What is subdividing a property, how much does it cost and what minimum area is needed?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

Subdividing means separating part of a property to create a new property from it at the “Registro de la Propiedad”, the Land Registry. In Catalonia, a licence from the town council is needed first or, if the operation is not an urban subdivision (“parcelación urbanística”), a municipal declaration that no licence is required. A deed is then signed before a notary and registered at the Land Registry. There is no general minimum area, because on urban land it is set by each municipality's urban plan and on rural land no properties smaller than the minimum farming unit can be created. The cost depends on the property and is made up of the technical expert's work, the municipal fee, notary's and Land Registry fees and, normally, stamp duty (the “impuesto de actos jurídicos documentados”) on the deed. What it is and the steps involved Subdividing is separating a portion of a property to form another. The one that remains is called the parent property (“finca matriz”). If the whole property is split into several, with no parent property remaining, it is called a division. The usual steps are as follows: A technical expert, such as a surveyor or an architect, measures the property and draws up a plan of the resulting properties with their coordinates. The law requires that georeferenced plan to be entered in the Land Registry. Permission is sought from the town council, which oversees all subdivisions. If the operation is an urban subdivision, that is, a division that makes it easier to construct buildings for urban uses, the council grants or refuses the subdivision licence. If it is not, the council declares that no licence is needed. With the licence or that declaration, the deed is signed before a notary and registered at the Land Registry. The notary and the land registrar must check that it exists. The licence only states that the subdivision complies with planning rules. It does not resolve civil-law problems, such as a disagreement between the owners about how to divide the property. The minimum area On urban land, each municipality's urban plan sets the minimum plot size for each zone and often other measurements, such as the minimum frontage. As a general rule, plots of that size or smaller cannot be divided, nor can those less than twice that size, unless the part being separated is joined to a neighbouring property. Before commissioning anything, ask the town council or a technical expert what the plan says for that zone. On rural land, which Catalan law calls non-developable land (“no urbanizable”), urban subdivisions are always prohibited. In addition: A rural property cannot be divided or subdivided if this leaves plots smaller than the minimum farming unit, which is the minimum area needed to farm it with a reasonable yield. It is set by the Generalitat de Catalunya (the Catalan government) according to the area and differs for dry farming and irrigated land. Anything done in breach of it is void. There are exceptions, for example if the separated part is sold to an adjoining neighbour to be joined to their property, provided that neither of the two falls below the minimum. In the rest of Spain, the minimum farming unit is set by each autonomous community and the licence depends on its planning law. How much it costs There is no fixed price. The usual items are: The technical expert who measures the property, draws up the plan and prepares the georeferencing. This depends on the size and complexity of the property. The licence fee, set by each town council's tax ordinance. The notary's office and the Land Registry, which charge according to official scales of fees that depend mainly on the value of the property. Stamp duty on the deed, which in Catalonia is generally 1,5 % of the value of the property being separated. For example, if the separated part is worth 100.000 euros, it comes to 1.500 euros.