Spanish new-build specifications: what is included in the price and what is an extra?

For a Spanish new-build home, check the equipment included in the price against detailed specifications, plans and the documents linked to the contract. The memoria de calidades helps identify promised materials, equipment and finishes. Clarify standard inclusions, paid options, exclusions and how changes will be handled separately.

This guide is for comparing Costa del Sol apartments and villas bought from developers. The question is not simply whether the displayed home looks attractive, but exactly what will be delivered in your selected unit and under which conditions.

What does memoria de calidades mean?

The Spanish term refers to a description detailing materials and technical quality. As a buyer, look for verifiable commitments about building elements, finishes and equipment. Alongside “premium quality”, request specific product details, performance characteristics or a clearly identified solution.

Spain’s consumer affairs ministry says that before signing or handing over any advance payment, buyers can request information in a retainable format, including the price, payment terms and the home’s services and installations. It therefore makes sense to address specifications while preparing the reservation. Source: Ministerio de Derechos Sociales, Consumo y Agenda 2030, minimum pre-purchase information.

In Andalusia, request the DIA too

The Documento Informativo Abreviado, or DIA, is the home-purchase information document. The Junta de Andalucía’s consumer guide says it must be provided free of charge to consumers requesting information about homes offered off-plan or under construction. Its contents include descriptions of the home, shared areas, installations and material quality to the required level of detail. Source: Consumo Responde, DIA for planned homes and homes under construction.

Read the DIA, separate specifications, floor plan and draft contract together. Match the development name, building, floor, unit identifier and document versions. Do not automatically treat another phase’s or a show home’s equipment as part of your own offer.

The rooms, terrace, storage room and parking shown on the plans should also relate to the same offer. The guide to Spanish apartment floor areas helps interpret measurements; treat area and equipment as two separate checks.

Which items should you break down in the offer?

The table below is a question list, not an equipment standard applying to every Spanish development. Gather answers from your own home’s documents. Mark unspecified items as requiring clarification rather than assuming they are included in the purchase price.

Add your own three most important requirements to the table. Would the home still suit you without, for example, a separate workspace, fully equipped kitchen or particular shading? Explain decisive requirements during selection rather than raising them for the first time at the handover inspection.

Three expressions that need clarification

“Turnkey” or “fully equipped”

Request an attached list explaining what the expression covers in that particular offer. Ask separately about movable furniture, light fittings, curtains and household appliances. Match objects visible in the rendering to the itemised commitments; preserving the image and clarifying the contents are both useful.

If you visit a show home, make your own notes on which visible elements are standard, which cost extra and which are display items. Record the supporting document alongside each answer. This avoids having to reconstruct verbal explanations from memory when deciding later.

“Pre-installation”

When you see preinstalación, request an itemised list of prepared and missing components. For air conditioning, for example, do not stop at “pre-installation included”: ask which equipment, connections and installation work will be completed and what else is needed for a working system. For planned parking-space charging, the guide to EV charging in Spanish apartment buildings helps distinguish cable-routing preparation, an operating charger and community notification.

Assess energy efficiency using separate documentation. The energy-certificate guide explains what the rating indicates. Have a suitably qualified professional compare the specifications with the energy information.

“Or similar quality”

For the expression “o similar”, ask how equivalence will be assessed. Consider functional and technical characteristics as well as the brand: which properties must a replacement retain, who checks this and what documentation will you receive about the change?

This alone does not determine whether a clause is lawful or a particular substitution acceptable. Have an independent Spanish lawyer assess the substitution provision and a suitable professional assess the proposed product’s technical suitability. Request comparable information rather than a verbal assurance that it is “just as good”.

What should be linked to the contract?

Consumo Responde recommends checking that information given about an off-plan or under-construction home appears in the documents to be signed, and that the specifications are appropriately signed and stamped. Source: Junta de Andalucía, pre-purchase document checks.

Your checking pack should contain dated specifications, an identified floor plan, accepted quotations for selected extras and an exclusions list. Ask your lawyer to check how documents are incorporated into the contract and how conflicting versions are handled.

Article 3(2) of Spain’s Royal Decree 515/1989 says property characteristics and conditions included in offers and advertising are enforceable even if the contract does not expressly repeat them. Keep the advertisement and brochure too; the specific legal consequences of a discrepancy still require separate assessment. Source: BOE, consumer information for home purchases.

How should you handle requested changes and extra charges?

If you request different finishes, a layout change or different equipment, agree more than the additional price. Record the exact scope, taxes, payment schedule, selection deadline and effect on handover. Also ask what happens if the chosen product later becomes unavailable.

The decree’s Article 10(B)(2) specifically requires documentation of buyer-requested changes to describe their contents and concrete implications for the agreed price and delivery date. Source: BOE, buyer-requested changes.

For a developer-proposed substitution, request the reason, details of the original and replacement solutions, and the effect on price and timing in writing. Agree the next step with your lawyer using the contract and particular circumstances. Do not assume acceptance, withdrawal or compensation is automatic.

Illustrative checking row: “kitchen with appliances”

A fictional specification merely says that the home includes a kitchen with appliances. The dishwasher and fridge matter to the buyer, but neither is listed separately. This is an illustrative situation, not an actual offer or client story.

Make the next request itemised: which appliances are included, with which promised characteristics, and does delivery include fitting and connection? File the accepted answer with the home’s documents. Only after clarifying missing items should you request a quotation with a matching scope for any supplementary package.

How should you use the specifications at handover?

Create a room-by-room checklist from the accepted documents. Compare installed product identifiers, finishes and completed work with the commitments; record discrepancies with photographs and document references. The new-build handover checklist provides further practical checks.

Five things should be clear

Which home, which document version, which equipment, which exclusions and which change provisions? Compare offers on that basis. We checked the cited national and Andalusian consumer sources on 24 October 2026; assessing a particular contract’s compliance requires separate legal review.

When arranging a Hungarian-language SpainProperty consultation, explain which equipment and delivery condition matter to you alongside location and budget. This allows the search for Costa del Sol new-build properties to reflect how you actually intend to use the home.