- This topic has 12 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 18 years, 6 months ago by
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Tread carefully here!
What may seem to be part of the plot you wish to buy may, in fact, belong to somebody else. The official starting point would be to get a ‘certificado descriptivo y grafico’ from the tax land registry, or catastral, and compare the numbers with the ownership land registry, or registro de propiedad. Small differences are common but large differences will have to ironed out before completion. Should you decide to exchange contracts before the paperwork is resolved then ensure that the problem is defined in the contract and that seller picks up the associated costs.
Needless to say, use an experienced lawyer or you may easily get your fingers burnt.
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http://ovc.catastro.meh.es/ will tell you the size of the property according to the catastral people. If the townhall have been receiving taxes based on the larger size they’re unlikely to be able to force you to demolish the extra m2!
However, they may still hit you with a fine for illegal building (around a couple of thousand euros) and the paperwork will usually take months to sort out. For this reason it might be impractical to wait for the seller to put things in order, so get a quote from an experienced lawyer as to the cost of having things put right and ask the seller to drop it from his price.
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Hi there and thanks for the replies. The problem is that the house is on two floors, and the underbuild containing bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchen all built when the house was new, were never registered in the Ayuntamiento or Land Registry. What is involved in getting this amended in both places ? Landlubber
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I misread your earlier letter and understood that the plot was larger than that declared. My apologies.
If the house is in neither the catastral registry or property registry then you really do have a lot of paperwork to organise.
Firstly, you will have to register in the catastral by declaring the number of metres built and paying the fees. However, you will not be able to do this without proving that the house is more than five years old, and to do this you will need a certificate to that effect from an architect.
You will then need to declare an ‘obra nueva’ and register in the property registry – paying the corresponding fees.
However, I am absolutely sure that if you dig around you will find a series of other serious underlying problems such as land classification, neighbour disputes, and the status of any existing contracts for electricity and water.
I strongly recommend that you use a local lawyer for this – but if you are determined to do it yourself then the best place to turn to for free – or near free – advice will be the local notary and his officials.
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Thanks again for your reply. We do have a local solicitor involved but she is Spanish and seems to be telling us what she thinks we want to hear so we are trying to do some homework ourselves.
The house is registered in both the Land Registry and the Ayuntamiento but with the square meters of the habitable surface area a lot less than the reality.
How complicated is it to fully legalise the house and are there likely to be any hidden costs ?
Your advice would be appreciated, Landlubber -
If you leave your lawyer to sort out both registries, then your time is best spent: checking details and procedures with a local notary; quizzing the local council urban planning office; and personally checking the status of the accounts with the electricity and water offices. If Spanish is a problem then hire a local translator for a couple of mornings.
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Walking away may be the best option – however, you will need a little patience to discover if it is the best option.
By the way, while the land grab law in Valencia is an issue, it is important to understand that this law is exclusively applicable to non-urban land. Any buyer can obtain complete protection against the effects of land grab by simply buying land officially designated as urban – which may be in a very rural setting.
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FRANKLY, WITH VALENCIA LAND GRAB ETC, WHY WOULD ANYBODY BUY IN VALENCIA.
Sorry Shakeel, but that comment is from someone who is misinformed, we live in Valencia,Olocau to be precise, and know a lot of people who have no worries at all,along with the other thousand’s who live here,if it was that bad then no one would live here 🙄
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Thank you all for your replies. The house is situated on urban land and land grab will not be an issue. An architect is going to inspect the property so that it can be registered correctly in the land registry (seller’s cost), so that leaves the Town Hall end to be dealt with which I gather takes quite a while also needing an architect to dwaw up a project. Does anyone have experience of this. Thank you again landlubber
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I WAS NOT SUGGUESTING THAT LAND GRABS THE WHOLE PROVINCE OF VALANCIA.
IT WAS JUST A ADDITIONAL POINT TO SUGGUEST THAT IF THINGS ARE COMPLICATED AND THE LAWS OF GOVT OF VALENCIA CAN GO THE THE EXTANT OF GRABBING LAND OF PEOPLE WHO BOUGHT IT GOOD FAITH PERHAPS SOME THROUGH EVEN A SPANISH LAWYERS.
THE RULES GOT CHANGED. THE SPIRIT OF THE LAW WAS NOT APPLIED BY THE DEVELOPERS AND THE VALENCIAN GOVT TOOK NO ACTION.
IT IS NOT SURPRSING THAT THE PROVINCE ESTABLISHED A NEGATIVE REPUTATION. THE MATTER HAD TO GO EUROPEAN COURTS FOR A RESOLUTION.
WHETHER THE LAND IS URBAN OR NOT RETROPESTIVE LAWS HAVE BEEN APPLIED IN THE PAST.
PRUDANCE TELLS ME TO TRY AND NOT TO DRIVE HORSE AND CARRIAGE THROUGH IT. IT IS SUPPOSE TO BE YOUR HOLIDAY HOME AND NOT A HOME WHICH WILL BRING NIGHTMARE.
PLEASE NOTE THAT I LOVE SPAIN AND HAVE MANY FRIENDS THERE, BUT THIS IS PEOPLE EMOTIONS, RETIREMENTS, LIFE SAVINGS ETC.
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