You're browsing listings late at night, probably with several tabs open. One villa in Alicante province looks perfect. The photos are polished, the terrace gets the evening sun, and the write-up sounds effortless. Then the doubts start. Does the advertised size mean usable living space or something broader? Is the listed price the actual price? Are the finishes shown what you'll receive?

Those questions matter more than most international buyers realise. In Spain, one of the most useful protections isn't a recent headline law at all. It's Real Decreto 515/1989, and it still shapes what professional sellers, developers, and agents must tell you when marketing residential property.

If you're buying on the Costa Blanca, especially around places like La Romana, Alicante, this law is worth understanding before you reserve anything. It gives you a practical standard for judging whether a listing is transparent or whether you're being asked to trust too much and verify too little.

Your First Step to a Secure Property Purchase in Spain

Most buyers start in the same place. They see the lifestyle first and the paperwork later. That order feels natural, but it's where mistakes begin.

A glossy listing can tell you just enough to make you emotionally committed, while leaving out the details that decide whether the purchase is sound. That's why your first step shouldn't be negotiating price or discussing furniture packs. It should be checking whether the seller's information is complete, consistent, and legally reliable.

Why this law matters before you book a viewing

Real Decreto 515/1989 matters because it turns marketing into something more than sales language. In practice, it gives buyers a basis for expecting accuracy from professional sellers. If you're dealing with a developer, agency, or business seller, you're not hoping they'll be clear. You're entitled to proper information.

That changes how you should read an advert.

Don't just ask whether the home is attractive. Ask whether the information provided is precise enough to trust. A vague floor plan, a base price with no explanation, or polished renders without technical detail are not small issues. They are often the first signs that you need to slow the process down.

Practical rule: If a property looks ready for reservation but the paperwork still feels vague, the transaction is moving in the wrong order.

What buyers on the Costa Blanca should do first

Before you fall in love with a villa, apartment, bungalow, townhouse, or finca, ask for the documents and explanations that let you test the marketing against reality.

Start with this short buyer discipline:

• Check who is selling: Confirm whether you're dealing with a private seller, a developer, or a professional intermediary. The law's practical impact is strongest where professional promotion is involved.
• Ask what the displayed price includes: If the answer is unclear, you're not ready to compare properties properly.
• Request plans and property description in writing: Spoken assurances are useful, but written material protects you.
• Look for consistency: The advert, brochure, reservation terms, and later contract should point in the same direction.

Buyers often think legal protection begins at contract stage. In Spanish property, it starts earlier. It starts when the property is being offered to you.

What Is Real Decreto 515/1989

You reserve an apartment in Orihuela Costa after a video viewing. The brochure shows a generous terrace, the agent quotes a clean headline price, and the sales process feels polished. A few weeks later, the paperwork raises new questions about what is included, how the property is described, and which costs sit on top. Real Decreto 515/1989 matters at that point, but the smart buyer uses it earlier, before paying a reservation deposit.

Real Decreto 515/1989 is a Spanish consumer protection rule for the sale and marketing of homes. Its job is simple. If a professional seller, developer, or intermediary offers residential property to the public, the information given to the buyer must be clear, sufficient, and capable of being checked.

For international buyers, the practical point is stronger than the legal definition. The decree gives weight to the material used to sell you the property. Floor plans, specifications, descriptions, and price information are not just sales decoration. They form part of the basis on which you decide whether to proceed.

The basic legal position

The decree was published in 1989 and set rules for how residential properties may be promoted when professionals are involved. It applies to offers, advertising, and pre-contract information in the Spanish housing market.

One point deserves close attention. Commercial information given to the buyer can have legal relevance even if the later contract is drafted more narrowly. In practice, that means buyers should keep the listing, brochure, emails, specification sheet, and reservation terms in one file from day one.

I advise overseas clients to treat the sales material as evidence, not background noise.

The purpose of the law

The decree is designed to reduce a familiar pattern of problems in Spanish property sales:

• Advertising that creates the wrong impression
• Key property details left out or left vague
• Unclear pricing or payment conditions
• Sales material that looks complete but avoids the details a buyer needs to compare options properly

On the Costa Blanca, this matters most in fast-moving searches. Buyers often compare a new-build apartment in Denia, a resale townhouse in Torrevieja, and a villa inland near La Romana within the same week. The presentation may look equally professional across all three. The underlying information often does not.

That difference affects your risk.

Why international buyers should pay attention

This decree deserves special attention if you are buying from abroad, buying off-plan, or trying to reserve quickly during a short inspection trip. In those situations, much of your decision-making happens before you have spent much time inside the property, and sometimes before you have met the full legal team involved.

Here is the practical checklist I want buyers to have in mind while reading an advert or brochure:

Organised buyers are in a stronger position than rushed buyers. That is the practical value of Real Decreto 515/1989. It helps you identify whether the seller is marketing the property in a way that deserves confidence, or whether you need to slow the process down and ask better questions.

Key Seller Obligations You Need to Know

The practical, day-to-day usefulness of the decree becomes evident. A compliant seller should make it easier for you to understand the property, the price, and the basis on which you're buying. If getting basic information feels like pulling teeth, that's already telling you something.

Price transparency is not optional

Under Article 4 of Real Decreto 515/1989, commercial offers must state the Precio Total de la Venta, meaning the total sale price made up of the property price, agent fees, and applicable taxes such as VAT or ITP. Omitting those elements is a legal violation, and a nota explicativa with the full breakdown is required to avoid consumer deception.

For buyers, the consequence is straightforward. If a brochure or listing shows only a headline figure without explaining what sits on top of it, you don't yet know the actual financial commitment.

That matters a lot for international clients, because many assume the advertised figure works like an all-in number in their home market. In Spain, that assumption can lead to poor comparisons between properties and unnecessary pressure later in the process.

The practical checklist to request

You don't need to sound combative. You do need to be methodical.

Ask for these items in writing where relevant:

• Full price breakdown: Not just the asking price. Ask what is included, what is excluded, and whether the seller has provided the required explanatory note.
• Property description and plans: You want a description that goes beyond lifestyle wording and identifies what is being sold.
• Registration and legal identity details: Confirm who the seller is and that the property being marketed is the property being offered.
• Encumbrances and charges: Mortgages, liens, easements, or any other burden should be clarified before you commit.
• Permits and certificates: If a property needs a licence, certificate, or occupancy document, ask to see it.
• Utility information: Water, electricity, gas where relevant, and how the property is connected.
• Community costs and outstanding bills: Particularly important in apartments, urbanisations, and shared developments.
• Energy documentation: If applicable, ask for the energy efficiency certificate and not just a passing reference to it.

What works and what doesn't

Some sellers get this right. They provide a document pack early, answer directly, and keep the commercial material aligned with the legal paperwork. Those transactions tend to stay calm because there are fewer surprises.

What doesn't work is the familiar pattern of delay. First you're told the full details will come after the viewing. Then after the reservation. Then at contract stage. That sequence usually benefits the seller, not the buyer.

Buyer's test: If the seller wants commitment before clarity, step back.

One more point matters. Professional marketing should reflect the true characteristics of the property. If a home is under construction, that should be made clear. If features shown are provisional, that should be explained plainly, not buried in casual language.

How the Decree Applies in Real Scenarios

The law becomes easier to use when you see it in ordinary buying situations. These are the kinds of scenarios international buyers face across the Costa Blanca.

A new-build villa near La Romana

You're considering a new-build villa inland from the coast, attracted by more space, privacy, and land. The brochure looks polished. The renders are strong. The specification summary is short.

Buyers should press for the technical file, not just the sales presentation. Under Article 4, sellers must provide a technical dossier including scaled floor plans, the plano del emplazamiento (site plan), and a DET signed by an engineer, allowing the buyer to verify the superficie útil and assess construction quality. That requirement is especially relevant for new-build property, including homes marketed in areas such as Jávea or Denia.

In practice, this helps you test two common pressure points. First, whether the usable interior area matches what the marketing implied. Second, whether the promised construction standard is documented in a way that can be checked.

A resale apartment in Torrevieja

Now take a resale apartment by the coast. The listing may focus on the terrace, orientation, or proximity to the sea. That's normal. The issue is whether the information behind the listing is complete enough to support a safe purchase.

With resale property, buyers often make the mistake of treating legal checks as something for later because the building already exists. But an existing property still needs clarity around title, charges, utilities, community obligations, and the documents that support the sale.

What usually works well here is asking early for the paperwork that confirms the practical status of the apartment. If the response is slow, fragmented, or evasive, that's often more informative than the advert itself.

A resale purchase becomes risky when the flat is easy to view but hard to verify.

An off-plan purchase with changing details

The third scenario is the one that catches many overseas buyers. You reserve an off-plan property because the location, layout, and payment structure seem attractive. Then details begin to shift. Materials are described broadly. Plans look more conceptual than technical. Questions about what is fixed and what may change get answered vaguely.

Discipline is essential here. Ask for the plans, specifications, and written descriptions that define the offer. Keep every brochure, floor plan, and promotional sheet. If the seller says something is included, ask where it appears in writing.

A well-run off-plan sale doesn't rely on trust alone. It relies on a paper trail that matches the marketing. If the seller's documents are detailed, consistent, and available before commitment, that is usually a good sign. If every key point is deferred until later drafts, you're being asked to assume too much.

Risks of Non-Compliance and How to Check

Ignoring this decree doesn't usually produce one dramatic problem. It produces several smaller ones that stack up. By the time the buyer notices, they've already invested time, travel, legal fees, and emotional energy into the purchase.

What can go wrong

The first risk is price distortion. A property looks competitive until missing taxes, fees, or charges appear later. Buyers then feel pushed to continue because they've already mentally committed.

The second risk is specification drift. The home you thought you were buying turns out to be less clearly defined than the advert suggested. That can affect layout, quality, finishes, or usable space.

The third risk is weak negotiating position. Once you've signed a reservation without getting proper information, it becomes harder to challenge gaps calmly and effectively.

How to check before you commit

Use a simple red-flag review before paying any reservation amount:

• Ask for the written sales pack: If there isn't one, or it arrives incomplete, stop and ask why.
• Compare advert against documents: Check whether the features, plans, and descriptions align.
• Request clarity on the total financial commitment: If the answer comes back in fragments, don't treat that as normal.
• Review plans carefully: Particularly in new-build property, make sure the documents are technical enough to verify what is being sold.
• Check whether key claims are written down: Sea views, terraces, parking, storage, finishes, and layouts should not rely on memory.
• Watch the speed mismatch: Fast pressure to reserve combined with slow delivery of documents is a classic warning sign.

Questions worth asking your agent or developer

A short, direct set of questions often tells you a lot:

If a seller answers clearly in writing, the transaction usually gets easier. If they answer verbally and vaguely, it usually gets harder.

When non-compliance appears, the right response isn't panic. It's pause. Ask for the missing information, reassess the offer, and only proceed when the property can be judged on complete facts rather than sales momentum.

Using Spanish Property Law with Confidence

You are on a video call about a Costa Blanca apartment. The photos look right, the terrace sounds generous, and the agent says other buyers are ready to reserve. Before you send any money, one question matters more than the sales pitch. Can the seller back up the listing with clear written information.

That is where Real Decreto 515/1989 helps in practice. It gives international buyers a standard to measure the sale against. I use it as a filter. If the documents are clear, consistent, and delivered early, the transaction usually stays under control. If basic information arrives late, changes verbally, or never appears in writing, the risk goes up fast.

For overseas buyers, the main benefit is simple. The decree helps you separate a well-prepared property from a well-marketed one. On the Costa Blanca, where many purchases start online and are handled partly at a distance, that difference protects both your budget and your margin for error.

What this means in practice

Use the law as a checking tool, not as something to memorise.

A good listing should stand up to questions. The asking price should be explained properly. The plans and specifications should match the property being promoted. Extras such as sea views, parking, storage, rental potential, or finish quality should be described in a way that can be verified. If an agent or developer avoids that level of clarity, treat it as a sign to slow the process down.

That does not mean the deal is bad. It means the file is not ready yet.

For many international buyers, that is the turning point. The safest purchases are rarely the fastest ones. They are the ones where the paperwork catches up with the promise before any reservation or private contract is signed.

A practical approach works well:

• Keep the property on hold mentally until the documents support it
• Ask for written answers, especially on price, layout, and included features
• Save listings, brochures, and messages before anything gets edited
• Treat pressure to reserve without paperwork as a warning sign
• Let your lawyer review what is being sold, not just what is being promised

Buyers who do this are easier to protect. The transaction becomes clearer, negotiations become more grounded, and surprises tend to show up before commitment instead of after it.

If you want experienced guidance while buying on the Costa Blanca, AP Properties Spain can help you through the process with clarity, coordinate the right checks, and keep your purchase focused on verified information rather than assumptions.