If my siblings and I own flats jointly or inherited them together, do they count towards being a large-scale landlord (“gran tenedor”)?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

The Spanish housing act does not settle this. It refers to being the “titular” (holder) of the properties and does not say how those held jointly with others are counted. One academic argues that, if the siblings let the jointly owned flats together and these reach the threshold, they are treated as a single large-scale landlord. The same can happen with an estate that has not yet been divided. In Catalonia, where five properties are enough in a stressed residential market area (“zona tensionada”), a family's property holdings easily reach that figure, so it is advisable to check before setting the rent. What the law says A large-scale landlord is anyone who holds more than ten urban residential properties or more than 1.500 square metres of built floor area for that use. In stressed residential market areas in Catalonia, anyone who holds five or more residential properties located in the area. The Spanish housing act does not say how flats held in co-ownership, in usufruct or in an undivided estate are counted. Nor are there any court judgments clarifying the point. In Catalonia, a reform of July 2026 has, in principle, written into Catalan law the approach already applied by the “Agència de l'Habitatge de Catalunya”, the Catalan housing agency, for counting ownership percentages, for the purposes of the obligations imposed by that law. Under that approach, each co-owner counts the flats in proportion to their share, so that a half share in ten flats counts as five. The only new counting rule is the one in the October 2026 decree. Each home in a building without a registered horizontal division (“división horizontal”), that is, not separated in the Land Registry into independent flats, counts as one property. One approach to counting them A 2023 study by a professor of civil law proposes this approach: Flats that belong to you alone always count. Flats you own jointly with your siblings are not added to your count of properties as if they were yours alone. For the square metres, however, your share counts. If the siblings let the jointly owned flats together and these reach the threshold, they act as a single unit and are a large-scale landlord. An undivided estate that reaches the threshold is a large-scale landlord if the flats are let in the name of the estate or by all the heirs together. Each heir, individually, does not add their share of those flats, because their right is over the estate as a whole. Any right that allows the flat to be let counts, such as a usufruct. You do not need to be the owner. Status is assessed at the relevant moment, for example when setting the rent under a new tenancy, when the tenant requests an extension or when bringing a claim. What to do If you and your siblings let five or more flats together in a stressed residential market area in Catalonia, the prudent course is to treat yourselves as a large-scale landlord and not exceed the reference rent index of the “Ministerio de Vivienda”, Spain's Ministry of Housing. When the estate is divided, the count changes, because from then on each person holds what is allocated to them. Check it before signing each tenancy agreement, because the figure changes if you buy, sell or inherit.