Sorry Mr Moderator,
I have actually sent a private post to Gypsy asking if she was able to get into the
Catastro web site.
Anyone else want to try to find their property? You can also search by street name and number.
This is not just for fun - the
Catastro is considered by the Spanish Government to be the benchmark of property ownership.
Basically, the
Notarios and
Los Registros de la Propiedades are private entities who have to work within very strict guidelines, but they aren't actually government departments. Therefore, there is a degree of snobbery when it comes to trying to sort out the disasters that is the Spanish property registration system. i.e. the
Catastro will say "our plans are correct, and the land registry is of no importance". Say that to the land reg. guys and they roll around laughing. It is all horrible.
There is only one political solution, and that is to amalgamate the land registries with the
Catastro and allow the
arquitectos oficiales (or
aparejadores) in each town hall access to the main
Catastro database to change any boundaries or land / floor areas. This could be controlled by requiring a digital signature from the town hall, the
Registrar de la Propiedad and the property owners.
I know of people who can't get a re-mortgage because their property is registered in the
Catastro as 25m2 but registered in the land registry as 300m2. The banks are now not allowed to give mortgages on properties above the estimated value of the land according to the
Catastro (bit of an over-simplification, but will do for these purposes).
The
Catastro can take anything
from 2 years to do anything at all (even name changes).
SO, if you want to borrow against your property, and it isn't correctly registered in the
Catastro, forget it!
Go-on. Have a look. See if you can find your house!