Once again I would like to thank Joan Stock for her support and contribution, researching documents and checking the final manuscript for facts, omissions and errors.

The Story of Spain by Mark Williams and The New Spaniards by John Hooper provided an insight into recent social history. How the last 70 years has affected today’s new foreigner and Spanish laws is solely my interpretation.

There were considerable resources available to assist in compiling this book. Most were outdated or inaccurate. However, requests were always answered promptly by the British Consulate in Spain and the Spanish Embassy in London.

While most of Spain’s visitors are transient, taking short-term holidays, some northern Europeans become temporary or permanent residents, settling mainly near the Mediterranean coast or on the Islands. An early trickle of migrants in the 1960s has now become a steady flow, making Spain one of the principal holiday homes and international retirement locations for people originating from northern Europe.

While climate is important, another reason for Spain’s popularity is grounded in personal finances, as there are considerable house price differentials between northern and southern Europe. There are also lower living costs, cheaper food, reduced heating bills and lower taxes. A slower pace of life, feeling more relaxed and the opportunities for golf, sailing and active sports attract many. Some are influenced by the presence of a British community, a good social life and a friendly local population. All have a degree of antipathy to the UK and generally wish to live abroad for at least part of the year, or as long-term expatriates with no desire to return to the UK.

There are 250,000 ex-pats (a strange term suggesting that if they return home one day they will become pats again) along the 120km stretch of the Costa del Sol, with perhaps an even larger population along the Costa Blanca and as many as 100,000 who have made it to the Islands. With an additional 300,000 Spanish-home-owning, permanent holidaymakers you have a British ex-pat community rapidly approaching a million. These statistics are approximate, as a large percentage of people who own a property do not reside full-time in Spain and there are those who reside, but choose not to declare their presence in the country for tax purposes.

There is little information available to help newcomers deal with Spanish laws. Most rely on friends or books for information, but the real need is for detailed information in a country where contradictions are common. The law states that if you spend more than six months a year in Spain it is necessary to become a resident and pay taxes to Spain. But many do not! The law states that the market value of the house, or close to it, has to be declared in the deeds. But many do not! There are traffic laws, but these are ignored by tolerant police. Why? The answers to these conundrums are simple. There is the law and the application of a law, and the two can be different. A perplexed foreigner who erects a garden shed of three square meters in a garden of 640 square meters is told to remove it because it is against the law. But a local solicitor, who understands urban matters, obtains permission because they understand the law is one thing and its interpretation by an official at the town hall is a totally different matter.

Perplexity does not end there. A foreign property owner in Spain is confronted by the law from two countries upon considering inheritance – one country wants inheritance tax, yet accepts that another country’s law will be followed for inheritance rules.

Spanish law is evolved by a history of codes, for it is not the common law of England and Wales based on precedent. It is strongly influenced by the last 70 years, where current law is set against the political and economic context of that period. The empty fincas of a rural housing market are a throwback to the ‘years of hunger’. Religious influence binds together unusual inheritance laws and consequently strong family units. Tolerant policing is a function of delays in the legal system. Immigration regulations and laws about foreigners are a function of Spain’s membership of the EU, where increased prosperity has also led to an influx of illegal immigrants from Morocco.

This is a book about the laws of Spain for readers who will probably buy a house and possibly a car. As a consequence they most certainty will deal with legal issues and definitely with some Spanish authorities. They will need to understand several forms of taxation and obey laws in a country with different customs and a different language. A tall order! To assist in this process this book does not deal with all Spanish law – that would be impossible. It describes procedures for essential tasks. It tells you when to go it alone, when to get advice and when it is necessary to stand back, allowing an expert to take over.