REAL ESTATE CATASTRO, What is the CATASTRO for?

The Real Estate Cadastre is the administrative register of the Ministry of Finance and Public Function in which rustic, urban and special characteristics real estate is described. It is regulated by the Texto Refundido de la Ley del Catastro Inmobiliario. Unlike the Land Registry, registration is compulsory and free of charge.

This description of the real estate summarises its physical, economic and legal characteristics. It gives the following characteristics:

• Location and cadastral reference.
  The surface area, use or destination.
  The type of cultivation or use, if the property is exploited.
  The quality of the constructions.
  The graphic representation.
  The market reference value.
  The cadastral value and the cadastral owner, with his tax identification number or, if applicable, foreigner’s identity number.

When the property is correctly coordinated with the Land Registry, this circumstance will be incorporated together with its registry code. On the other hand, if there are discrepancies, it is necessary to go to the Cadastre to resolve them.

The Cadastre is intended as a tax tool, providing the necessary information for the correct management, collection and control of various taxes by the state, regional and local administrations. Its main function is to correctly collect taxes such as IBI, Inheritance and Gift Tax and Transfer Tax.

And it is a consultation body for buying and selling, as the Cadastre provides the census of real estate, its ownership, its characteristics, as well as the cadastral value, which is an administrative value that corresponds to each property and which allows the economic capacity of its owner to be determined.

The owners of the properties must be those who register them in the Cadastre. There is a period of two months from the day following the date of formalisation of the declared fact, act or business. Sometimes, the notary’s offices are responsible for the management.

If you wish to register or modify a property in the Cadastre, please contact:

• The local Cadastre Offices or Units or the Delegations of Economy and Finance in which they are integrated.
• The other bodies and offices listed in article 16.4 of Law 39/2015, of 1 October, on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations.
• The town council in whose municipal district the property to which the application refers is located.

The procedure can be initiated telematically through the Cadastre’s Electronic Headquarters, or by filling in the corresponding declaration form. The forms for each model can be obtained free of charge from the Cadastre Offices, from the Economy and Tax Delegations or from collaborating Town Councils.

The corresponding forms must be presented, in addition to declaration form 902-N, with the following documentation:

• DNI or NIF.
• If the cadastral reference of the property does not exist for the declaration in the document that accredits the alteration, electronic cadastral certification obtained through the Electronic Headquarters of the Cadastre or cadastral certification or any document issued by the Manager of the Cadastre in which the cadastral reference is stated will be provided. If none of the above can be obtained, a photocopy of the last receipt justifying payment of the IBI must be provided.

In addition, the following must be provided:

• Photocopy of the deed document of new construction.
• Final construction certificate.
• High resolution photographs of the façade.
• Scale plans: of the location, of the site and the definitive plans of each floor.
• Report of materials and qualities.
  Cost of the material execution of the works.
• In the event that the horizontal division is declared with this model, the original and photocopy, or a collated copy of the document accrediting the horizontal division must be provided. The distribution of the premises to be represented in each of the floor plans must coincide with the existing description in the horizontal division. The spaces corresponding to all the common elements must be represented graphically, with an expression of the constructed areas. If the declaration affects storage rooms and/or parking spaces in joint ownership assigned to the exclusive and permanent use and enjoyment of one owner, the original and photocopy, or a certified copy, of the public document accrediting said registration must also be attached, as well as the scale plan describing the distribution of the storage rooms and parking spaces affected, together with the table of built surface areas assigned to them.
• In the case of a building under any public protection regime, the original and photocopy, or a certified copy, of the definitive qualification certificate must be provided.
• In the event that a change of cadastral title is also declared, the original and photocopy of the document formalising the change must be submitted for verification purposes, and the original must be returned to the declarant.

The most common thing is that in the course of a lifetime everyone has to go once. Let us look at some of the cases in which you are obliged to declare to the Real Estate Cadastre and fill in the 900D cadastral declaration form:

• You have acquired ownership of a property (purchase, inheritance, donation, etc.).
• You have consolidated ownership of a property (due to the extinction of the usufruct rights of third parties over it).
• You have constituted, modified or acquired a real right of: usufruct, surface, administrative concession.
  You have built a new construction.
• You have extended, altered or rehabilitated a building.
  You have added or grouped a property.
• You have segregated or divided a property.
• You have carried out a horizontal division of a property.
• Change of cultivation of a plot of land.
• Modification of the use of a property (from premises to dwelling, for example).
• Demolition of a property.

Also, whether it has changed:

• The share of the community or unincorporated entity in the property.
• The internal composition of the community or unincorporated entity over the immovable property.
• The share of the spouses in the common property or common rights in the immovable property.

On the other hand, if you are no longer the cadastral owner of a property because the right (ownership, usufruct, surface area or administrative concession) that gave rise to its cadastral ownership has ceased, you can submit the cadastral application form for cancellation of ownership.

When carrying out any procedure, discrepancies may arise that must be resolved. These are the cases envisaged (which can be accessed via this Link.

• If you do not agree with the resolution issued by the Cadastre Office, you may lodge an appeal for reconsideration.
• If you appear in the Real Estate Cadastre as the cadastral holder and you are not and have never been the holder of a right that attributes cadastral ownership (ownership, usufruct, surface area, concession) over the property, you can lodge an appeal for reconsideration.
• If you do not agree with the refusal of the request for cadastral information issued by the Cadastre Office or with any other non-tax resolution, you can lodge an appeal for reconsideration.SOURCE: IDEALISTA