Villa vs Apartment in Tenerife: What Does It Cost to Buy in 2026?
Villa vs Apartment in Tenerife: What Does It Cost to Buy in 2026?
What will this actually cost me?
Buying property in Tenerife involves more than simply paying the agreed purchase price — there are taxes and other costs that should be included in your budget from the very beginning. In this article, we use two real Tenerife24 examples — a €191,000 apartment in Costa del Silencio and a €1,050,000 villa in Callao Salvaje — to show you clearly and with concrete figures what you can expect to pay, helping you plan your purchase with confidence and a realistic understanding of the total investment.
The biggest factors are the purchase price, whether the property is a resale or a first delivery/new-build, the taxable value of the property, and whether the buyer qualifies for a reduced tax rate.
Apartment vs Villa - Cost
APARTMENT — €191,000 | VILLA — €1,050,000
Costa del Silencio | Callao SalvajeRESALE — ITP 6.5%
Apartment: €12,415 | Villa: €68,250Possible reduced ITP 5%
Apartment: €9,550 | Villa: Not available at this value under the €200k general thresholdNotary
Apartment: €600–€800 | Villa: €1,000–€2,000Property Registry
Apartment: €400–€800 | Villa: €400–€800Gestoría / administrative handling, if separately engaged
Apartment: €300–€700 | Villa: €300–€700
RESALE TOTAL — excluding private lawyer
Apartment: €204,715–€205,715 | Villa: €1,119,950–€1,121,750
Independent lawyer
Apartment: Private quote | Villa: Private quoteExample only — lawyer at 1% + 7% IGIC
Apartment: ≈ €2,190–€2,201 | Villa: €11,983–€12,003
RESALE TOTAL — including that 1% lawyer example
Apartment: ≈ €206,905–€207,916 | Villa: ≈ €1,131,933–€1,133,753
IF NEW BUILD
IGIC 7%
Apartment: €13,370 | Villa: €73,500AJD 1% (Actos Jurídicos Documentados)
Apartment: €1,910 | Villa: €10,500Combined new-build taxes
Apartment: €15,280 | Villa: €84,000
NEW-BUILD TOTAL — before private lawyer
Apartment: €207,380–€208,180 | Villa: €1,135,550–€1,136,700
PAYMENTS DURING THE PURCHASE
Typical 10% ARRAS example (private sales contract)
Apartment: €19,100 | Villa: €105,000Typical reservation payment example
Apartment: €3,000–€5,000 | Villa: €3,000–€5,0003% withholding if seller is qualifying non-resident
Apartment: €5,730 | Villa: €31,500
Important: The figures above are estimates for budgeting purposes and not quotations. Taxes are calculated here using the stated purchase prices as the assumed taxable bases. The property's cadastral reference value, the buyer's personal circumstances, available tax reductions, the number of registered properties or rights, the contents of the deed, professional fees and the contractual allocation of expenses can change the final amount.
IGIC and AJD are shown as an alternative to ITP for a taxable first delivery/new-build transaction. They are not added to ITP on an ordinary resale purchase.
Reservation payments and arras are normally payments toward the agreed purchase price, not additional purchase taxes or costs. A 10% arras deposit is common market practice but is not a percentage fixed by Spanish law.
The 3% non-resident seller withholding is not an additional purchase cost for the buyer. The buyer withholds that amount from the money otherwise payable to the qualifying non-resident seller and pays it to the Spanish Tax Agency using Modelo 211.
1. Buying a Resale Property: 6.5% ITP
For an ordinary resale property in the Canary Islands, the general Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales Onerosas (ITP) rate in 2026 is 6.5%.
Article 31 of the Canary Islands tax legislation states that transfers of real estate are generally taxed at 6.5%. The rule applies to real estate generally rather than imposing one rate for apartments and another for villas.
Apartment example
€191,000 × 6.5% = €12,415 ITP
Purchase price + ITP = €203,415
Villa example
€1,050,000 × 6.5% = €68,250 ITP
Purchase price + ITP = €1,118,250
2. What If the Property Is a New Build?
In the Canary Islands, a standard taxable first delivery of a new residential property is generally subject to IGIC rather than ITP.
The general IGIC rate is currently 7% under Article 32 of Decreto Legislativo 1/2025.
For notarial documents relating to transactions subject to IGIC, the general Actos Jurídicos Documentados (AJD) rate is 1% under Article 36 of the Canary Islands legislation on devolved taxes.
Therefore, in a straightforward general-rate new-build purchase:
7% IGIC + 1% AJD = approximately 8% in headline purchase taxes.
However, special IGIC rates exist for qualifying residential purchases. For example, Article 38 provides a 3% rate in certain qualifying habitual-residence cases, subject to detailed conditions, while certain protected housing can receive different treatment.
3. Notary Fees
Spanish notary fees are regulated by law
The tariff is established by Real Decreto 1426/1989. The tariff decreases progressively as the transaction value increases.
Article 1455 of the Spanish Civil Code states:
“Los gastos de otorgamiento de escrituras serán de cuenta del vendedor, y los de la primera copia y los demás posteriores a la venta serán de cuenta del comprador, salvo pacto en contrario.”
Translation
“The costs of executing the deed shall be borne by the seller, while the costs of the first copy and any subsequent copies following the sale shall be borne by the buyer, unless otherwise agreed.”
For practical budgeting, a straightforward residential transaction may result in a final notarial invoice in approximately the following ranges :
€191,000 transaction: €600 - €800
€1,050,000 transaction: €1000 - €2000
before additional pages, copies, supplementary concepts, applicable taxes and other items. These numbers are therefore not final notary quotations.
4. Property Registry
Registration of the buyer's ownership in the Property Registry is also subject to a regulated tariff, rather than an estate agent or lawyer choosing a percentage.
The governing rules are contained in Real Decreto 1427/1989.
Using the basic statutory scale and presentation fee as an illustration:
€191,000 apartment: approximately €400–€800
€1,050,000 villa: approximately €400–€800
The exact invoice depends on the entries actually carried out by the Registry and can therefore differ from these examples.
5. Lawyer and Gestoría Costs
An independent lawyer's fee is not a Spanish property tax and there is no single statutory percentage applicable to every purchase.
These are private professional services and prices depend on the provider and work required.
There is no statutory lawyer fee.
Some firms use a fixed fee, while others charge around 1% of the purchase price plus IGIC.
Buyers should request a written quotation.
The same applies to a privately engaged gestoría for the purchase transaction.
6. Reservation Payments and Arras
A buyer will often first pay a smaller reservation deposit to take the property off the market while the paperwork and arras contract are prepared.
In Tenerife, a reservation payment may commonly be around €3,000–€5,000, although the amount depends on the property and the agreement between the parties.
The next stage is commonly the contrato de arras. There is no statutory percentage fixed by Spanish law, but around 10% of the agreed purchase price is common market practice.
Any reservation amount already paid is normally credited toward the amount due under the arras agreement or ultimately toward the purchase price, depending on the wording of the contract.
The legal consequences depend on the type of arras agreed. Under Article 1454 of the Spanish Civil Code, where the parties have agreed arras penitenciales, the buyer may withdraw and lose the deposit, while the seller may withdraw by returning double the amount received.
So, using the examples above, if Article 1454 penitential arras applied:
€191,000 purchase
Buyer withdrawing: may lose €19,100
Seller withdrawing: may have to return €38,200
€1,050,000 purchase
Buyer withdrawing: may lose €105,000
Seller withdrawing: may have to return €210,000
Buyers should therefore have the reservation and arras contract reviewed before transferring a substantial deposit.
7. If the Seller Is Non-Resident: The 3% Withholding
There is another important rule that buyers should know about.
Where a Spanish property is purchased from a qualifying non-resident seller, the buyer generally has to withhold 3% of the agreed purchase consideration and pay it to the Spanish Tax Agency using Modelo 211.
This comes from Article 25.2 of the Non-Resident Income Tax legislation.
For example:
€191,000 × 3% = €5,730
€1,050,000 × 3% = €31,500
It is withheld from the amount otherwise payable to the non-resident seller and paid to the Spanish Tax Agency on the seller's behalf. The buyer normally has one month from the transfer date to make the payment.
Legal sources (Checked September 2026)
The principal legislation used in this article:
ITP in the Canary Islands: Article 31 of the Canary Islands legislation on devolved taxes, as amended for 2026 — general real-estate rate 6.5% and qualifying 5% rate.
ITP taxable value/reference value: Article 10, Real Decreto Legislativo 1/1993.
IGIC: Decreto Legislativo 1/2025, Article 32 — general rate 7%; Article 38 contains special housing rates.
AJD: Article 36, Decreto Legislativo 1/2009 — 1% for documents relating to operations subject to IGIC/IVA.
Notary tariff: Real Decreto 1426/1989.
Who pays deed expenses: Spanish Civil Code, Article 1455.
Property Registry tariff: Real Decreto 1427/1989.
Mortgage expenses: Ley 5/2019, Article 14.
Municipal plusvalía: Real Decreto Legislativo 2/2004, Article 106.
3% non-resident seller withholding: Article 25.2, Real Decreto Legislativo 5/2004, and Modelo 211.
NIE government fee: Orden PJC/617/2025 — €9.84.
Important Legal & Tax Notice
This article provides general information only and has been prepared using legislation and official information checked as of 16 September 2026. It is not individual legal, tax, financial or notarial advice.
Actual purchase costs can change depending on the property's cadastral reference value, transaction classification, whether the sale constitutes a first or subsequent delivery, the buyer's personal circumstances, available tax reductions, the seller's residence status, financing, contractual allocation of expenses and the specific work carried out by the notary and Property Registry.
The tax treatment and final costs of every property purchase should be confirmed with the buyer's lawyer, tax adviser and/or notary before signing a binding contract or transferring funds.
For the examples above, €191,000 and €1,050,000 are the property asking prices used for comparison; they do not constitute a guarantee of final sale price or tax liability