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Spain holiday homes: Which nationalities favour which coastal regions?

Where do Brits, German, French and Americans look to buy and rent homes on the Spanish coast? New stats reveal some answers.

Published: 29 July 2020 15:32 CEST
Spain holiday homes: Which nationalities favour which coastal regions?
Potential house buyers look at property for sale in Ibiza. AFP
The Spanish coastline is almost 5,000 km long.
 
It has long been at the top of the list for foreigners searching for a holiday home abroad, but different regions are popular depending on the nationality of second-home owners or renters.
 
Based on website visits from June, the Spanish real estate portal Idealista shows the areas that are most popular among holidaymakers from different countries, whether they are looking to buy or rent.
 
Germans
 
Germans represent the largest foreign group in 127 Spanish towns and villages, mostly on the country’s islands. They tend to search for properties in Mallorca, where in some towns demand from Germans surpasses that of locals. In fact, Germans make up over 60% of website visits for properties in towns like Cala d’Or, Cala Ratjada and Santanyi.
 
 
British
 
Brexit has not stopped UK buyers buying homes in Europe and Spain continues to be the top holiday location for Brits, who represent the largest foreign population in 193 Spanish coastal towns.
 
Their favourite region is, unsurprisingly, the sunniest place in Spain: the Costa del Sol. Estepona, Torremolinos and Marbella are among the most popular towns, but they are also keen on houses for sale in Ibiza, particularly in the eastern coastal town of Santa Eulalia del Río.
 
 
Americans
 
The area around Barcelona is popular among Americans, who are particularly interested in buying houses in the coastal towns of El Masnou or Sant Andreu de Llavaneres.
 
However they are also fond of towns in other provinces across the country, like Vizcaya, Cádiz and La Coruña. Interestingly, Americans represented over 50% of website visits for houses in Los Silos, a town in the northwestern part of the island of Tenerife.
 
French
 
The French seem to prefer to stay closer to home, with most of their searches located on the Costa Brava, in the northern province of Gerona.
 
Roses, Tossa de Mar, L’Escala or Sant Feliu de Guíxols are favourite spots. However some do venture further down the coast to the Valencia region, where towns like Meliana, Miramar or Cullera are popular.
 
Italians
 
Italians continue to manifest a keen interest in the Balearic Islands, specifically Formentera and Ibiza. But the more adventurous also venture to Fuerteventura in the Canary islands, in villages like La Oliva, San Bartolomé or Puerto del Rosario.
 
Swiss
 
The Swiss seem to be partial to the lush greenery and sweeping coastal views of Galicia, with a particular interest in the towns around the port city of La Coruña. However, they also concentrare in the town of Gualchos in Granada, where demand from Swiss residents is higher than from national buyers.
 
Swedish
 
The beach-side properties of Nerja in the Costa del Sol are in high demand among Swedes, who represent 63% of website visits to properties in this area in June, compared to 37% by Spaniards. They are also keen on the little resort town of Torrevieja, located on a strip of land between a lake and the Mediterranean in the province of Alicante.
 

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PROPERTY

Q&A: What to do if you buy a property built illegally in Spain

Buying an illegally built property in Spain is fairly common but can have several consequences down the line. Here's what you need to know, how to make it legal, whether you can sell it, and the benefits of doing so.

Published: 25 April 2024 09:35 CEST
Q&A: What to do if you buy a property built illegally in Spain

Unfortunately, over the years, many properties have been built illegally in Spain, not adhering to local rules and regulations. Foreigners who don’t know the legislation can easily fall into the trap of buying one of these properties, only to find out later down the line.

Maybe it’s when they come to sell or perhaps it’s when they want to do works or improvements on the property.

There are several reasons a home could have been built illegally in Spain. Firstly, it could have been built on the wrong type of land. This is it could have been built on suelo rústico, rural land where residential properties are prohibited, also called no urbanizable. 

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It could have also been built too near the coast. This is down to the Ley de Costas or Coastal Law, which was brought into force in December 1989 in order to protect the costas from overdevelopment and high rises spoiling the landscape. 

The law defines different areas of the beach and dictates which is public land, owned by the state and which parts can be owned privately and built on.

If you buy or own a house in one of these non-buildable zones, there are many problems you could face down the line, often sooner rather than later. This is because there are several rules you have to abide by concerning works, reforms and extensions. In some cases, they may not be allowed at all and everything must be approved first by the local government by providing a detailed project.

Because of coastal erosion, this issue is getting worse as some shoreside homes that were once built outside of these areas are finding that they’re now illegal.

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The house may have also had extensions made to it that were built without a license, meaning that the extra parts are illegal.

Q: How do I know if my home is legal or not?

A: Unfortunately it can be difficult to know if your property is legal or not. You could have bought and signed for it with a notary and it could be inscribed on the Property Registry, but this still doesn’t mean it was built to the correct specification and on the right land.

The only way to truly tell is to find out if your home ever had a Licencia de Primera Ocupación or First Occupation license, also referred to as a Cédula de Habitabilidad or Certificate of Habitability. This means that according to the authorities, it is suitable to live in and has the correct licenses.

READ ALSO: How to get Spain’s certificate of liveability for properties

Q: What happens if my property doesn’t have a habitability certificate?

A: If your property has never had a Certificate of Habitability, you must regularise the legal situation. First you’ll need to start a legalisation file (expediente de legalización) and contact the town hall. Depending on the seriousness of the case (ie. where exactly it was built, if there’s any structural danger, whether the entire property is illegal or just an extension) the cost of making an illegal property legal can be considerable. As such, each case must be studied individually with the help of an expert to determine whether it is even feasible or worth the investment.

The next step is to bring in an architect and check whether the property complies with all the building regulations. If it does, you simply need present the expediente de legalización to your local town hall, who will confirm whether or not the property adheres to building regulations and can be made legal.

If it doesn’t, you’ll need to consider whether it will comply with the regulations after some renovations. If that’s the case, you’ll need to draw up a renovations project document (proyecto de reforma) outlining the proposed changes and how they will adhere to building regulations. It must be presented to the town hall along with your expediente de legalización.

According to law firm Acal, the legalisation process can be broken down into steps as follows:

  • Contact the town hall.
  • Begin with the expediente de legalización when the town hall confirm whether or not the property can be made legal.
  • Pay the corresponding fees and taxes (in this case it will be IBI) depending on your municipality and region.
  • If you need to make renovations, obtain the proyecto de reforma and hire an architect.
  • Obtain a building permit from the town hall.
  • Once completed, register the property in the Land Registry.

READ ALSO: What is Spain’s IBI tax and how do I pay it?

Q: Do I really need to make my property legal?

A: Yes, because it will benefit you in the long run. It doesn’t matter what the previous owner told you when you were originally buying the property, owning a property that isn’t fully legal (or legal at all) can create problems and even lead to fines worth up to 20 percent of the property’s value in extreme cases.

By going through the legalisation process and making the relevant renovations, if necessary, you gain a legal property for all purposes and with all the benefits that entails.

You will not have problems setting up, paying, or cancelling electricity, water or gas utility services. You won’t have to undertake reforms and renovation work unofficially, avoiding the eyes of the authorities. Instead you’ll be able to register your property in the Land Registry, which will make things much easier when you decide to sell it or pass it on.

In terms of selling it, perhaps that is the biggest benefit of legalising your illegal property: by registering it properly, you will be able to benefit from its full value when selling it. When a property is illegal, the appraised value will probably be no more than 40-45 percent of its real value at best.

The renovations needed to get your property in shape to meet the building regulations could be costly, but will they cost you half of the total value of your property? 

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