Certificate of occupancy and home renovation grants

The certificate of occupancy (also called a second occupation licence or declaration in some regions) is a regional administrative document certifying that a property meets the minimum conditions of surface area, height, ventilation, health and safety, and installations to be inhabited. It is not a state document: each autonomous community regulates it in its own housing regulations.

In the regions that require it, it is needed for 3 things: selling the property (the notario (notary) and the buyer request it), formalising a rental contract and connecting or changing the account holder for utilities (electricity, water and gas), as many utility companies demand it to set up contracts in second-hand homes.

The usual technical requirements are a minimum usable surface area, a clear height of 2.50 m in living areas and 2.20 m in bathrooms and kitchens, natural ventilation and lighting in bedrooms and the living room, a full bathroom and a kitchen, and operational electrical and plumbing installations, without serious defects such as structural dampness or stability problems. Managora commissions the technical inspection and submits the application for you.

The certificate is expressly required in regions such as Catalonia, the Valencian Community (under the figure of a second occupation licence or responsible declaration), the Balearic Islands, Asturias, Navarre, La Rioja, Extremadura, the Canary Islands, the Region of Murcia and Cantabria. In other regions, it does not exist as such or has been replaced by the municipal first occupation licence.

The validity varies greatly depending on the region and the type of certificate: from 10 years (Balearic Islands, Asturias, Extremadura) to 25 or 30 years in Catalonia or Navarre, and in the Canary Islands it does not expire until its eventual revocation. When it expires, it must be renewed with a new technical inspection.

Before selling or renting, it is advisable to check if your property has a valid certificate. Managora verifies the situation in your region and, if it has expired or is not registered, processes or renews it for you.

Real Decreto 853/2021, de 5 de octubre, regulates 6 residential renovation grant programmes financed by NextGeneration EU funds within the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. The ones of most interest to individuals are Programme 3 (renovation of the entire building) and Programme 4 (improvement of the energy efficiency of a specific property).

Programme 4 subsidises 40% of the cost of the work, up to a maximum of €3,000 per property, provided the work costs at least €1,000 and manages to reduce heating and cooling demand by at least 7% or non-renewable primary energy consumption by 30%. Programme 3, at the building level, covers between 40% and 80% of the cost (from €6,300 to €18,800 per property) depending on the energy savings achieved.

The calls for applications are managed by each autonomous community, with their own deadlines and budget, and are requested from the regional housing body. Managora checks the open call in your region, gathers the technical documentation and submits the application for you.

Regardless of the grant, the Personal Income Tax Law (disposición adicional quincuagésima de la Ley 35/2006) allows you to deduct a part of what you paid for energy efficiency improvement works on your property in your tax return: 20%, 40% or 60% depending on the proven savings.

The key requirement is documentary: 2 energy efficiency certificates are needed, 1 issued before the works (less than 2 years old) and another once finished, to demonstrate the improvement. Without these registered certificates, the deduction cannot be applied.

The deduction is applied in modelo 100 (income tax return) for the financial year in which the post-works certificate is issued. Managora coordinates the certificates and includes the deduction in your tax return for you.

Yes. The NextGeneration grant and the income tax deduction are compatible: you can receive the regional aid and also claim the deduction on your tax return. However, you do not deduct 2 times for the same thing: the subsidised amount is subtracted from the deduction base, so you only claim the deduction on the part of the work you paid out of pocket.

Furthermore, renovation grants awarded under the Recovery Plan programmes are generally exempt from income tax, so the grant does not make you pay more taxes. Managora calculates the optimal combination of grant and deduction for your specific case.

For a specific project, the efficient approach is to first apply for the regional grant and, in the tax return for the year of the final certificate, apply the deduction to the non-subsidised part.

Managora is a 24-hour online gestoría (administrative management agency) that handles the process from start to finish. For the certificate of occupancy, it organises the technical inspection, prepares the certificate, pays the regional tasa (official fee) and submits the application to your regional administration.

For renovations, it reviews the current call for NextGeneration grants in your region, gathers the documentation (project, budget, energy certificates), submits the grant application and, in your income tax return, applies the corresponding energy efficiency deduction.

You do not have to travel or understand regional regulations: you receive the certificate and the grant resolution by email. You can see the updated amount for each service on the procedure's page.