Buying an inherited flat in Alicante: a guide for multiple heirs

A Tuesday in a notary's office in central Alicante. Three siblings sign papers for an apartment that no longer belongs to their mother. The portera walks in, drops a bundle of keys on the table, walks out. It is raining outside. One sibling lives in Belgium, another in Calp, the third wants to buy out the first two and keep living there. That scene repeats month after month across the province of Alicante, and every time someone hunts for a resale flat the chances are high that an inheritance is somewhere in its story.

Buying an inherited flat is not buying any flat. There is a paper trail to walk before signing and a tax map that shifts at every step. This guide explains what really happens when several heirs sit behind the home you want, and what needs to be settled before the deal can reach the notary without surprises.

The paper trail starts with the death

After the death, the heirs do not own anything yet. Title sits in an intermediate state called herencia yacente, the unaccepted estate, and only after a formal acceptance and division do the heirs become real titleholders. Until that chain closes, the Property Registry of Alicante will record nothing, and so no one can sell you the flat.

Four documents do the foundational work. The literal death certificate is requested from the Civil Registry where the death was recorded. The Certificate of Last Will (Certificado de Actos de Última Voluntad), which states whether a will was made and before which notary, is obtained from the Spanish Ministry of Justice: there is a fifteen working day wait after the death, the fee is around four euros under the General State Budget, and an online application is possible with a digital ID or certificate. The Insurance Coverage Registry certificate is requested the same way and sometimes uncovers life policies the heirs did not know about. Finally, the will itself (or a notarial declaration of heirs if the deceased died intestate) closes the loop and states who inherits and in what share.

Acceptance and partition: two acts, one notary

The acceptance of the inheritance is signed in a public deed. In the same session the heirs usually take an inventory and divide the assets: who gets the apartment in Benalúa, who gets the chalet in El Campello, who gets the bank account. The partition turns an undivided share into concrete ownership. If the split is unequal, the difference is compensated, and that compensation carries tax consequences we will reach in a moment.

While the heirs have not signed a partition, what exists is a comunidad hereditaria, a hereditary community. Everyone owns everything in proportion to their share, no one owns a single room, and no one can sell unilaterally. For an outside buyer to sign, that community must be dissolved beforehand (through partition) or dissolved in the same act, with all heirs selling together to the buyer.

The big Valencian tax shift: a 99% relief

Law 6/2023 of 22 November introduced in the Comunitat Valenciana a 99% reduction on inheritance tax for Groups I and II: descendants, adopted children, ascendants, adoptive parents and spouses. Children and grandchildren now pay only 1% of the duty calculated under the national scale. The relief also applies between spouses. For people with a recognised disability (65% physical or sensory, 33% psychological), the 99% applies regardless of the family link.

Heirs in Group III (siblings of the deceased, nephews, nieces, uncles, aunts) have been paying the full tariff for years. The Generalitat has approved a phased relief for this group: 25% from 1 June 2026 and 50% from 1 June 2027. Whoever sells an inherited flat received from a sibling will face a heavier tax bill than someone who inherits from a parent, and it is worth knowing because it may explain why the seller wants to close fast.

The deadline to settle ISD is six months from the date of death, with a six month extension available if requested before the first deadline expires. Without payment (or proof of exemption), there is no registration in the Property Registry, and without registration there is no sale to a third party.

Plusvalía municipal in Alicante: the second tax

The IIVTNU, known as plusvalía municipal, is collected by the Ayuntamiento de Alicante on the increase in urban land value. In inheritance, a 60% relief applies when the property was the habitual residence of the deceased and the heirs are spouse, descendants or ascendants. Habitual residence means the deceased was registered (empadronado) at the flat continuously for at least the two years before death, or since purchase if the period was shorter.

The deadline is the same: six months from death, extendable to twelve if requested in time. The relief is rogada, meaning it must be claimed with supporting documents. The settlement goes through SUMA Gestión Tributaria for delegated municipalities and directly through the Ayuntamiento de Alicante for self assessment cases.

Tracto sucesivo: why registration is not optional

The Spanish Mortgage Law requires that the seller be registered as the owner in the Property Registry. If the heirs have signed acceptance but not registered, the flat still appears in the deceased's name. The Property Registry nota simple from Alicante (there are nine registries across the province, five in the capital alone) will say so the moment the buyer asks for it. Registering costs the standard registry fees, a modest amount compared with the cost of not registering.

The buyer enters: everyone must sign

Once partition and registration are in place, the sale is a normal one with a critical detail. If the flat was assigned to a single heir, that heir signs. If it remains in ordinary common ownership among several, all of them sign. The absence of even one co-owner blocks the deal.

When one heir wants to keep the flat and buy out the others, the legal figure is the extinción de condominio. In the Comunitat Valenciana the AJD is 1.5% on the share acquired by the buying co-owner, and drops to 0.1% if the flat will be their habitual residence, under the regional ITPAJD rules. It is not a property transfer, it is a dissolution of common ownership. The difference with a standard sale is substantial on the final bill.

When there is no agreement: action for division

Article 1051 of the Spanish Civil Code makes clear that no co-heir is obliged to remain in the undivided estate. Any heir can ask, at any time, for the common property to be divided. If the flat cannot be physically divided (the usual case), it is sold at public auction and the proceeds are distributed by quotas. For a buyer, finding a flat coming out of a judicial division process can be an opportunity or a trap: the price often falls below market, but the timeline is set by the court.

Red flags for the careful buyer

Ask for the latest nota simple and check who is registered. If only the deceased appears, the inheritance has not been registered yet and closing will be delayed. Ask for the acceptance and partition deed. If it does not exist, ask about the herencia yacente: is an heir missing?, is a legitimary still claiming?, is there ongoing litigation? Ask for proof of ISD payment and plusvalía municipal settlement. Without those receipts, the registration will not go through, and your signature sits on hold.

Check inherited charges. An outstanding mortgage from the deceased can be subrogated or cancelled at closing, but it has to be planned. And if the flat was rented out, the lease lives on: the buyer inherits the tenant and the terms.

A final practical note

Inherited flats reach the Alicante market in waves and tend to be settled properties in mature neighbourhoods: Centro, Benalúa, Pla del Bon Repós, Gran Vía, where new build supply is scarce. They carry long stories and, almost always, several signatures to coordinate. If the deadlines are tight against the six month mark from the death, the seller is in a hurry. If those deadlines have passed and everything is settled, the closing will be clean.

At ESYS VIP we help you read the paper trail of every home before any signature lands. If you want to explore our properties or you have a specific deal under way, contact us.