Buy Property in Tenerife as a Foreigner

One team

From the first viewing to the notary.

ROUZ Realty looks for the property, arranges viewings and negotiates; ROUZ Lawyers checks the legal side and prepares the contracts; ROUZ TaxLine explains the taxes. You deal with the same team throughout, and much of the process can be done remotely.

We always invite you to see the property before you decide.
We do not promise results: each purchase depends on the property, the price and your circumstances.
Checked against official sources on 27 October 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.

We speak English. Office: Av. Arquitecto Gómez Cuesta, 12, Edificio Oro Blanco, Playa de las Américas, Monday to Friday, 8:00–15:00.

ROUZ Realty, property purchase in Tenerife

How it works

Six steps to buy a home in Tenerife.

1) Decide in whose name you buy

In your own name, jointly, or through a company. The taxes and what happens on inheritance differ, so this is decided before you sign anything, with ROUZ Lawyers and ROUZ TaxLine. A company is not better by default: it adds costs and obligations.

2) Get your NIE

The NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero) is the personal number Spain gives to foreigners with economic, professional or social ties to the country. It can be requested in Spain or at the Spanish consulate for the place where you live, in person or through a representative whose power of attorney expressly covers it. It is not a residence permit and does not prove residence in Spain (Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, consulate page, consulted 27 October 2026).

3) Bank account and proof of funds

Spanish banks must identify every customer, understand the purpose of the relationship and keep track of where the money comes from (Ley 10/2010, de 28 de abril, arts. 3, 5 and 6). In practice, expect to provide documents about yourself and about the source of the funds for the purchase. Each bank decides whether to open an account.

4) Legal check and reservation contract

Before you commit, ROUZ Lawyers checks charges and mortgages at the Land Registry, planning status, community debts, whether the property is occupied, and that the seller is entitled to sell. The reservation is usually made with a contrato de arras, a deposit contract that sets out the conditions.

5) Deed before a notary and Land Registry

The sale is signed before a Spanish notary and then registered at the Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad). You do not have to travel: you can give a power of attorney to a representative in Spain, either before a notary in your own country (apostilled or legalised and, where required, officially translated), at a Spanish consulate (you attend in person), or by video call before a notary in Spain for special powers only (Portal Notarial del Ciudadano; not for general powers). Source: Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, consulate pages, consulted 27 October 2026.

6) After the purchase

As a non-resident owner you have yearly tax obligations in Spain even if the home stays empty. We explain them on our page about non-resident tax in Spain. If you plan to let the home to tourists, read the section on holiday letting below before you buy.

Taxes when you buy

What you pay on top of the price.

Canarias has its own indirect tax and its own rates for the transfer tax. Each rate below is shown with the rule it comes from.

Resale from a private seller: ITP

The Canary Islands apply the transfer tax (Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales, ITP) to resales, and the buyer pays it. The general rate for real estate is 6.5% (Decreto Legislativo 1/2009, de 21 de abril, Canary Islands tax code, as set out in the guide of the Agencia Tributaria Canaria consulted 27 October 2026).

New home from a developer: IGIC and stamp duty

A first sale by a developer is subject to the Canary indirect tax (IGIC) instead of ITP. The general IGIC rate is 7% (Decreto Legislativo 1/2025, de 13 de octubre, art. 32); that decree also has specific rules for housing operations (art. 38), so we check which rate applies to your property. The deed is also subject to stamp duty (AJD), 1% for transfers subject to IGIC (Agencia Tributaria Canaria guide, consulted 27 October 2026).

A lower rate in some cases

The same Canary tax code sets a 5% ITP rate for a home that will be the buyer’s main residence, provided the legal conditions are met (Decreto Legislativo 1/2009; Agencia Tributaria Canaria guide, consulted 27 October 2026). We check whether it can apply to you; do not assume it does.

Notary and Land Registry

Notary and Land Registry fees are paid in addition to taxes. We give you an estimate of the total costs before you sign.

Holiday letting

Check the rules before you buy to let to tourists.

1) Local planning

Under the Canary Islands law on tourist use of housing (Ley 6/2025, de 10 de diciembre, in force since 13 December 2025), classifying a plot as residential does not by itself allow any kind of tourist accommodation: tourist or holiday use is allowed in a home only if the local planning expressly permits it (art. 3.3, as published in the BOC on 12 December 2025). Whether a particular flat or house can be let to tourists therefore depends on the town hall’s planning, and we check it before you buy.

2) The owners’ association

In a block, an owner who wants to carry out tourist letting needs the prior express approval of the owners’ association, and an agreement to approve, limit, condition or ban it requires the favourable vote of three fifths of the owners representing three fifths of the ownership shares (Ley 49/1960 de Propiedad Horizontal, arts. 7.3 and 17.12, as amended by Ley Orgánica 1/2025, de 2 de enero, in force since 3 April 2025).

These rules change often, so we review the current text for your property. Once you own the home, ROUZ Estate Care can manage it.

How ROUZ helps you buy.

Three areas of the same group, one point of contact.

Search, viewings and negotiationROUZ Realty (in Spanish): rouz-realty. We also help you prepare and present a mortgage application to the banks; each bank sets its own conditions.
NIE, contracts, powers of attorney and legal checkROUZ Lawyers (in Spanish): rouz-lawyers.
Taxes in SpainROUZ TaxLine (in Spanish): rouz-taxline. We advise on Spanish tax only, not on tax in your country of residence.

Frequently asked questions

Your questions, answered.

The NIE is the number you use to deal with the Spanish authorities, including for tax returns. It can be requested in Spain or at the Spanish consulate for the place where you live, and it can take time, so we suggest starting it first (Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, consulate page, consulted 27 October 2026).

It depends on how you pay and on the property, and we tell you at the start. Banks must identify you and ask where the money comes from (Ley 10/2010, de 28 de abril), and each bank decides whether to open an account, so we cannot promise it.

In many cases yes, with a power of attorney to a representative in Spain. It can be granted before a notary in your country, at a Spanish consulate or, for special powers, by video call before a notary in Spain (Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, consulate pages, consulted 27 October 2026). We still recommend that you see the property.

On a resale, the buyer pays ITP at a general rate of 6.5% in the Canary Islands (Decreto Legislativo 1/2009, de 21 de abril). On a new home from a developer, IGIC applies instead, at a general rate of 7% (Decreto Legislativo 1/2025, de 13 de octubre, art. 32), plus stamp duty of 1% on the deed (Agencia Tributaria Canaria guide, consulted 27 October 2026).

Only if local planning expressly allows it (Ley 6/2025, de 10 de diciembre, art. 3.3), and in a block of flats the owners’ association must approve it (Ley 49/1960, arts. 7.3 and 17.12, as amended in 2025). Check it before you buy: we do it for you.

As a non-resident owner you are subject to Spanish non-resident income tax even if the property is empty (Real Decreto Legislativo 5/2004, de 5 de marzo, art. 24.5). The details are on our page about non-resident tax in Spain.

Official sources

Where each figure comes from.

All pages below were consulted on 27 October 2026.

Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores (Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs)NIE · notarial function and powers of attorney
Boletín Oficial del EstadoLey 10/2010 · Ley 6/2025 (Canary Islands) · Ley 49/1960 (Propiedad Horizontal) · Ley Orgánica 1/2025 · Decreto Legislativo 1/2025 (IGIC) · Decreto Legislativo 1/2009 (Canary tax code)
Agencia Tributaria CanariaITP and AJD guide

Keep reading

Buying a home in Tenerife when you live abroad.