How long do you have to exercise a right of redemption (“retracto”) over a rural property?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

The time limit for exercising a right of redemption (“retracto”), which means taking over what someone else has just bought by paying them what they paid, depends on who exercises it and on the law that grants it. In Catalonia, the co-owner of the property has one month to buy from the moment the co-owner selling their share notifies them by “burofax” (a certified letter with proof of content) or by another means that provides reliable proof and, if they were not notified, three months to take over the share sold from when they learn of the sale and its terms or from when it is registered at the “Registro de la Propiedad”, the Land Registry. The neighbour who farms their land themselves has two months from when they learn of the sale and its terms or from when it is registered at the Land Registry. The neighbour who holds a priority agricultural holding (“explotación agraria prioritaria”), which is one registered as such in an official register, has one year from registration at the Land Registry or, if notified of the sale in a way that provides reliable proof, 60 days from the notification, when that period ends sooner. In all cases, if the time limit passes without the right being exercised, the right is lost. The time limits in Catalonia The co-owner. If one of the owners wants to sell their share to an outsider, they must first notify the others in a way that provides reliable proof, that is, by a means that leaves a record, such as a burofax or a formal notice served through a notary. The notice must state the price and the terms. From then on, the others have one month to buy the share at that price. If they were not notified, or the share was sold at a different price or on different terms, they have three months to take over the share sold from when they learn of the sale and its terms or from when it is registered at the Land Registry. The neighbour with the adjoining owners' right of redemption under the Catalan code, that is, the neighbour who farms their land themselves, when the rural property being sold is smaller than the minimum farming unit and the buyer does not own any adjoining property. The minimum farming unit is the minimum area set by the Generalitat de Catalunya (the Catalan government) for a rural property to be farmed with a reasonable yield. This neighbour has two months from when they learn of the sale and its terms or from when the sale is registered at the Land Registry. The neighbour who holds a priority agricultural holding, if the property sold measures less than twice the minimum farming unit. Spain's farm modernisation act (“Ley de Modernización de las Explotaciones Agrarias”), which can also apply in Catalonia, gives them one year from when the sale is registered at the Land Registry. If they are notified of the sale in a way that provides reliable proof, they have 60 days from the notification, unless the year ends sooner. The “Tribunal Supremo”, Spain's Supreme Court, has applied the 60 days even when the notification arrived after registration, because the time limit then ended before the year. That is why anyone who receives such a notification should not count on having the whole year. In most of the rest of Spain, the co-owner and the adjoining neighbour under the Spanish Civil Code (“Código civil”) have only nine calendar days, public holidays included, from when the sale is registered at the Land Registry or, if it is not registered, from when they learn of it. The time limit for the holder of a priority holding is the same as in Catalonia. How they are counted and what to do When the time limit runs from registration at the Land Registry, it runs even if the person concerned has not found out about the sale, because the law considers that from then on anyone can know of it. If the buyer does not accept the redemption, it must be exercised by bringing a claim in court. Since 2025 the law has generally required an attempt to reach an agreement first, so with such short time limits it is advisable to start the process as soon as you learn of the sale. Whoever exercises the right of redemption pays the buyer the same as the buyer paid, so it is advisable to have the money available from the outset. If you are the buyer, it is in your interest to register the purchase as soon as possible and to notify the adjoining neighbours of it in a way that provides reliable proof, because that starts their time limits running.