Catastro in Spain: how to look up a property and what it's for

The Catastro Inmobiliario (Spain's property cadastre) is the administrative register of all real estate in Spain, run by the Dirección General del Catastro, part of the Ministerio de Hacienda (the Ministry of Finance), except in the Basque Country and Navarre, which have their own regional (foral) cadastre. Unlike the Registro de la Propiedad (the Land Registry, which records legal ownership), the Catastro records the physical characteristics and the administrative valuation of properties. Looking it up is free and provides very valuable information.

How to search the Catastro

Go to the Sede Electrónica del Catastro (sedecatastro.gob.es, its online office) without needing to register. You can search for a property by its referencia catastral (the cadastral reference, which you'll find on your IBI bill, the bill for the local property tax), by address, or on the map viewer. The basic information (location, floor area, use, cadastral value) is public and free.

What information the Catastro holds

• Cadastral reference: the unique identifier of every property throughout Spain
• Built floor area according to the Catastro
• Year the property was built
• Use of the property (residential, commercial, industrial, rural)
• Cadastral value (the basis for the IBI and other taxes)
• Cadastral ownership (it may differ from the Land Registry)

How to use it before buying

Check that the cadastral floor area matches what the seller says. A discrepancy may point to undeclared building work or areas that haven't been legalised. The cadastral value lets you estimate the IBI you'll pay. Cadastral ownership tells you who the owner is according to Hacienda (the tax authorities), although the Land Registry prevails for transfers.

Complete due diligence: Combine the cadastral search with the nota simple from the Registry and the analysis from RadarPro for a complete view of the asset.