Can Spain Ban Foreign Buyers From Purchasing Property? - The 2026 Fact Check

Spain's proposed 100% tax on property purchases by non-EU buyers remains just that: a proposal. Despite headlines suggesting a ban on foreign buyers, no such measure has been passed into law, and buying property in Spain today remains open to EU and non-EU citizens, residents and non-residents alike.

The proposal originated in January 2025, when Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez presented a 12-point housing package aimed at easing Spain's affordability crisis. Among the measures was a surcharge of up to 100% on the transfer tax (ITP) for non-EU, non-resident buyers purchasing existing homes, effectively doubling their tax bill. The government argued this would deter speculative purchases, citing that non-EU non-residents bought around 27,000 properties in 2023 out of roughly 26 million homes nationwide.

More than a year later, the surcharge has not been debated in Parliament, let alone voted on. Spain's minority government would need support from other parties to pass it, and no timeline for this has been confirmed.

One related change has taken effect: Spain abolished its Golden Visa programme on 3 April 2025, ending residency through property investment of €500,000 or more. This affects only the residency route — non-EU citizens can still purchase and register property in Spain exactly as before.

If eventually approved, the current draft would apply only to non-EU, non-resident buyers of existing resale properties. New-builds purchased directly from developers, taxed under IGIC rather than ITP, would fall outside its scope, as would regions with separate tax systems such as the Basque Country and Navarra.

Legal and tax specialists have questioned whether the surcharge would withstand a legal challenge if it ever reached a vote, which is part of why it remains stalled. For now, the practical situation for buyers on Tenerife has not changed: the measure is not law, has no confirmed date, and would not affect new-build purchases even if it passed.