Have you ever walked into a house and thought its layout was rather \"unusual\"? Sometimes, behind a creative renovation lies something far less visible: an underlying legal problem. Our firm recently examined a case that illustrates this perfectly \u2014 and it is well worth understanding before signing any purchase deed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The starting point is easy to picture. A set of owners decides to extend the home they own outright (100%), taking a few square metres from the adjoining house \u2014 of which they own only 50% in co-ownership (proindiviso) \u2014 with the agreement of the co-owner who holds the other 50%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They knock down the partition wall separating the two spaces, join them together, and at first glance the result is a single, larger and more functional home. They then sell, by public deed, the whole of one of the dwellings and the 50% undivided share of the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the paperwork of everyday life, everything fits. On paper, in legal terms, the problems begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here is the key point that many buyers overlook: the Land Registry does not operate on the basis of what can be seen, but on the basis of registered properties<\/strong>(fincas registrales). No matter how many walls have been knocked down and however physically united the spaces may be, the legal reality does not change on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Until the corresponding registration procedure is carried out, the Registry continues to recognise two separate and independent properties:<\/strong>one in the seller's name and another held in co-ownership. Physical union does not, in itself, bring about legal union. For two properties to become a single one on the register, a consolidation of properties<\/strong>(agrupaci\u00f3n de fincas) is required \u2014 a formal act with its own requirements, which we examine below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The second obstacle is more delicate. The square metres that were \"annexed\" belonged to a property held in co-ownership (proindiviso)<\/strong>that is, jointly owned on a 50\/50 basis. And the Spanish Civil Code is clear on this point: none of the co-owners may, without the consent of the others, make alterations to the jointly owned property, even where such alterations might benefit them all (art. 397 of the Civil Code).<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the new owner wished to make legal what is already physical fact, they would have to clear three barriers. And none of them is a mere formality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To legally add those square metres to the other dwelling, they would first have to be subdivided<\/strong> de la finca en proindiviso y despu\u00e9s agruparlos<\/strong> (segregaci\u00f3n) from the co-owned property and then all<\/strong> co-owners and compliance with the requirements laid down by land-registration\/mortgage law and planning regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though physically it is a single house, for the homeowners' association those \"added\" square metres retain their own participation share<\/strong> (cuota de participaci\u00f3n) in the communal expenses. Amending the association's founding title (t\u00edtulo constitutivo) to reflect the new reality redistributing shares, merging elements does not depend on the will of a single neighbour: the Horizontal Property Act requires the unanimity<\/strong> of the owners' general meeting for this type of resolution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Any modification of this kind must go through the Town Hall: a subdivision licence,<\/strong>, a technical project<\/strong> drawn up by a qualified professional, and municipal approval in accordance with the applicable planning regulations. In many cases, the rules make such a licence difficult to obtain or outright unviable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the physical reality and the registered reality do not match, it is the buyer who inherits the problem. The most common risks are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are thinking of buying a home that has been \"extended\" or joined to another, do not rely solely on what your eyes tell you. Before signing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n La moraleja es sencilla: lo que en el sal\u00f3n parece una gran idea, en la escritura puede convertirse en un gran problema. Aseg\u00farate de que la realidad f\u00edsica y la registral se den la mano antes<\/strong> de firmar.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00bfAlguna vez has entrado en una casa y has pensado que su distribuci\u00f3n es \u00abespecial\u00bb? A veces, detr\u00e1s de una reforma creativa se esconde algo mucho menos visible: un problema jur\u00eddico de fondo. En nuestro despacho hemos analizado recientemente un caso que lo ilustra a la perfecci\u00f3n y que conviene conocer antes de firmar cualquier […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37348,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-derecho-inmobiliario"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbleon-abogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbleon-abogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbleon-abogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbleon-abogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbleon-abogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37344"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/cbleon-abogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37350,"href":"https:\/\/cbleon-abogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37344\/revisions\/37350"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbleon-abogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbleon-abogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbleon-abogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbleon-abogados.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Two independent properties still exist<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Part of the house did not belong to the seller: the co-ownership (proindiviso)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The three barriers to legalising the merger<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. The Land Registry: no merger without subdivision<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. The homeowners' association: participation shares and unanimity<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. The Town Hall: subdivision licence and technical project<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What risks does the buyer really take on?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Recommendations before signing the deed<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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