MORE FAQs (FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS!) ====================================== The builder of our new house has advised us that he will not have the Escritura papers ready at the same time as we take possession of the house, and therefore the visit to the Notary for the Escritura de Compraventa will take place at a later date. Is this something that is usual in Spain? Yes, it is not unusual that the builder does not have all the paperwork necessary to present to the Notary for completion and signing of the Escritura; for example, the compulsory 10 year Insurance Policy takes some time to arrange and can hold the process up. In this situation the builder will often allow the new owners to move into the property before it is possible to legally transfer ownership at the Notary's Office. In addition, the builder sometimes waits until a block of houses are ready, and then signs them all over in one go, rather than one at a time on different dates. However, even if the Escritura cannot be signed, the builder should have all his papers together before you take possession, i.e. the Building Licence, Architects Report and Fin de Obra Certificate, and I recommend you check this with him before taking possession of the property. I am a 62 year old male, and my wife is 65 and therefore entitled to receive an E121 for Spanish national health cover when we apply for Residencia. Do I need to have private insurance? No. We have had so many problems with this in the past, but the situation has now been clarified: if you are entitled to national health cover as a pensioner (65 years for men and 60 years for women) you should apply to the Overseas Branch of the DHS in Newcastle for an E121. Once you are in possession of this document, you can apply for a Residencia card. If your spouse/partner is not yet eligible for an E121, they may register on the system as a dependant. In order to do this, the holder of the E121 must sign a "beneficiary" card in duplicate (available from a Comiseria office or local gestor) and provide the original marriage certificate. For couples who are not married, a Certificado de Convivencia (Certificate to state you live together) should be requested from your local Ayuntamiento. In this instance, it is usual for a member of the local municipal police to visit your property to satisfy their requirement that you are indeed a cohabiting couple. Your spouse/partner can also apply for national health cover if you are applying for Residencia as a working individual, either with a work contract from an employer or on a self employed basis. The same procedure needs to be followed as that outlined above. If you have children, the original Birth Certificate of each child should be presented. It should be noted that at the time of writing, it is not possible to apply for health cover as a dependant unless a Residencia application accompanies the paperwork. The Residencia applications should be presented to a Comiseria for stamping, and the E121 or relevant employer/self employed papers presented to the Seguridad Social (Social Security) office in Denia. The beneficiary card/s will be stamped by this office, and you should then attend your local Health Centre to register with a doctor. This will also instigate production of your permanent health card. I want to let my property out for the major part of the year, but have been warned that tenants have a right to longer term occupancy in certain circumstances. Please advise what my position is. As Spanish law stands, if you rent your property to a third party, and they are in situ for more than a calendar year, they have a right to continuity of tenure, i.e. they can be regarded as sitting tenants and have rights to remain in the property for up to five years. It is important to note that even if a signed contract is not in existence, the tenant still has these rights if he/she can prove a rental has been paid on a regular basis (i.e. by monthly bank transfers to the rentors account). Therefore, if you wish to rent your property yet avoid the above situation arising, I suggest you prepare a written contract for rental of the property eleven months of the year, with a specific clause clearly stating the rental is on a temporary basis and only renewable by written consent of both parties by way of a new contract. A Rental Contract (Contracto de Alquiler) can be bought at most tobacconists. Please note that the above does not apply to holiday rentals of several weeks' duration, as these lettings are subject to a different set of laws. I need to set up a Power of Attorney - please advise how I should go about this. A Poder (Power of Attorney) is a document that gives a specified person the right to carry out a transaction on your behalf. It has to be prepared by a Notary, and signed in front of him/her. A general Poder gives the named individual the right to deal with all your affairs, including signing cheques and drawing from your bank account, so should only be given in certain circumstances where absolutely necessary. Once a general Poder has been signed, it remains valid until cancelled at the Notary's office. For specific matters, such as buying a property, a Poder is drawn up confirming what your representative can sign on your behalf, and once this has taken place, the Poder will automatically cease to be valid. Please note that each transaction to be carried out has to be clearly definied within the Poder; for example, if you are buying a property using a mortage, the Poder needs to specifically authorise your representative to sign both the Escritura of Purchase and the Escritura of Mortgage.