The Government has finalized the latest draft decree to create a registry that will allow consulting if an owner has more than five homes in Catalonia. The text, pending opinion and final approval, foresees the publication on the website of the Agència de l"Habitatge de Catalunya of the list of legal entities that have the status of large holders.
Public consultation and mandatory registration for large holders
The tool will allow any user to consult the search engine by exclusively indicating the company name and the NIF of the person or company. Legal entities with more than 10 homes and at least one in Catalan territory must register in the register of large holders. Registration will also be mandatory for natural or legal persons owning five or more flats in municipalities declared as stressed areas.
The decree also includes those who own more than 10 urban properties for residential use or with a built surface area exceeding 1,500 square meters, provided that at least one is in Catalonia. Garages and storage rooms are excluded from this calculation. Companies that have newly built homes solely for sale within one year from obtaining the occupancy certificate will be exempt from the obligation to register.
Detailed information and sanctioning regime
Obligated owners must provide electronically information about the number of homes, their location, registry data, ownership, usable area, cadastral reference, and if they have a certificate of occupancy. Failure to register within one month when the requirements are met may entail fines of up to 90,000 euros, in application of the current sanctioning regime.
The municipalities and the Catalan Tax Agency will be able to consult the information for the exercise of their competences in housing and tax matters. The decree provides that the Catalan Housing Agency may communicate the personal data from the register of large holders to private law subjects who request it, provided that they have the consent of the affected party or there is a legitimate interest that prevails over the rights and interests of the owner.
Data protection and access control
To assess legitimate interest, a formalized and documented procedure will be established, governed by data protection law. Only strictly necessary data will be provided for the specific and justified purpose. The Agency must guarantee the security, confidentiality, and integrity of the data and maintain an internal record of the traceability of queries, with the identity of the applicant, date and time of access, and data consulted.
Register of vacant dwellings and exceptions
The decree also regulates the registration of empty or occupied homes without a contract, one of the measures agreed with the Comuns for the investiture of Salvador Illa. All uninhabited homes, those occupied without a contract, those acquired by budgetary execution, and buildings with more than 80% of works executed if one year has passed since the deadline to finish them, must be included in this register.
Properties owned by public administrations, social developers, private non-profit entities that work with people in situations of residential vulnerability, homes intended for regulated tourist uses, those that are part of an inheritance, and newly constructed ones to be sold within one year from the occupancy certificate are exempt from registration.
When a city council becomes aware of dwellings eligible for registration, it may communicate it to the Agència de l"Habitatge through the single business window to require the owners to provide the mandatory data.