Right to choose Notary when buying Property in Spain

Do I have the right to choose a Notary in Moraira Spain when I buy a property ?

The free choice of notary is the consequence of another basic guarantee: the timely provision of objective legal information that is necessary for you to be able to make a safe decision before signing a contract or legal transaction. Impartial information that you must have at your disposal in the initial phase of any process and any negotiation.

Who chooses the Spanish notary, the other party or me?

If there is more than one party, there are several possibilities:

1.- If the parties agree, they can go to any notary in Moraira or Spain: the one they choose.

2.- If the parties do not agree, it is up to you to choose the notary who will pay the highest notarial fee.

3.- If one of the contracting parties is a property developer, financial institution or businessman and the other is a private individual (consumer), the right to choose the notary always corresponds to the consumer. This right cannot be waived.

Any notary in Moraira or Spain may be chosen. Normally, the notary's office is located close to the place where the property is located.

What happens if I am not allowed to choose?

If you consider that your right to choose a notary in Moraira or Spain has been violated, there are several ways to assert it:

1.- You can go to the Courts of Justice to complain, to a public consumer protection office or to a consumer organisation.

2.- But we recommend that you first use the tools that the notarial law places at your disposal, such as informing the Spanish notary of your choice of the existence of a conflict with the other party so that he is the one to bring it to the attention of the Notary Association of your Autonomous Community. In this way, the Association itself will contact the notary chosen by the other party so that he refrains from acting.

3.- If you are not sure who you want your Spanish notary to be, but it is not the notary chosen by the other party, you can also go directly to the Notary Association of your Autonomous Community and report the case. The Notary Associations have jurisdiction over the respective notaries of the Autonomous Community to enforce the laws and regulations.