Municipal procedures for families: nursery school, public housing and padrón

These are 3 different procedures resolved at the town hall (or the corresponding regional register) which usually arise at the same time when a child arrives or there is a move.

First, admission to a municipal nursery school for the 0 to 3 years cycle: a place is requested in an annual call, ordered by a points system and incorporation is in September. Second, registration in the public housing applicants register: this is the prerequisite to be eligible for public housing for sale or rent and for certain rental subsidies. Third, deregistration from the municipal padrón when the family changes municipality or moves abroad.

All 3 are, in themselves, municipal procedures without a tasa (official fee): the application for a place, registration as an applicant and deregistration from the padrón have no official cost (the nursery school place does later generate a monthly public price depending on income and the municipality). The amount for Managora's service to prepare and submit each procedure is shown on the procedure's page.

Managora reviews your case, gathers the documentation, calculates your points and submits the application for you, within the deadline and at the correct office.

Parents or guardians of children aged 0 to 3 who are accessing a publicly funded centre for the first time can apply for a place, depending on the child's year of birth (for example, for the 2026-2027 academic year, those born in 2024, 2025 and 2026, including those expected before 1 January 2027 and minors in adoption or foster care).

As places are limited, applications are ordered by a points system. The parents' employment situation, the family's income or economic situation, the proximity of the home or workplace to the centre, having siblings already enrolled, large family status, single-parent family status, recognised disability, multiple birth, foster care and being a victim of gender violence are assessed.

The points system, calendar and documentation are set by each municipality or autonomous community, so they vary depending on where you live. The points table we include corresponds to the city of Madrid for the 2026-2027 academic year (Resolución de 27 de febrero de 2025) and serves as a reference: in other municipalities the sections are similar, but the values change.

The address and, where applicable, income are checked automatically if you authorise it. Managora checks your score for each centre, correctly orders your preferences and submits the application with all the supporting documents so that you do not lose points due to documentation.

Being registered in the public register of public housing applicants (municipal or regional, depending on the community) is the mandatory preliminary step to be eligible for official public housing, whether for purchase, rent or rent with an option to buy. Many rental subsidies and allocations also require this registration.

The usual requirements are: not being the full owner of another property (with justified exceptions), not exceeding the set income limit (expressed in multiples of the IPREM and varying by community and housing scheme), using the property as a habitual and permanent residence and being registered on the padrón in the municipality or community where you register.

The application declares the family unit's details, annual income, the access scheme applied for and the number of bedrooms needed. Registration is free and, generally, is valid for 3 years from its issue or last modification (in some communities it is 2 or 4 years), renewable in the 3 months prior to expiry; any change (income, address, family composition) must be reported.

The rule regulating the register is regional and changes from one community to another. Managora identifies the register that corresponds to you, verifies that you meet the income and ownership requirements, and processes your registration or renewal.

If you move within Spain, you do not have to request deregistration in the municipality you are leaving. It is enough to register (empadronamiento) in the destination municipality: that town hall communicates the registration to the INE and the INE notifies the municipality of origin so that it deregisters you automatically, usually in the first few days of the following month.

If you are Spanish and move your residence abroad, you also do not do the procedure at the town hall: you must register as a resident in the Consular Register of your new country. That consular registration registers you in the Padrón of Spaniards Resident Abroad (PERE) and causes your automatic deregistration from the municipal padrón, through the communication from Foreign Affairs to the INE (Real Decreto 991/2024).

If you are a foreigner and go to another country without registering on the padrón in another Spanish municipality, you can request voluntary deregistration from the padrón by submitting an application with documentation proving the move. Furthermore, non-EU foreigners without a long-term residence authorisation (ENCSARP) must renew their registration every 2 years; if they do not do so, the town hall declares it expired and they are deregistered.

There are also automatic deregistrations due to death, duplication or improper registration. Managora processes the registration at the destination, the consular registration or the voluntary deregistration depending on your case, so that your records remain consistent and you do not carry over an old empadronamiento.

Nursery school: official application form and annex for the second parent, DNI or NIE (Foreigner Identity Number) of the applicants, family book or equivalent document, proof of employment situation (authorisation to check the employment history or employment history and company certificate, and job demand if unemployed), authorisation to check income or verified income, and certificates that give points (large family, single parent, disability, custody rulings, medical certificate if the child is not yet born).

Public housing applicants register: DNI or NIE of the family unit, declaration of annual income or the latest tax return, responsible declaration of not owning another property and proof of empadronamiento.

Deregistration from the padrón: when moving within Spain or when a Spaniard moves abroad, deregistration documentation is not needed, because it is automatic after registration at the destination or consular registration. For the voluntary deregistration of a foreigner: DNI or NIE, deregistration application and document proving the new address or country (contract, ticket, certificate from the destination country).

Managora tells you the exact list according to your municipality and your situation, and ensures that no document is missing or expires before submission.

The consular registration of Spaniards moving abroad is governed by Real Decreto 991/2024, de 1 de octubre (in force since 2 April 2025, which repealed Real Decreto 3425/2000): it confirms that registering as a resident at the consulate generates automatic deregistration from the municipal padrón through the INE.

The management of the padrón continues to be based on Ley 7/1985 de Bases del Régimen Local, Real Decreto 1690/1986 and Resolución de 17 de febrero de 2020 (technical instructions to town halls), which maintain automatic deregistration due to a change of municipality and the renewal every 2 years for ENCSARP.

In public housing, the framework of Ley 12/2023, de 24 de mayo, por el derecho a la vivienda remains in force, which keeps the applicants register as the gateway to public housing and subsidies; the income limits and the validity of the registration are specified by each community.

In nursery schools, each municipality publishes its call for the 2026-2027 academic year with its dates and points system; the general trend for the year is to expand free places for 0 to 3 years and reduce ratios. In the city of Madrid, the application period was from 6 to 17 April 2026.