New build, horizontal division and other Land Registry registrations

These are the acts that record the real changes of a property in the Land Registry and the Catastro, so that the physical and legal reality matches what is registered. All of them require a public deed before a notario (Spanish notary) and registry inscription.

The new build declaration (declaración de obra nueva) records in the Registry that a building exists on a plot. It can be for a building under construction (declaring that it will be built according to a licence and project) or a finished building (declaring that it is already completed). A frequent case is the new build by antiquity, for old buildings for which a demolition order is no longer possible.

The horizontal division converts a building into several independent elements (flats, commercial premises, garages, storage rooms), establishes the common elements and assigns a participation quota to each one. It is governed by Ley 49/1960, de Propiedad Horizontal (Horizontal Property Act).

Segregation separates a portion of a property to create a new one. Division splits a property into several. Grouping (or aggregation) joins several properties into one. The change of ownership in the Catastro (declaration of cadastral alteration) updates who appears as the owner and the characteristics of the property.

The declaration of a finished new build requires, for its registration, the final building certificate issued by a competent technician, the administrative authorisations (first occupation licence or its responsible declaration), the decennial insurance when applicable and, in buildings, the deposit of the building book in the Registry. The energy efficiency certificate is a legal obligation of the building for its use or sale (Real Decreto 390/2021), but it does not constitute a requirement to register the new build in the Registry. Furthermore, article 202 of the Ley Hipotecaria (Mortgage Act) requires identifying the portion of land occupied by the building using georeferenced coordinates; according to the doctrine of the Directorate General of Legal Security and Public Faith, that occupied portion is not enough, but the entire property on which the building stands must be georeferenced and registered, previously or simultaneously.

The decennial insurance (Ley 38/1999, de Ordenación de la Edificación (Building Organisation Act)) covers damages affecting the structure of the building for 10 years. It is not required for the individual self-developer of a single-family home for their own use; if they sell it before 10 years, they must contract it for the remaining time unless otherwise agreed and proving their own use.

The horizontal division needs the division deed with the description of each element and its quota, and the horizontal division licence when the regional or municipal regulations require it.

The segregation and division of properties require the municipal parcelling licence or the municipal declaration of unnecessariness. Grouping does not require a parcelling licence, but it does require georeferencing. The change of cadastral ownership is proven with the public document that motivates the alteration (deed, resolution or registry certification).

Since Ley 13/2015, which reformed the Ley Hipotecaria (Mortgage Act) and the Ley del Catastro (Catastro Act), the georeferenced graphic representation is mandatory in any operation that reorganises the land: segregation, division, grouping, aggregation or reparcelling, and in the portion occupied by a finished new build. In a new build, in addition to that occupied portion, the entire property on which the building sits must be georeferenced and registered, previously or simultaneously.

The basis is the cadastral cartography. When the operation reorganises the property, an alternative georeferenced graphic representation prepared by a technician can be provided. Once registered and matching, the property is coordinated with the Catastro and the Registry communicates the data to the Catastro.

Notaries electronically communicate the alterations they authorise to the Catastro (new build, segregation, division, grouping), which in many cases avoids having to submit the cadastral declaration separately afterwards.

These operations are subject to the Stamp Duty (AJD), notarial documents, which is a regional tax. It is self-assessed with form 600 at the Hacienda (the Spanish tax authority) of the autonomous region, with a rate that ranges approximately between 0.5% and 1.5% depending on the region.

The taxable base changes depending on the operation: in a new build it is the declared material execution cost; in a horizontal division, the value of the property (cost of the work plus land value); in segregation, the value of the segregated property; in grouping, the value of the grouped properties.

To this must be added the fees of the notario (by tariff) and the Land Registry, plus the cost of the project and the technician's certificates. The change of cadastral ownership and the cadastral declaration do not have a tasa (official fee). You can see the updated management amount in the file of each Managora procedure.

The natural order is: first the technical documentation and licences are gathered, then the deed is executed before a notario, the AJD is paid, it is submitted and registered in the Registry and, finally, the Catastro is updated (if the notario did not do it ex officio).

The AJD (form 600) has a deadline of 30 working days from the deed. The cadastral declaration (form 900D, which integrates the old 901-N) must be submitted within 2 months from the deed or the completion of the work.

Once the deed is submitted, the Registry has 15 working days to qualify and register, and the presentation entry maintains its priority for 60 working days. If the registrar finds a defect, they notify a negative qualification and the deadline is extended to correct it.

Managora coordinates the entire procedure from start to finish: we review the registry and cadastral situation of the property, gather the technician's certificates, the licence or declaration of unnecessariness and the georeferenced graphic representation, and prepare the text of the deed.

We manage the signing before a notario, pay the Stamp Duty, submit the deed to the Land Registry and follow up until registration, correcting any defect that is found.

Finally, we update the Catastro (declaration of alteration or change of ownership) so that the ownership and characteristics appear correctly. You only provide the details and sign.