What is the purpose of a Certificate of Antiquity in Spain?
The main function of the Certificate of Antiquity is to allow the registration of a property in the Land Registry. They usually relate to dwellings or complete buildings. They can also refer to later extensions to the dwelling or auxiliary constructions (swimming pools, barbecues, storage rooms, etc...). Banks may sometimes request this before granting a mortgage loan.
The main content of a Certificate of Antiquity is the date of completion of the works. From this information, it is possible to verify whether the deadlines required by the legislation have elapsed. However, this is not enough. It is also necessary to include the number of floors, the occupied surface area and the built surface area of the property. For this reason, it is usual to order a certificate of age and surface area.
The date of completion of the construction is the most sensitive aspect of a Certificate of Age. We must therefore be able to determine this by means of evidence that is as clear and objective as possible. Several methods are available for this purpose.
There are two ways to access the Land Registry depending on the type of New Construction we have:
A normal Obra Nueva is a construction that has recently been completed. If the appropriate steps have been followed, at the end of the construction, you will have all the necessary documentation according to the legislation.
Subsequently, it will be handed over to the Notary to draw up the Escritura de Declaración de Obra Nueva. This document, together with the Licence of First Occupancy from the Town Hall, will allow the Registrar to register the property. The majority of buildings are registered in the Land Registry in this way.
Royal Decree 1093/1997, of 4 July, approving the complementary rules to the Regulations for the execution of the Mortgage Law on registration in the Land Registry of acts of a town planning nature.
Articles 45 and 46 . Registration of New Construction
In order to register a New Building, the Title Deed must state at least the number of storeys, the surface area of the plot occupied and the total square metres built. Proof must also be provided that the Licence has been obtained, the date of completion of the work and that it conforms to the corresponding Project.
The regulations allow alternative access to the Register for old existing constructions that were not registered in the Land Registry for a variety of reasons and did not follow all the steps foreseen. They are considered New Buildings because, for Land Registry purposes, they do not yet exist.
The legislation refers to them as Other Constructions (Old New Works).
Although it is most common to refer to complete dwellings, this is not always the case. A later extension of the dwelling or a swimming pool not included in the original Project are frequent cases of old New Works.
Royal Decree 1093/1997, of 4 July, approving the complementary rules to the Regulations for the execution of the Mortgage Law on registration in the Land Registry of acts of a town planning nature.
Article 52
The Land Registrar may register Declarations of New Construction of completed buildings that comply with the following: That it is proven by certification from the Cadastre, the Town Hall, by technical certification or by notarial deed, the completion of the work on a specific date and its description coincides with the title deed. The date of construction must be prior to the limitation period of the infringement in which it may have been incurred No preventive annotation must be recorded in the Register for the initiation of urban planning discipline proceedings on the property.
