Spain has about 8,000 kilometres of coastline and 3,000 listed beaches, only Italy has a longer coastline in Europe! It’s not a surprise: Spain is one of “the” top tourist destination for European with more than 20% of European travellers. For those in search of sun and sand at any time of year,… yes, you found it!

You will find excellent facilities and sandy beaches in all the Spanish Regions. In 2022, 120.000 properties were bought by foreigners! Have a look at our detailed analysis if you want to read more on that: Who are the foreigners buying properties in Spain?

How could you quickly find a nice beach in Spain?

Of course, you have to ask it to the local residents. But we want to help you if you want to plan before getting there! Don’t hesitate to tell us, should you think we missed one! We helped you with four sources:

1.Our top beaches sorted per Spanish Costas

We have created Infographics for the main Spanish Costas. You will find on those everything you should know on the Spanish Costas: Airports, AVE stations, Cities, Traditional & Flea markets, Outlets, Shopping malls, Unesco sites, kids parks, Natural parks, Golf courses, Universities and of course the top beaches.

All our infographics on the Spanish costas

2.The Blue Flag rating: 579 beaches in Spain

3.The Q rating: 248 beaches in Spain

4.The Top 10 Spanish beaches according to the Tourist Bureau

1. Our ranking of the best beaches in Spain sorted by Costas

We have created a series of “Must see activities” for each Spanish Costas and incorporated those in our newly released infographics. Click on any link and you will find a pdf downloadable version of each of those infographics.

The best beaches in the Spanish Islands

The best beaches in the Balearic Islands

• Balnearion de San Juan
• Playa Illetes (Formentera)
• Cala Comte (Ibiza)
• Playa de Muro Beach (Playa de Muro)
• Cala Pregonda (Minorque)
• Cala d’Hort (Ibiza)
• Cala Macarelleta (Minorque)
• Port de Pollença Beach (Port de Pollença)
• Playa de Alcudia (Port d’Alcudia)
• Playa de Son Bou (Alaior)
• Playa de Llevant (Formentera)
• Cala Turqueta (Ciudadela)
• Cala Mitjana (Cala Galdana)
• Playa Aguas Blancas (Ibiza)
• Playa de Migjorn (Migjorn)
• Cala Saladeta (Sant Antoni de Portmany)
• Cala Millor Beach (Cala Millor)

Find everything on the Balearic Islands: its Airports, stations, its Cities and villages, its shopping places: Traditional & Flea markets, Outlets and shopping malls. What should you visit? The Unesco sites, the parks for kids, the green parks, the golf courses, the universities and last but not least the top beaches.

The best beaches in Canary Islands

• Pozo de la Salud (El Hierro)
• Playa de Cofete (Morro del Jable)
• Playa de las Conchas (Isla de Graciosa)
• El Cotillo Beach & Lagoons (El Cotillo)
• Playa de Benijo (Almaciga)
• Sotavento Beach (Costa Calma)
• Playa de Sotavento (Playa de Jandia)
• Playa del Matorral (Pajara)
• Playa de Las Canteras (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria)
• Monumento Natural de Ajuy (Fuerteventura)
• Playa Del Duque (Costa Adeje)
• Playa Dorada Beach (Playa Blanca)
• Piscinas Naturales El Caleton (Garachico)
• Playa El Bollullo (Puerto de la Cruz)
• Playa de las Vistas (Los Cristianos)
• Playa de Maspalomas (Maspalomas)

Know everything on the Canary Islands: its Airports, its AVE stations, its Cities and villages, its shopping places: Traditional & Flea markets, Outlets and shopping malls. What should you visit? The Unesco sites, the parks for kids, the green parks, the golf courses, the universities and last but not least the top beaches. Check our infographic.

The best beaches in the Spanish Costas

The best beaches in the Costa de Almería

• Balneario de Sierra Alhamilla (Almería),
• Monsul Beach (San Jose),
• Playa de los Muertos (Carboneras),
• Serena Beach (Roquetas de Mar),
• Playa de los Genoveses (Cabo de Gata),
• Playa de Aguadulce (Aguadulce),
• Cala de Enmedio (Agua Amarga),
• El Playazo (Rodalquilar),
• Garrucha Beach (Garrucha),
• Playas de Vera (Vera),
• Cala del Plomo (Agua Amarga)

Know everything on the Costa Almeria: its Airports, its AVE stations, its Cities and villages, its shopping places: Traditional & Flea markets, Outlets and shopping malls. What should you visit? The Unesco sites, the parks for kids, the green parks, the golf courses, the universities and last but not least the top beaches. Check our infographic.

The best beaches in the Costa de Azahar

• Playa Almadrava (Benicàssim),
• Playa Benicarló (Benicarló),
• Balneario Villavieja (Castellón),
• Playa Marina D’Or (Castellón),
• Playa Romana(Castellón),
• Playa Moro (Alcocébre),
• Playa Sant Antoni (Cullera),
• Playa Gandia (Gandia),
• Playa Serradal(Alcocébre),
• Playa Xeraco (Xeraco),
• Playa Peñiscola (Peñíscola),
• Playa Alcossebre (Alcocébre),
• Playa Benicàssim (Benicàssim),
• Playa Vinaros (Vinarós)

Know everything on the Costa Azahar: its Airports, its AVE stations, its Cities and villages, its shopping places: Traditional & Flea markets, Outlets and shopping malls. What should you visit? The Unesco sites, the parks for kids, the green parks, the golf courses, the universities and last but not least the top beaches. Check our infographic.

The best beaches in the Costa Barcelona

• Balneario Titus (Arenys de Mar),
• Balneario Hotel Colón (Caldes d’Estrac),
• Santa Susanna,
• Malgrat de mar (Maresme),
• PREMIÀ DE MAR (Maresme),
• San Bartolomé y santa Tecla,
• Vilassar de mar (Barcelona),
• playa principal de Calella (Calella),
• Roca Grossa (Calella), Barceloneta Beach (Barcelona),
• La Playa de Sitges (Sitges),
• Beach Castelldelfels Barcelona (Castelldefels),
• Playa de Castelldefels (Castelldefels),
• Playa Balmins (Sitges),
• Bogatell Beach (Barcelona),
• Platja de Ribes Roges (Vilanova i la Geltru),
• Badalona Beach (Badalona),
• Passeig Marítim (Sitges),
• Nova Mar Bella Beach (Barcelona),
• Playa de Sant Sebastia (Sitges),
• Ocata Beach (El Masnou),
• Delta del Llobregat (El Prat de Llobregat),
• Playa del Hombre Muerto (Sitges),
• Sausalito Beach (Sitges),
• Platja de la Nova Icaria (Barcelone),
• Platja de Gava (Gava)

Know everything on the Costa de Barcelona: its Airports, its AVE stations, its Cities and villages, its shopping places: Traditional & Flea markets, Outlets and shopping malls. What should you visit? The Unesco sites, the parks for kids, the green parks, the golf courses, the universities and last but not least the top beaches. Check our infographic.

The best beaches in the Costa Blanca

• Poniente Beach (Benidorm),
• Playa de la Fossa o Levante (Calpe),
• Arenal Beach (Javea),
• Las Salinas de Torrevieja (Torrevieja),
• Promenade of Calpe (Calpe),
• Guardamar Moncayo Beach (Guardamar del Segura),
• Cala Finestrat Beach (Finestrat),
• Playa del Albir (El Albir), Playa El Carabassi (Elche),
• Cala del Moraig (Benitachell),
• Playa de Guardamar (Alicante),
• Altea Beach (Altea),
• Playa L’Ampolla (Moraira)

Know everything on the Costa Blanca: its Airports, its AVE stations, its Cities and villages, its shopping places: Traditional & Flea markets, Outlets and shopping malls. What should you visit? The Unesco sites, the parks for kids, the green parks, the golf courses, the universities and last but not least the top beaches. Check our infographic.

The best beaches in the Costa Brava

• Cala Senyor Ramon,
• Platja de s’Agaró,
• Cala Futadera,
• Platja del Castell de Palamos,
• Cala Boadella

Know everything on the Costa Brava: its Airports, its AVE stations, its Cities and villages, its shopping places: Traditional & Flea markets, Outlets and shopping malls. What should you visit? The Unesco sites, the parks for kids, the green parks, the golf courses, the universities and last but not least the top beaches. Check our infographic.

The best beaches in the Costa Calida

• Playa de Calblanque (Cartagena),
• Cala del Pino et Plage Entremares (La Manga),
• Playa Portús (Cartagena),
• Playa Barraca Quemada de La Llana (San Pedro del Pinatar),
• Playa Amarilla (Águilas),
• Playa La Carolina (Águilas),
• Playa de Percheles (Mazarrón),
• Playa Baño de las Señoritas (Lorca),
• Cala Cortina (Cartagena),
• Cala Blanca (Lorca)

Know everything on the Costa Calida: its Airports, its AVE stations, its Cities and villages, its shopping places: Traditional & Flea markets, Outlets and shopping malls. What should you visit? The Unesco sites, the parks for kids, the green parks, the golf courses, the universities and last but not least the top beaches. Check our infographic.

The best beaches in the Costa Daurada

• Balneario de Coma-Ruga (Vendrell)
• Llevant Beach (Salou)
• Llarga Beach (Salou)
• Playa de la Pineda (La Pineda)
• Capellans Beach (Salou)
• Cambrils Beach Platja Prat d’En Fores y Regueral (Cambrils)
• Playa El Torn Naturist Beach (L’Hospitalet de l’Infant)
• Playa El Milagro (Tarragona)
• Playa de Arrabassada (Tarragona)
• Playa La Savinosa (Tarragona)
• Platja de la Llosa (Cambrils)
• Playa Cristal (Miami Platja)

Know everything on the Costa Daurada: its Airports, its AVE stations, its Cities and villages, its shopping places: Traditional & Flea markets, Outlets and shopping malls. What should you visit? The Unesco sites, the parks for kids, the green parks, the golf courses, the universities and last but not least the top beaches. Check our infographic.

The best beaches in the Costa de la Luz

• Playa de Isla de Canela,
• Playa de Punta Umbria,
• Playa de torre de la Higuera,
• Playa de matalascañas,
• Playa cruz del mar,
• Playa del rompidillo,
• Playa la caleta,
• Playa de la Cortadura,
• Cala de Roche,
• Playa de los caños de Meca,
• Playa del Cañuelo,
• Paya de los Lances

Know everything on the Costa de la Luz: its Airports, its AVE stations, its Cities and villages, its shopping places: Traditional & Flea markets, Outlets and shopping malls. What should you visit? The Unesco sites, the parks for kids, the green parks, the golf courses, the universities and last but not least the top beaches. Check our infographic.

The best beaches in the Costa del Sol

• Playa de la Cala Mijas (La Cala de Mijas)
• Playa La Carihuela (Torremolinos)
• Playa El Bajondillo (Torremolinos)
• Burriana Beach (Nerja)
• Puerto Cabopino Beach and Marina (Marbella)
• Playa de La Malagueta (Malaga)
• Playa Del Cristo (Estepona)
• Playa de la Cala el Cañuelo (Nerja)
• Playa de San Pedro de Alcantara (San Pedro de Alcantara)
• Playa Los Alamos / El Canuelo (Torremolinos)
• Playa Arroyo de La Miel (Benalmadena)
• Carvajal Beach (Benalmadena)

Find everything on the Costa del Sol: its Airports, its AVE stations, its Cities and villages, its shopping places: Traditional & Flea markets, Outlets and shopping malls. What should you visit? The Unesco sites, the parks for kids, the green parks, the golf courses, the universities and last but not least the top beaches. Check our infographic.

The best beaches in the Costa Tropical

• Playa de Calahonda,
• Playa de La Rijana,
• Playa de Castell de Ferro,
• Playa de La Mamola,
• Playa de La Herradura

Know everything on the Costa Tropical: its Airports, its AVE stations, its Cities and villages, its shopping places: Traditional & Flea markets, Outlets and shopping malls. What should you visit? The Unesco sites, the parks for kids, the green parks, the golf courses, the universities and last but not least the top beaches. Check our infographic.

The best beaches in the Costa de Valencia

• Playa de Malvarrosa,
• Playa de Pinedo,
• Platja de la Malladeta,
• Playa de San Antonio,
• Playa de Jeresa,
• Playa de Daimus,
• Playa de Oliva

Know everything on the Costa de Valencia: its Airports, its AVE stations, its Cities and villages, its shopping places: Traditional & Flea markets, Outlets and shopping malls. What should you visit? The Unesco sites, the parks for kids, the green parks, the golf courses, the universities and last but not least the top beaches. Check our infographic.

2. Blue Flag rating: 579 beaches in Spain

In Spain, you can choose from 579 beaches, 100 Marina resorts and five sustainable tourist boats, all distinguished with the prestigious Blue Flag award, thanks to their quality and safety.

As such, Spain is the top nation in terms of site ranked by the Blue Flag system.

What does this mean?

• One out of five beaches in Spain has a Blue Flag!
• One out of six beaches in the World is Spanish!

This award is bestowed by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). This institution was created in 1987 by Europe but now is a worldwide organisation.

What does this distinction guarantee?

The sites are ranked on 31 different criteria’s: Environment, Water Quality, Safety,… Have a look at the full list of criteria’s here.

Find the map with all the beaches, sorted by Access to the beach for disabled, Nudist, Sandy, Rocky, Inland, Coastal,…

3. Q for Quality distinction rating: 248 beaches in Spain

This rating is awarded by the Spanish Tourism Quality Institute (ICTE). The Tourism Institute ranks not only beaches but as well many different sites for the quality and safeness of their sites: campings, hotels, Golfs, Touristic activities,…

Find all lists of the best beaches for all the Spanish Costas in our papers on all the Spanish Costas and on the infographics: Enjoy all the Spanish Costas: get the best out of it: our top papers of 2017

4. The top 10 beaches according to the Tourist Bureau of Spain

1. Illetes, Formentera, Balearic Islands
2. As Catedrais, Galicia
3. La Concha, San Sebastian
4. Bolonia, Costa de la Luz
5. El Cofete, Las Palmas, Canary Islands
6. Cala Bassa, Ibiza, Balearic Islands
7. Las Canteras, Las Palmas, Canary Islands
8. Rodas, Galicia
9. Platja Gran, Cadaqués, Costa Brava
10. Cué, Llanes, Asturias, Costa Verde

Source: Spain Tourist Bureau

If you want to have some pictures of those beaches, google image is a good start but have a look at the impressive database on the website of Aena (the company managing the Spanish airports).

Are you booking your holidays soon? Read our last paper: Our best ideas for planning your holidays in Spain! Our top 2017 papers!

Here are 8 reasons why you need more holidays to enjoy the best Spanish beaches?

Don’t hesitate to tell us what’s your favourite beach or if you found an even more beautiful one to share with our readers!

Looking for a lawyer, an architect, a property hunter in Spain? Ask us directly!

Stéphane

Senior analyst and strategist at HTBIS

Check the full HTBIS team here

The post Summer Edition: Where will you find the top Beaches in Spain? appeared first on How to buy in Spain.

Everything you ever wanted to know about the Costa Tropical

As the name implies, this whole area is famous because of its tropical-like weather even though it is located on the Mediterranean coast. As in most of Spain, summers have very long days, with more than eleven hours a day of pure uninterrupted sunlight, and 30 sunny days a month, this truly is a paradise for all the beach lovers out there. Temperatures vary wildly, as they tend to do in Mediterranean areas, in summer the average is 26 degrees Celsius (79 for the Americans out there), and in the winter it’s more like 13 degrees (55 Fº). This means that you could possibly get up to 8 months of bathing time a year. Have a look at our weather infographics for the top 20 Spanish cities with all the monthly information up to date.

Monthly Weather Statistics on top Spanish Cities

Location-wise, Costa Tropical is a region inside the Province of Granada, which is itself part of the Community of Andalucía, the southern-most Region of Spain. The Costa is made up of 17 smaller municipalities, that are all joined under the touristic name of Costa Tropical, the only coastline inside of Granada.

This territory has its limits with the region of Poniente Almeriense, Almería, on the East, with Axarquía, Málaga, to the west and to the north with Alhama. The entire southern border of this region is nothing but gorgeous beaches facing the Mediterranean Sea and the coasts of northern Africa.
The capital city of this geographical area is Motril, a small town within spitting distance of the sea. It houses 60 thousand people and it’s the centre for all economic and cultural activities in this area.

This city is a treasure for history lovers, as it has very deep roots in Spanish lands. It is thought to be mentioned in La Bética, a book dating from the times of the Roman Empire.

The centuries of Muslim dominance in Andalucía gave the city its name since it was only retaken by the Spaniards in 1489, three years before the Reconquista ended and Christopher Columbus sailed to discover the new world.

This means that there are still many examples of mosques and other Muslim architecture, that you can get a better look at by going to the Museum of Motril’s History, where the different stages of the city will be explained.

Among the other cities in this area, there is Almuñecar, with a population of 27 thousand people, Salobreña with 12 thousand, Albuñol with 7 thousand and Gualchos with 4 thousand. Thus, we can see that this is a rural area, with small towns and villages all over the territory and a low population density.

As for accessibility and transport, there is not much to say. This is not a heavily populated area, there is no AVE highspeed train station in this area, nor are their normal train stations, and the closest airport is in the city of Málaga, almost 100 kilometres away (63 miles). A car or some other motored vehicle is a must if you want to live comfortably in this area.

The beachfront of Almuñécar

Why not enjoy some holidays in Costa Tropical?

If your objective is to get a place to go on holiday, you are looking for the right place. There are many reasons why you might want to have a property on this area, such as warmer winters, sunny summers, and as many beaches as you are willing to count.

There are many beautiful beaches: Playa de Calahonda, Playa de La Rijana, Playa de Castell de Ferro, Playa de La Mamola, Playa de La Herradura, amongst many, many others. All of these beaches have been granted the European Union’s blue flag, which indicates the high quality of a beach for swimmers and tourists to visit.

There are as well a number of festivals and parties celebrated throughout the year, such as the party celebrated in Easter time, known as Semana Santa (Holy week), Fiesta de Cruces in May 12^th, each town has an Anejo festival dedicated to a virgin, such as Carhuna’s festival in honour of the virgin of the plains, La garnatilla’s in honor of Saint Cecilio, Calahonda’s in honor of Virgen del Carmen and Saint Joaquín, among many, many others.

There are, also, natural parks that you can visit, such as Sierra Nevada national park, Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara y Alhama natural parks, where you will enjoy great views of the beautiful Spanish landscape.

If you are planning to come with children, you don’t need to worry, for if they ever get bored of pools and beaches, you can take them to the Botanical Park El Majuelo or the Aquarium of Mediterranean wildlife of Almuñecar. If everything else fails, you can always go to the Motril’s Shopping mall.

Know everything on the Costa Tropical: its Airports, its AVE stations, its Cities and villages, its shopping places: Traditional & Flea markets, Outlets and shopping malls. What should you visit? The Unesco sites, the parks for kids, the green parks, the golf courses, the universities and last but not least the top beaches. Check out our infographic.

Downloadable pdf of our map of the Costa Tropical

Planning to retire soon? The Costa Tropical could be the nice place you are looking for.

There are many upsides to Costa Tropical if you are looking to retire or enjoy a tranquil life. There are a huge variety of activities available, nonetheless, not many of the king that would get your heart pounding, they are more of the kind that will make you go home with a smile on your face and will make you enjoy yourself for several hours.

Sightseeing is very big in this area due to the number of monuments and attractive locations, there are more than a dozen famous churches and mosques in Motril only, such as Convento de las Nazarenes, Sanctuary of Nuestra Señora de la Victoria, and the Church of the Divina Pastora, the second most worshipped virgin in the world.

But religious buildings aren’t the only thing there to be seen, there are also several famous civil buildings such as the town hall, Calderón de la Barca’s Theatre, the house of Los Bates, and many others to admire.

And, of course, let’s not forget about the Museums, there is an especially large number of Museums in this area, considering its population, this is largely due to the high number of tourists that come to visit every year. Amongst the Museums, there are The Preindustrial museums of sugarcane (a very important crop in the area), the before-mentioned Museum of Motril’s History, and José Hernández Quero’s Art centre.

Nonetheless, if you are thinking of becoming a permanent resident of Costa Tropical, there are many things that you have to be wary of, such as the lack of a Hospital nearby, the nearest one is in the city of Granada.

This doesn’t mean that there aren’t health facilities, there are, but if you need any procedures that require some sort of equipment, or you require the attention of a specialist, you might have to go to Granada to be able to get the attention you need.

The seaviews of Salobreña

What about the real estate market in Costa Tropical?

This area is dominated by a subtropical climate, meaning that its climate replicates a tropical one for most of the year, but still has some characteristics from template areas, like seasons. These are the factors that have made this area very important and valuable from an agricultural perspective since crops like avocados, mango, and others that can only be grown in the tropics can be grown here.

This has made the value of the land rise in the last few years as the popularity of these kinds of vegetables is increasing, and the only other way to get them is by importing them either from Africa or South América, and none of these is cheap options.

If you know about agriculture, have done it before and are looking for a good place to get farmland, this is a great opportunity. Nevertheless, if you are not that experienced with these kinds of projects, it is not advisable to put your money in here, especially considering that a sub-tropical climate is not exactly the same as a tropical one (hence why it’s called sub-tropical), and it can be hard to grow tropical plants in here if you don’t know what you are doing.

Now, if what you are looking for is a real estate return, you could find better places than Costa Tropical. The population in this area is mostly rural, and the density is very low and has been decreasing in the last few years as more and more people move into the big cities. Of course, if you are looking to buy a large rural property for a small investment in a rural area, this could be a good place to search.

Due to the ageing population of the local towns, that are getting smaller by the year, the average price of the residential areas has been steadily decreasing in the last 15 years, and there is no reason to think the trend would change anytime soon, as the younger population migrates looking for better opportunities in nearby larger cities like Málaga.

The farmlands, contrary to what many people would think, do gain value over time, especially the ones in this area, but the profits would not be enough to justify the risk and the amount of necessary starting capital.

To conclude, if you want to invest in Costa Tropical, your best option is to get into farming.

Check the real estate price evolution for the region of Andalusia and Spain since 1995

Read more: Real estate prices in all the Spanish regions available in our Spanish property report updated quarterly.

Conclusion

The Costa Tropical is a beautiful place, where you will find gorgeous beaches everywhere you look, a deep, interesting history, tons of fun activities and places to go to, as well as a relaxed lifestyle for those who just want to step back and enjoy life.

The farmlands are a great opportunity for those knowledgeable in agriculture, but the market doesn’t offer much for the inexperienced.

1. Best Professionals 2. Follow up 3. Competitive pricing 4. Partners 5. Qualitative Check

Costa Tropical Map information

• Airports: The closest airport is the one in Málaga
• Ave stations: –
• Cities: Motril (60,400 inhabitants), Almuñécar (27,400 inhabitants), Salobreña (12,400 inhabitants), Albuñol (7,000 inhabitants), Gualchos (4,900 inhabitants)
• Unesco sites: – Find all the UNESCO Sites in Spain on our page: “10 reasons why you should buy in Spain”
• Top beaches: Playa de Calahonda, Playa de La Rijana, Playa de Castell de Ferro, Playa de La Mamola, Playa de La Herradura
• Kids Parks: “Parque Botánico El Majuelo (Almuñécar), Acuario de Fauna Mediterránea de Almuñécar (Almuñécar)
• Shopping Malls & Outlets: Centro Comercial Motril (Motril)
• Traditional & Flea markets: Zoco del Salon (Granada)
• Top golf courses: Los Moriscos Play with the best golf clubs sets in Spain thanks to our local partner.
• Natural Parks: Sierra Nevada National Park, Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara y Alhama Natural Park
• University: Universidad de Granada (Granada)
• Hospitals: Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves (Granada)

Read further on the Costa Tropical and Spain

1. TOURIST OFFICES:
   • Costa Tropical, Andalusia Tourist office
   • Almuñécar Tourist office
   • Granada and Costa Tropical Tourist office
   • Motril Tourist office
2. AIRPORTS: All the Spanish Airports and flights info on the official site of AENA
3. TRAINS: Renfe website
4. BEACHES: Where will you find the top beaches in Spain?
5. GOLFS: What are the top golf courses in Spain? Play with the best golf clubs sets in Spain thanks to our local partner.
6. KIDS PARKS: Our selection of the Top parks for children in Spain
7. MUST VISIT IN SPAIN: Our top 5 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Spain, Find all the Unesco sites in Spain

Find all our other articles and maps on the Spanish Costas:

With our team of more than +100 local real estate partners, HowtobuyinSpain helps foreigners to buy real estate in Spain.

The experts from our network are active in all the fields you need:

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Big refunds could be on the way for home sellers over “Wrong tax charge” in Spain

Many people have paid a ‘plusvalía’ levy when selling their property, even if its value has dropped, but this might be declared unconstitutional.

After the scandal over the misleading sale of preferential shares in savings banks and the upcoming big payouts to homeowners for ‘floor clause’ interest rate over payments, the next wave of mass financial lawsuits and possible refunds is already on the horizon.

An increasing number of property owners are taking legal action

An increasing number of property owners are taking legal action against local councils over the forced payment of ‘plusvalía’ (increased value) tax when they sell up. Town halls are continuing to charge the seller this tax even if the property is being sold at less or at the same price than the price they originally paid for it. Also, there are cases involving properties in which the sales price was slightly superior to the purchase price but once all the expenses were deducted, there is no gain actually.

The loophole arises as the value of the home that the council uses for it calculation is its ‘valor cadastral’, (official taxable value). Following the pre-crisis property boom, real market values rose well above this official valuation and councils can still therefore keep collecting the money, which is an important source of revenue, even if the seller is losing money.

Legal actions are taken

An increasing number of people are taking legal action against councils. In December, a case was filed against Fuengirola town hall, after a woman who had bought a flat for 220,000 euros and sold for 70,000 euros less still had to pay 5,000 euros of this increased value tax. Our Law firm won this case.

Campaigners against the charges, who are increasing in number, argue that the charge violates article 31 of the Spanish constitution which covers taxpayers’ rights.

In order to study a possible claim, the following documents are necessary:

• title deed of the purchase
• title deed of the sale
• and the proof of value added tax payment.

Hoping this information will be of your interest, I am available for any other information you may need.

Do you want to check the profile of Caroline and get in touch with her, our legal partner in Andalusia?

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Looking for another real estate expert in Spain: Mortgage, Insurance, Survey of property, Property hunting, …? Ask us directly one of our 100+ local partner!

Caroline

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In 2018, we wrote our 13 articles on the Spanish Costas with everything you should know about them: Airports, AVE stations, the biggest Cities, Traditional & Flea markets, Outlets, Shopping malls, Unesco sites, kids parks, Natural parks, Golf courses, Universities and top beaches.

You can find and download all our Spanish Costas infographics from our “Resources” section “Infographic on the Spanish Costas“.

Know everything on the Spanish Costas: Airports, AVE stations, Cities and villages, shopping places: Traditional & Flea markets, Outlets and shopping malls. What should you visit? The Unesco sites, the parks for kids, the green parks, the golf courses, the universities and last but not least the top beaches. Download our infographics.

Here is the list of all our Spanish Costas articles ranked by # of views

1. Everything you ever wanted to know about the Costa de Barcelona

2. Everything you ever wanted to know about the Canary Islands

3. Everything you ever wanted to know about the Balearic Islands

4. Everything you ever wanted to know about the Costa del Sol

5. Everything you ever wanted to know about the Costa de Valencia

6. Everything you ever wanted to know about the Costa Blanca

7. Everything you ever wanted to know about the Costa de Almeria

8. Everything you ever wanted to know about the Costa Calida

9. Everything you ever wanted to know about the Costa Tropical

10. Everything you ever wanted to know about the Costa Azahar

11. Everything you ever wanted to know about the Costa de la Luz

12. Everything you ever wanted to know about the Costa Daurada

13. Everything you ever wanted to know about the Costa Brava

Not a big surprises, the Costas with the biggest interest are the same where foreigners buy properties: Here is the article we wrote on that subject in November this year: The top 10 Spanish cities where foreigners love to buy properties!

Looking for an expert in Spain? Ask us directly!

Stéphane

Senior analyst and strategist at HTBIS

Check the full HTBIS team here

The post Happy new year. Discover in 2019, the must do activities on all the Spanish Costas appeared first on How to buy in Spain.

What is the short term rental regulation in Andalusia?

Our local partner, Caroline, is working at the biggest law office in Andalusia and gives us an update on short term or tourist rental regulation in Andalusia.

The 2^nd February 2016, the Government Board approved decree 28/2016 which regulates the properties with touristic purposes. It intends to facilitate the coexistence of all the different accommodation types.

Entrance in force

Three months after the Decree publication in the official Bulletin of the Junta of Andalusia.

Object

The object of this decree is to regulate the properties that offer touristic accommodation service in order to establish a set of minimum quality guarantees and security for tourism users.

Application area

It is understood as properties with touristic purposes all the properties located on land for residential use which will offer, for a price, an accommodation service in the area of the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, on a regular basis and with touristic purposes.

It is presumed that there is a regular basis and a touristic purpose when the property is marketed or promoted by means of touristic supply channel.

The touristic supply channels are: travel agencies, companies that intervene or organize touristic services and channels that include the possibility of reserving accommodation.

The following are excluded from the application area of the rule:

1. Properties that, for vacation or touristic purposes, are lent without a financial consideration.
2. Properties rented for a longer period than two months used continuously by the same person.
3. Properties located in rural areas.
4. Complexes composed of three or more properties by the same holder or exploiter that are located in the same property or group of properties, adjacent.

Types of properties with touristic purposes

1. Complete, when the property is provided completely
2. By rooms, where the owner lives in the same.

The maximum capacity of these will be limited as provided by the Occupation License. When the property is complete, it cannot be more than 15 positions, and in the case that it is rooms, it cannot be more than 6 positions. In both cases, it cannot exceed four positions per room.

What are the obligations of the owner or person exploiting the property?

1. Registration in the Tourism Registry in Andalusia

At the beginning of the provision of accommodation services of the property with touristic purposes and to market the property, the corresponding declaration responsible before the relevant tourism board will have to be formalized.

Once the property has been registered, the registration code obtained will have to be indicated in all the publicity or promotion carried out by any mean.

The registration is free.

2. Formalization of the contract

All the users at the moment of the reception will be provided with a contract which includes at least the following information:

– The name of the person or the exploiting entity of the property

– The alphanumeric code of the registration in the Tourism Registry in Andalusia.

– The number of people that are going to occupy the property

– The entrance and leaving dates

– The total price of the stay

– A telephone number where they can be attended immediately.

3. House conditioning (Compliance of the touristic property requirements: see the full list at the bottom of this article).

4. Identification of the user of the property with effects of completing the corresponding entrance forms in accordance to the regulation in force.

5. Provision of the proof of payments of the services and down payments, made, if applicable.

6. Penalty System

When an owner has initiated a touristic activity without presenting the declaration, this will be considered as clandestine activity, being categorized the said activity as serious infringement by article 71.1 of Law 13/2011.

According to Law 13/2011, the infringements classified as serious will be punished with a fine from 2001 to 18000 euros. As an accessory fine, they can impose the suspension of the touristic services or the temporary closing of the establishment, if necessary, for less than 6 months.

What are the requirements for the House?

Requirements for properties with touristic purposes

Properties with touristic purposes must comply with the following requirements:

1. Have a First Occupancy Licence and comply at all times with the technical and quality conditions demanded for the properties.
2. The bedrooms will have sufficient direct ventilation to the exterior or to patios and a system of darkening of windows.
3. Being sufficiently furnished and fitted with the equipment and fixtures necessary for the immediate use and in accordance to the number of spaces available.
4. Air conditioning systems in bedrooms and living room for the period between May and September, both included. And for the period between October and April it must have heating.
5. First aid kit
6. Provide tourism information, physical or electronic media, of the area, leisure areas, restaurants and cafes, shops and supermarkets, car parks near the property, existing medical services in the area, urban transport, plan of the area and entertainment guide.
7. All the properties will have a Complain and Claims Form at the disposal of the users, and a sign informing of the same in a visible place within the property.
8. Cleaning of the property and the entry and leaving of new clients.
9. Bed linen, household items in general, depending on the occupation of the property and a replacement set.
10. Provide the users a telephone number to attend and resolve queries immediately, any consultation or incidence related to the property.
11. Have at the disposal of the users, information and instructions of the electric appliances or other devices that require the same for the correct use.
12. Inform users of the internal rules related to the use of the installations, rooms and equipment in the property as well as the admission and existence of pets in the property, restrictions for smoking as well as the restricted areas.

Source: INFORMATION NOTE: DECREE 28/2016, OF THE 2^ND FEBRUARY, CONCERNING PROPERTIES WITH TOURISTIC PURPOSES AND MODIFICATION OF DECREE 194/2010 OF THE 20^TH APRIL, CONCERNING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF TOURISTIC APARTMENTS

Check the full profile of Caroline and her team and get in touch with her, our legal partner in Andalusia?

Caroline

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