The regulation of the cadastre and land register

Already at the end of 2012, the Spanish government decided to update the databases of the Spanish land registry office.

The owner of a property on the Balearic Islands was thus given the opportunity to update his registration in the Spanish land registry without incurring a fine.

This regulation of the land register is therefore also called a kind of cadastral amnesty.

For the municipalities in which the properties updated in the cadastre are located, the regulation means additional income, as the cadastral value of the properties increases due to the regulation and this cadastral value is the basis for the calculation of the property tax ( IBI ) and the municipal capital gains tax ( Plusvalia ).

Even before the state regulatory measure, the property owner was obliged to notify the Cadastral Office within 2 months of any changes to the property due to conversions or extensions, and to update the cadastral value in this way. Otherwise, a fine of up to € 6,000 is to be expected. However, the regulation of the cadastre does not automatically apply throughout Spain, but is limited to those municipalities that have been officially designated.  In the municipalities of San Josep and San Antonio the regulation was already completed last year, in the municipalities of Santa Eulalia, San Joan and Ibiza City it is still in progress.

The owner of the property can either submit a regulation proposal on his own initiative or the land registry office can request the owner to do so ex officio. After the regulation, a fee of 60€ per property is due, as well as an additional payment of the property tax for the last 4 years calculated on the basis of the increased cadastral value. In order to initiate the procedure voluntarily, the owner must enclose plans and building descriptions by an expert in addition to the relevant forms (Form 902-N).  Only legally built properties can be updated in the cadastral office. Those buildings that violate building regulations are generally excluded from the regulation. Something different applies in cases where the building law violation has already become statute-barred and thus there is protection of existing buildings.

The regulation of the land registry office does not extend to the Spanish land registry (“Registro de la Propiedad”). However, it is advisable to have the square metres not previously recorded in the land registry registered. Such a correction of the land registry office is done by a notarial new building declaration, the so-called “Declaración de obra nueva”. The purpose of this declaration is to have the buildings erected on the property or the extensions or conversions made to it entered in the land register with a precise description and indication of their value. The registration is carried out on the basis of a declaration of new construction to be submitted to the notary and recorded by him in a public deed.  The new building is subject to stamp duty in the amount of 1.2 % of the certified value.

The declaration of new construction is of legal significance, for example, if the registration of a usufruct cannot be made because it is not clear from the land register that a building exists. The declaration of new construction is also of great practical importance if the purchase of real estate is financed by a mortgage. The buyer usually only receives a loan from a Spanish bank if the entries of the house to be encumbered are correctly noted in the land register.
In summary, cadastral regulation offers many property owners in Ibiza and the Balearic Islands an excellent opportunity to update their property in both the cadastre and the land register.