Who has a preferential right to buy an adjoining plot?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

Being a neighbour does not in itself give a preferential right to buy, because the law only recognises one for rural land, never for a building plot or an urban property. In Catalonia it belongs to the neighbour who farms their land themselves if the buyer does not own any adjoining property and the property being sold is smaller than the minimum farming unit, which is the minimum area set by the Generalitat de Catalunya (the Catalan government) for a rural property to be farmed with a reasonable yield. A neighbour who holds a priority agricultural holding (“explotación agraria prioritaria”), which is one registered as such in an official register, may also have it if the property being sold is less than twice that unit. In both cases it is a right of redemption (“retracto”), which allows the neighbour to take over the property already sold by paying the buyer the same as the buyer paid and on the same terms. If the co-owner or the tenant of the property also has the right to buy it, they take priority over the neighbour. Which neighbours have a preferential right In Catalonia, two kinds of neighbour may have it: The one the law regards as a direct and personal farmer (“cultivador directo y personal”). This is someone who personally runs the farming activity of their holding, obtains at least half of their income from farming or from other complementary activities and devotes more than half of their working time to them. Some farming companies, communities and cooperatives can also qualify. They have a preferential right if they own a rural property bordering the one being sold, when the latter is smaller than the minimum farming unit and the buyer does not own any of the adjoining properties. The Generalitat sets that unit by area, with different sizes for dry land and for irrigated land. There is no preferential right if the property sold has lawful buildings on it worth more than two-thirds of the total. The holder of a priority agricultural holding, which, to be registered as such, must meet the requirements of Spain's farm modernisation act (“Ley de Modernización de las Explotaciones Agrarias”). That act gives them a preferential right when the rural property being sold measures less than twice the minimum farming unit. If they take over the property, they cannot sell it for six years. The national act is applied in a way that respects Catalan civil law. Neither the legislation nor the courts have fully clarified how the two preferential rights fit together when they coincide in the same sale. Anyone buying a small rural property must therefore bear in mind that a neighbour with the right may take it over afterwards. The time limits for doing so are a separate question. If there are several interested parties If several people have a right over the same sale, the Catalan code sets the following order: First, the co-owner or co-heir, if what is being sold is the share of one of the owners of the property. Next, the tenant of the rural property, who has their own preferential right to buy. Finally, the adjoining neighbour. The rights that some laws give to the Generalitat, the State or town councils over certain properties are a separate matter and follow their own rules. If those who want the property are several neighbours with the right of redemption under the Catalan code, preference goes to the owner of the smallest adjoining property and, if they are the same size, to the owner of the property that shares the longest boundary with the one sold. If they are several neighbours who hold priority holdings, the national act prefers the one who, with the property bought, reaches or exceeds the minimum farming unit. If several do, it prefers the owner of the smallest property. If none does, the owner of the largest. In most of the rest of Spain, the Spanish Civil Code (“Código civil”) gives a preferential right to any neighbour when the rural property sold is no larger than one hectare, unless the properties are separated by a stream, an irrigation channel, a ravine, a track or another visible easement. Among several neighbours, it prefers the owner of the smallest property and, if they are the same size, whoever asks first. That rule does not apply in Catalonia.