When does the Generalitat have a pre-emption right (“tanteo y retracto”) on the sale of a home?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

Only in the cases laid down by law, which do not generally include the sale of a flat between private individuals. The main ones are homes acquired after 9 April 2008 through mortgage enforcement proceedings or through a “dación en pago” (a transfer to the bank in settlement of the debt), even if they are being sold for the second or third time. They also include homes owned by companies that are large-scale landlords (“grandes tenedores”) in stressed residential market areas (“zonas tensionadas”) and homes awarded at an auction. In those cases the transaction must be notified to the “Agència de l'Habitatge de Catalunya”, the Catalan housing agency, which has two months to decide whether to buy the home itself for the same price, which is known as the right of first refusal (“tanteo”). If it does not reply, it is deemed to have waived the right. If it was not notified, the Generalitat de Catalunya (the Catalan government) can later take the home by paying the buyer the same amount the buyer paid, which is known as the right to buy back (“retracto”). Which sales are covered Sales of homes acquired after 9 April 2008 through mortgage enforcement proceedings, whether by the bank or by the winning bidder at the auction, or through a “dación en pago”, in which the borrower hands the home over to the bank to settle the debt. The right applies to the first sale and to subsequent ones, so a private individual who bought the home from the bank or at the auction in those proceedings must also give notice. It makes no difference whether it is the owner's principal residence or a second home. Sales of homes owned by companies or other legal entities that are large-scale landlords, in other words that own many homes, if the homes are in a stressed residential market area. These are the areas the Generalitat designates as such because of the difficulty of accessing housing, such as Barcelona. Awards of homes at court or administrative auctions. Here only the award is covered, so the resale of a home bought at an auction that did not arise from mortgage enforcement is not covered on that account. Sales of officially protected housing (“vivienda de protección oficial”), for as long as its protection scheme lasts. Sales of homes or buildings located in the pre-emption areas designated by municipalities. In these areas the right may belong to the town council instead of the Generalitat. Not covered, among others, are new homes sold within a year of obtaining the certificate of habitability (“cédula de habitabilidad”). The right over homes that come from enforcement proceedings, from large-scale landlords or from auctions lasts until March 2039. How notice is given and what happens next The seller notifies the agency of the decision to sell, with the intended price, a statement of whether the home is occupied and an assessment of its state of repair. The procedure is free of charge and businesses must do it online. After that: The agency has two months to reply, plus fifteen days if it inspects the home. If it asks to see the home, you must show it, because otherwise the time limit is suspended. If it does not reply in time, it is deemed to have waived the right and you can sell. If it decides to buy, the purchase is completed within three months of notification of its decision. If you sell without giving notice, before the time limit expires or on terms different from those notified, the Generalitat can exercise the right to buy back, in other words take the home for the same price and on the same terms. Since 2026, companies selling homes in stressed residential market areas must also state in the deed whether they are large-scale landlords. If they say they are not, they must provide a certificate from the Land Registry (“Registro de la Propiedad”) showing the number of homes they own. If you are going to buy one of these homes If the flat comes from mortgage enforcement proceedings, even if you are not buying it from the bank, ask the seller for proof that the sale was notified to the agency and that the agency waived its right or let the time limit pass. Without it, the Generalitat could later take the flat by paying you what you paid. If you buy at an auction, bear in mind that the award is also subject to this right and that it is you, as the successful bidder, who must notify it to the agency. The tenant's right to buy the home before anyone else is a different right.