An aval hipotecario is a personal guarantee: someone other than the borrower, the avalista, promises the bank that the mortgage will be repaid if the borrower stops paying. In Spain today the term covers two very different things. One is a family member or friend who puts their own assets behind your loan. The other is the state-backed ICO guarantee, which lets eligible first-time buyers borrow more of the price without a private guarantor. This guide explains both, what each costs the people involved, and how to decide which route fits your purchase.
TL;DR
- A private aval makes the guarantor liable for the whole debt, and the bank can usually claim from them without first chasing the borrower. Banco de España explains this liability.
- The ICO guarantee covers up to 20% of the loan, rising to 25% for homes with an energy rating of D or higher, and is open until December 31, 2027. It is aimed at buyers under 36 and families with minors.
- Being a guarantor shows up in the CIRBE credit register and reduces the guarantor’s own borrowing capacity.
- Non-residents cannot lean on the ICO route in the same way and usually need a larger down payment, so planning the financing early matters.
Table of Contents
- What an aval hipotecario actually is
- When do banks ask for a guarantor?
- The private route: a family member or friend as guarantor
- The public route: the ICO guarantee for a first home
- Private aval or ICO: which fits you?
- Buying as a non-resident or as an investor
- A different aval: buying new-build
- Our perspective at Steram Flats
- Get your financing checked before you make an offer
- Checklist before anyone signs an aval
- FAQ
- Sources
What an aval hipotecario actually is
When a bank lends you money to buy a home, the mortgage itself is the main security: if you default, the bank can force the sale of the property. Banks often ask for more. A personal guarantee adds a second person whose assets answer for the debt. The Banco de España separates garantías reales, such as the mortgage on the property, from garantías personales, where a person vouches for the debt, and describes both in its guide to guarantees granted to a third party.
The vocabulary can confuse. You will hear three words:
- Aval: the guarantor commits to pay the debt, usually with full and immediate liability.
- Fianza: a similar guarantee, but in its basic form the guarantor may keep legal protections such as the beneficio de excusión, the right to demand that the bank pursue the borrower first.
- Fiador / avalista: the person who gives the guarantee. In daily banking language the two terms are mixed up.
In practice the distinction rarely helps you. Banks tend to ask guarantors to waive the benefits of division, order and excussion, so the bank can go after the guarantor for the full debt right after a default, without first exhausting the borrower’s assets or the mortgaged home.
When do banks ask for a guarantor?
Spanish lenders have full freedom to accept or reject a mortgage application under their own risk policies, as the Spanish consumer portal on mortgage loans points out. That means there is no single rule for when a guarantor is required. The usual triggers are:
- A small down payment. The less of your own money you put in, the more the bank wants extra security. This is the most common reason.
- Unstable or short income history. A recent job, a temporary contract or self-employment with few years of accounts.
- Young buyers with little credit history. Often the first mortgage of someone in their twenties or early thirties.
- Non-resident status. Income earned abroad, in another currency, and a borrower who is harder to pursue if things go wrong.
To give you a sense of scale, INE provisional data for January 2026 put the average home mortgage in Spain at €165,677, with an average initial interest rate of 2.87% and a 25-year term. On a loan of that size, a bank that finances 80% of the price leaves you to find the remaining 20% plus taxes and fees. Many buyers who cannot do that are the ones who hear “bring a guarantor”.
The private route: a family member or friend as guarantor
What the guarantor risks
The guarantor does not just sign a form. They accept that if you fail to pay, the bank can claim the full debt from their wages, savings and property, including their own main residence. The Banco de España stresses that lenders must assess the guarantor’s solvency with the same rigor as the borrower’s and that giving a guarantee should be treated as a serious decision, not a favor.
There are two further consequences people overlook:
- The guarantee is visible. An aval is recorded in the CIRBE, the Bank of Spain’s risk register. A guarantor who later wants their own loan will find that the contingent debt counts against their debt-to-income ratio.
- The risk outlasts a bad moment. If the home is auctioned and the sale does not cover the debt, the bank can pursue the remainder from the borrower and guarantors.
What the bank will ask of them
Expect the guarantor to supply the same type of file you do: ID, recent payslips or tax returns, bank statements and proof of any property. Lenders look for stable income, low existing debts and, in some cases, a property free of liens. If you are curious how this kind of document checking works, a UK guide to tax return verification for mortgage brokers shows the kind of cross-checks (income against bank deposits, undeclared commitments) that professionals run on an applicant’s paperwork. It is a British source, so the details differ from Spanish practice, but the logic of matching declared income to real deposits is the same, and a clean, consistent file speeds up any lender’s decision.
The guarantor’s rights to information
Since Ley 5/2019 on real estate credit contracts, the protections written for borrowers also extend to guarantors. The bank has to give them clear pre-contractual information about what they are committing to. The Banco de España summarizes this in its page on your information rights as a loan guarantor. If a guarantor leaves the bank without understanding the consequences of default, the process was not done properly. Ask for the documents in advance and read them at home.
Protection for the guarantor’s home
The Código de Buenas Prácticas, the bank code of conduct for borrowers in serious difficulty, can also apply to guarantors, with the aim of safeguarding their main residence. It has conditions, so no one should sign a guarantee counting on it as a safety net.
The public route: the ICO guarantee for a first home
The alternative that now dominates searches is the state guarantee managed by ICO, the official credit institute. The state, not a relative, backs part of your mortgage, so you can reach a higher financing percentage without a private guarantor.
According to ICO’s page on the first-home guarantee line:
| Feature | What applies |
|---|---|
| Guaranteed share | Up to 20% of the loan |
| Higher share | 25% for homes with an energy rating of D or higher |
| Who it targets | Young people under 36 and families with minors |
| Income limits | Modulated by province, up to 7.5 times the IPREM in high-cost areas |
| Applications | Open until December 31, 2027 |
The income thresholds were widened in June 2026, as ICO announced when it extended the line. Check the current limit for your province before you plan around it, because the bank decides on the final approval and the line is financed with a limited budget.
What the ICO guarantee does not do
- It is not a gift. You still repay 100% of the loan, and you still pay interest on it.
- It does not remove the bank’s approval. The lender analyzes your income and debts as usual.
- It does not cover taxes and purchase costs, which you generally fund yourself. Our overview of what you still pay on top of the price after Ley 5/2019 puts these at roughly 10 to 15% of the price.
- It is for a first main residence, not for a holiday home or an investment flat.
That last point rules out most of our clients, so read on if you are not buying your first permanent home.
Private aval or ICO: which fits you?
| Situation | Likely best route |
|---|---|
| Resident under 36 buying a first home, income within limits | ICO guarantee, no private guarantor needed |
| Family with minors, first main home, income within limits | ICO guarantee |
| Over 36 without children, short on savings | Private guarantor, a larger down payment, or a cheaper property |
| Buying a second home or an investment property | Larger down payment; see below |
| Non-resident buyer | Larger down payment and proof of foreign income |
If you do go with a relative as guarantor, set limits. Some families cap the guarantee to a part of the loan (a aval parcial) or agree it should end once the borrower has repaid a certain share. Banks are not obliged to accept this, so negotiate it before signing, not after.
Buying as a non-resident or as an investor
Most of the people who write to us from abroad are not eligible for the ICO line, which asks for legal residence in Spain and a first main home. They can still get a Spanish mortgage, with different terms. Our guide explains that a non-resident can get a mortgage in Spain, and the page on financing a second home sets expectations at a loan-to-value of about 60 to 75%. In those cases the bank’s security comes from your equity, not from a guarantor.
Two practical points for foreign buyers:
- A guarantor living outside Spain is harder for a bank to enforce against, so many lenders will not take one. A guarantee from a Spanish-resident relative with solid income is usually better received.
- If you buy with a partner, protect each person’s share. Our article on mortgages for domestic partners in Spain explains how joint liability works, which is close to being each other’s guarantor.
Also plan how the money arrives. Foreign buyers who wire a deposit without preparing the paperwork can face weeks of checks, as we explain in our guide to transferring funds to Spain without anti-money-laundering delays.
A different aval: buying new-build
The word aval appears in another context that is easy to confuse with the mortgage guarantee. When you buy from a developer and pay deposits during construction, those amounts must be insured or backed by a bank guarantee. If the works do not start or finish, the developer has to refund your deposits with interest, and if it fails to do so, the bank behind the guarantee must repay you. Here the aval protects you, the buyer. Before you pay any off-plan deposit, ask to see the guarantee document and check that it names you as beneficiary.
Our perspective at Steram Flats
We work with buyers from many countries, many of them non-residents, and the question of a guarantor comes up often. Our experience is that a guarantee should be the last tool you reach for, not the first. A guarantor puts someone they love at financial risk, and a loan that only works because of that guarantee is a loan with little margin.
Before you ask anyone to sign, we suggest this order:
- Test the budget without the guarantor. Work out the monthly payment at a stressed interest rate and check it against your real income.
- Look at the property, not only the loan. A slightly cheaper home, or one with a better energy rating, can change the bank’s answer and, if you qualify, the ICO coverage.
- Compare lenders. Banks apply different risk policies, so a no from one is not a no from all. This is where an independent intermediary saves time.
- Only then consider a guarantor, with written limits and full information given by the bank.
Our intermediation on mortgages carries a one-off fee of €0, and we are paid on completed transactions only, with no permanence contracts. We cannot promise any bank’s decision, but we can make sure your file reaches the right desk in good order.
— YellowRock
Get your financing checked before you make an offer
If you are buying in southern Spain and are unsure whether you need a guarantor, our team can review your situation and look at options for residents and non-residents. See our mortgage financing service, or browse the full range of real estate services, from property purchase to licenses and renovations.
Checklist before anyone signs an aval
- Read the pre-contractual documents at least a few days before the notary appointment.
- Confirm exactly which debt is guaranteed: the whole loan, a part, interest, costs of enforcement.
- Check whether the guarantor is asked to waive the benefit of excussion, and what that means in practice.
- Ask whether the guarantee has a time limit or a release condition.
- Make sure the guarantor understands that it will appear in the CIRBE and affect their own credit.
- Agree in the family what happens if payments become difficult, and talk to the bank early, not after missed installments.
FAQ
Can a guarantor lose their own home?
Yes. An avalista answers with all their present and future assets, including their main residence. The Código de Buenas Prácticas may offer some protection in specific situations, but it has conditions and should not be relied on when signing.
Does the ICO guarantee mean I don’t need a down payment?
Not exactly. The state guarantees a share of the loan (up to 20%, or 25% for energy-efficient homes), which can help you reach a higher financing percentage. You still repay the full loan, and you generally pay the taxes and purchase costs yourself. The bank makes the final decision.
Can I get a Spanish mortgage if I live abroad?
Yes, although terms differ. Lenders evaluate residency, income source and the property’s location, and usually finance a lower share of the price than for residents. Our guide for non-residents covers the process.
Is being a guarantor visible to other banks?
Yes. The guarantee is recorded in the CIRBE, and lenders count it as a possible debt when they assess the guarantor’s own financing requests. That can reduce the amount they are offered.
Sources
- Avales para compra de viviendas, Banco de España
- Avales y fianzas prestadas a un tercero, Banco de España
- Fiadores y avalistas, Banco de España
- Qué hacer si no puedo pagar la hipoteca, Banco de España
- ¿Eres avalista de un préstamo?, Banco de España
- Línea de avales hipoteca primera vivienda, ICO
- Ampliación de la Línea de Avales, ICO
- Estadística de Hipotecas, enero 2026, INE
- Ley 5/2019 reguladora de los contratos de crédito inmobiliario, BOE
- Préstamos hipotecarios, Centro Europeo del Consumidor en España
