer you show around to sign a visit slip.

2. Keep your adverts clean

• Energy label. OCU says the energy efficiency class and label must appear in all sale and rental adverts. Ask the owner for the certificate before you publish.
• Register number. In Catalonia, your AICAT badge and number go on all advertising.
• Holiday lets. Since 1 July 2025, short-term rentals need a number from the national Single Rental Register shown on the listing, and booking platforms must ask for it.
• No promises you cannot keep. Do not advertise a “golden visa” (it ended on 3 April 2025) or a tourist licence you have not checked. Since April 2025, a new tourist flat in a building needs the approval of three fifths of the owners (Cuatrecasas).

3. Know your client

Under Law 10/2010, agents who broker property sales are obliged entities. SEPBLAC, Spain’s financial intelligence unit, supervises them. Royal Decree-law 7/2021 extended the duty to rentals of €10,000 or more a month (Garrigues).

Your duties, in practice:

1. Identify each client with an official document.
2. Identify the beneficial owner when the buyer is a company or trust.
3. Ask where the money comes from, and apply stronger checks when the risk is higher.
4. Keep records of what you checked.
5. Report suspicious deals to SEPBLAC, without telling the client.

Ask your agency for its written procedure and the name of its compliance person.

4. No cash

Law 11/2021 limits cash payments to €1,000 when a business or professional is involved (€10,000 for non-resident individuals not acting as a business). Splitting a payment does not get around the limit. Take your fee by bank transfer against an invoice, every time.

5. On rentals, the landlord pays

The Housing Law 12/2023 changed the Urban Leases Act: on long-term home rentals, agency and contract costs are paid by the landlord. Do not charge tenants a “search fee”, a “management fee” or any other name for the same thing.

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs warned in February 2024 that such charges can be serious infringements, fined from €10,001 to €100,000, or four to six times the illicit profit. In October 2024 it opened investigations into several agencies.

What gets agents fined or suspended

Practice	Risk
Charging tenants on a long-term home rental	Consumer law fines (see above)
Abusive exclusivity or penalty clauses	Clause struck out, fee lost
Working in Catalonia without registration	Sanctions; registered agents can be suspended under Law 18/2007
Taking cash above the limit	Tax fines under Law 11/2021
Skipping AML checks	Sanctions under Law 10/2010
Adverts without the energy label	Consumer and energy rules breached

Your daily habits

• No viewing without a signed mandate.
• No advert without the energy label and, where needed, your register number.
• No offer without ID and a source of funds check.
• No payment in cash.
• No fee to a long-term tenant.

These rules change, so check the official source before you act. Practise them in Spain rules training and client skills. For fees, see agent commission in Spain.

This lesson is general information, not legal advice.