Is your property registered
At the Catastro and at the registro
Did you know there are two property registers in Spain?
Which means that a property is registered or at least should be, in two different places each one holding different information? These two bodies unfortunately do not share this information with each other very well and this sometimes causes confusion
- The Catastro -
- If you are paying your IBI tax sometimes referred to as the suma then your property’s catastral reference will appear on the IBI receipt.
- From this reference you will be able to obtain a catastral certificate which will tell you the properties boundaries, its physical layout and its exact location.
- The certificate is cheap to obtain and will provide you with a plan as well as a full description of the property in words.
- In addition the Catastro deals with the official valuation of a property and holds the valor catastral which is the sum upon which your IBI is calculated
- The registro de la Propiedad -
- This registry holds information confirming the details of the registered owner as well as the charges and debts which are registered against the property.
- Many people think that an Escritura in a persons name is proof of ownership, and will show if the property has a mortgage registered against it amongst other things.
- Once again the cost of obtaining a Nota Simple is tiny compared with the value of information it holds.
Property has exchanged hands on the strength of a Nota Simple or less for many years in Spain although this is gradually becoming less and less common and foreign purchasers are thankfully becoming more informed.
It is still quite often the case though that a buyer will be encouraged not to worry about the Catastro records and many different reasons will be given. Do not be put off though and ask to see them as discrepancies need to be found and corrected at the point of sale.
There is probably nothing to worry about with your property but it is always better to check for your own peace of mind.
Money spent at point of sale on a good solicitor now can save you later in worry!
Buying Unregistered Property
The legalization of a construction is different to it simply just being described in the title deeds. In the absence of planning permission, quite common in particular areas, where laws state that a dwelling cannot be legal after being built after a certain date on less than 10,000 m2 of land! Properties are constructed in accordance with the local planning regulations and can then be registered in the land registry by virtue of the granting of a deed before the notary, that is based on a certificate granted by an architect which reflects the number of floors, total area of the plot and M2 of the construction plus any other usable element with which to recognize the building. At the same time the architect must make a reference to the age of the construction as if it is more than four years old. If it is not you could have problems as you are deemed to dealing here with a property that can not be claimed as legal and the laws are getting tighter.
The right of the local Town Hall or corresponding authority to take action due to any breach of planning regulations would have been already prescribed, if after 4 years no action has been taken the property may then be registered as a "legal" construction. See now new laws below...............................
If in doubt don't buy anything you are not completely satisfied is legal. Let your solicitor earn his money and do all the possible checks on the property to make sure you are as sure as you can be. There are stories about people losing their homes and some ARE true!
Royal Decree 1093/1997.
Extensions and permissions
There has been a change in the law recently and it seems that up until now the administrative regulations on extensions to property, in particular their legality, meant that if there had been any illegal building works i.e. any type of additions to properties without the proper license from the town hall (for example if you obtained a minor or small works license but were actually extending your property and really needed a major works license) then after 4 years from the works being completed if the town hall had not raised any complaint or fine then they would be out of time for doing so. In addition, and this is the major difference, the land registry would then be obliged to register the extended building.
It now seems that this is not the case. Whilst the town hall can still be time barred from raising a fine the land registry can now refuse to properly register the extended property so you will be left with a title deed (escritura) that does not accurately reflect the true size of the property. Which in reality may mean that anyone wishing to buy the property after these works have been carried out would have to accept the property as it stood i.e. without the true dimensions being registered. This may be acceptable to the buyer or not and unless of course the new buyer needed a mortgage and then the property may not reach the true valuation for the asking price of the property as the bank will only value the registered dimensions i.e. those on the deeds and not what actually stands.
The answer would seem to be to ensure that you apply for the correct license in the first place if you are doing anything other than very minor works and to do so, you need to have an architect prepare a project that accurately reflects what work is to be carried out. That project has to be submitted for approval by the college of architects and then to the town hall for the license. Only then, once the license has been granted should any works start. Once the works are finished you will need certificates from both the architect (a fin de obras) and the town hall confirming that the works have been carried out and completed properly and in accordance with the project and license. Without these documents the land registry will not register your extended property.
I know some of this may sound obvious but it is easy to mistakenly accept the word of the builder and architect that there will be "no problem" and assume they are dealing with matters properly and rely on verbal assurances. Unfortunately quoting such verbal assurances cuts little ice with the land registry.
Our advice now is to make sure you take firm control of the situation and insist on confirmation in writing of any important assurances, check the plans carefully before they are submitted to the college and town hall to make sure they match what you intend to build.
You could hold back a reasonable amount of any architects fees until you have the approval from the college of architects and the license from the town hall and make sure it is the correct form of license. Only then give the go ahead to the builder to start work but make sure he has read the architect's project and will be building in accordance with it.
If you or your builder or architect have not followed the requisite steps correctly in the first place then it is unlikely you will be able to get the necessary documents once the works are completed. If for example the work carried out differs from that in the architects project and/or the license you obtained was for small or minor works when you have actually had big or major works carried out there will be problems. In this case you need to get your architect to prepare a modified project showing what has actually been done and then submit it to the town hall for "modification" and see what the town hall comes back with in terms of fines or required action. Once they have been dealt with, if that is possible, the architect and town hall should then be able to give you the final certificates. Unfortunately this approach creates a worrying period of uncertainty that is best avoided.
It is also important to note that depending on the town you are applying in you may not in fact get permission in the first place especially if you are asking for permission to extend a property that is on less than 10,000m2 on rustic land as already there may be too much built on the land. For example on a plot of 10,000m2 only a land surface area of 2% may be built on, any more than this, if it is not already stated in the deeds, would be illegal.
In the case of plots under this size most properties already exceed this build size so you just would not get planning in any case.