Understanding Urban Certificates in Spain: Essential Insights for Property Transactions

Whether you are selling, purchasing, or building a property or real estate in Spain, you may have heard of the Urban Certificate.

WHAT ARE URBAN DEVELOPMENT CERTIFICATES?

An Urban Development Certificate is a document that describes the urban characteristics of a plot or building and the relevant regulations. This document offers information about the property, from an urban law standpoint.

Which are the most common types of certificates?

• Certificate of date of construction and legality
• Urban Use Optimisation Certificate
• Certificate of illegalities
• Certificate of urban rating
• Certificate of urban encumbrances

Note: the names may change depending on the Council.

What information may I obtain?

Some examples of information that may be obtained are permit record, urban infractions, urban encumbrances, information regarding liveability and urban use optimisation.

What must I take into account when requesting an Urban Development Certificate?

Requesting such certificate implies the payment of a tax that varies according to the municipality. Some municipalities may also require authorisation by the owner to process the request of the certificate.

Please take into account that the issuance of an urban certificate requires quite a long time, so we suggest that you consult your lawyer about whether or not it is advisable to request it, depending on the additional information it may provide regarding the expected deadlines for your transaction.