Cèdula d'habitabilitat (cédula de habitabilidad): where in Spain you need one, how to check it, and what if it's expired

The cèdula usually comes up late, when the agent sends the paperwork a week before you sign the arras. By then you're emotionally committed. If the flat is in a region that uses one, check it before the second viewing.

Which regions have one

Housing is a regional matter in Spain, so the cédula exists in some regions and not in others.

• Catalonia requires a valid cèdula to sell or rent a home. The rest of this guide covers it in detail.
• In the Balearic Islands, each island council issues it. Every sale must include a copy of the one in force, and it's required to live in or rent a home and to sign up for electricity, water and gas (Ley 5/2018, art. 16).
• Navarra and La Rioja also require one in force to sell (Decreto Foral 142/2004, art. 2; Ley 2/2007, art. 6). In the Comunitat Valenciana the occupancy title has to be renewed for a sale once it is more than ten years old, or obtained if the home never had one (Ley 3/2004, art. 33).
• In the Canary Islands, Extremadura, Murcia and Asturias it isn't needed to sign, but you need one to live in the flat or to put the utilities in your name. In the Canaries it stays valid until it's revoked (Decreto 117/2006); in Asturias the buyer applies for one in their own name after the sale.
• The Comunidad de Madrid abolished it in 2018 and no longer issues new ones (Decreto 111/2018). Habitability is now checked by the town hall through building and first-occupation licences, so a second-hand flat in Madrid has no cédula to ask for.

Cantabria abolished it in 2024 (Decreto 91/2024), and Galicia has none. If you're buying anywhere else, ask the notary or the regional housing department whether the sale needs one.

What Catalonia's cèdula says, and what it doesn't

A cèdula is a one-page certificate, regulated in Catalonia by Decret 141/2012. It states:

• the address
• the useful floor area of the home, and of each room
• the number of rooms, and the maximum number of people who can live there
• the technician who certified it

It doesn't name the owner. It also doesn't legalise past building works: a cèdula on a flat with an enclosed terrace says nothing about whether the terrace was built with a permit (Generalitat).

The useful m² on the cèdula is the most honest size figure you'll get. Compare it with the listing (see the square metres guide).

First and second occupation

Type	When it's issued	Valid for
First occupation	New builds and major refurbishments	25 years (for those issued after 2012)
Second occupation	Existing homes, when the previous one expires or never existed	15 years (for those issued from 2003)

Sources: Generalitat, Consell Comarcal del Vallès Oriental.

Can a flat in Catalonia be sold without one?

As a rule, no. Catalonia's housing law requires a valid cèdula when a home changes hands (Llei 18/2007, art. 132). There are narrow exceptions where the buyer can expressly release the seller:

• The flat will be renovated, and a technician's report shows it can get a cèdula after the works.
• The flat will be demolished.
• It won't be used as a home.

(art. 132, LegalToday)

If the seller asks you to sign that release "to speed things up", stop. You'd be taking on the job, and the risk, of getting the flat certified later. That includes the chance that it can't be certified at all.

Watch for ground-floor "lofts" in particular. A space that's legally still a commercial premises (local) won't have a cèdula, and may not be able to get one without a change-of-use licence.

How to check a flat's cèdula in Catalonia

The Agència de l'Habitatge de Catalunya launched a public search tool in March 2021 (Govern, COAC).

1. Get the cadastral reference, a 20-character code. Search the address on the Sede Electrónica del Catastro (free), or find it on the seller's IBI receipt.
2. Enter it in the search tool, or enter the cèdula number if the agent has sent you a copy. The tool doesn't search by address.
3. The result shows whether the cèdula is current or expired, the expiry date, the useful m², and any earlier cèdules for the same home.

If nothing comes up, the flat may still have one. Older cèdules were often recorded without a cadastral reference, so they don't appear in searches. Ask the seller for a copy. Only the owner or tenant can request copies, and it's free for them (Vallès Oriental).

What if it has expired?

In Catalonia, an expired cèdula is common and usually fixable. It's the seller's job to renew it before the sale. A technician visits, checks the flat against the minimum standards and issues a certificate, then the seller applies to the Agència. The official fee is €20,45 per home, 30% less if applied for online (Generalitat). The technician's fee comes on top.

As a buyer:

• Make a renewed, valid cèdula a condition in the arras contract, with a date.
• Ask why it lapsed. Usually it's just time passing. Occasionally it's because the flat changed (a room split in two, a kitchen moved) and might not pass.