Among the documents required to be able to sell or rent a property in Catalonia is the cédula de habitabilitat (certificate of occupancy).
This is an administrative document certifying that a property meets all the basic requirements to be able to be inhabited. It is also an essential document for contracting all services and supplies.
The requirements for obtaining the cédula de habitabilidad depend on each autonomous community, and there are actually autonomous communities in which it is not necessary to present the document. Although in this case another series of accreditations are required for the same purpose – to certify the legality of a dwelling so that it can be inhabited.
There are three types of cédula de habitabilidad:
- Cédula de habitabilidad de primera ocupación, which is issued by the Town Hall to the developer.
- Cédula de habitabilidad de primera ocupación por rehabilitación, which is issued to rehabilitated properties or those that have undergone major renovations.
- Second occupancy certificate of occupancy, for dwellings that have already been previously inhabited.
The period of validity of a cédula de habitabilidad is usually 15 years, although this also depends on each autonomous community.
In order to obtain a cédula de habitabilidad you must go to a registered architect or quantity surveyor, who will visit the property to check that it meets the requirements and conditions demanded by the autonomous community. Once the inspection has been carried out, s/he will issue a certificate that will be endorsed by the Architects’ Association and presented to the relevant authority, who will then issue the certificate of habitability. It is important to know that this procedure can take up to 3 months.
At Lasose Properties & Investments we help you manage the process of selling your property without stress, facilitating all the necessary procedures and formalities to make the sale go ahead smoothly.
