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Guides

Technical guides, written in plain language

Reviewed technical content, no filler. We publish a guide when it is finished and verified, not before. Categories: catastro · land registry & deeds · surveying · boundaries · gml & georeferencing · buying & selling · new construction · age of buildings · habitability · energy efficiency · structure · planning.

Field technician consulting information on a rural plot

Why don't Catastro and the title deed match?

The real causes of the most common discrepancy between Catastro and title, and what to check before acting.

GML & georeferencing

What is a GML file and when do you need one?

The file notaries and the Land Registry have required since 2015: what it contains, when they demand it and how to make it properly.

How to know the real square metres of a plot

Listing, deed and Catastro can state three different figures. This is how you get the true one.

Who can measure a plot?

Not all measurements are equal: which professional can measure your plot and what guarantees they should offer.

GML & georeferencing

When do I need to georeference a plot?

The procedures in which you'll be asked for the georeferenced plot and what it exactly means.

How to know where a parcel's boundaries are

Deed, Catastro, markers and fences: how reliable each source is and how boundaries are really checked.

What to do if a neighbour disagrees with the boundary

Before arguing, measure: the reasonable steps when a neighbour disputes the plot's boundary.

Buying & selling

What to check before buying land

The technical and documentary checklist that prevents surprises after signing.

Age of buildings

How to prove the age of a construction

Age is not declared: it is proven with evidence. What proof works and how it is documented.

New construction

What is a declaration of new construction?

The usual channel for an existing construction to be recorded in your deed: what it is and who is involved.

New construction

How to document an undeclared extension

Your home grew but the deed doesn't know: how those square metres are documented step by step.

Energy efficiency

When is the energy performance certificate mandatory?

Selling, renting, new construction or renovating: the cases in which the regulations require it and its exceptions.

Cracks and fissures: when to worry

Not every fissure is serious and not every crack is harmless: how to tell the usual from the warning signs.

Land Registry & deeds

How to segregate a plot in the Canary Islands

What a segregation is, what documentation it needs and why planning regulations must be checked first.

Land Registry & deeds

How to group plots in the Canary Islands

What a plot grouping is, what must be checked beforehand and what documentation is prepared.

First occupation of non-conforming buildings

What documentation may be needed and why the decision always belongs to the town hall.

What a consolidated use is and how to prove it in the Canary Islands

What it means for a use to be consolidated, what evidence proves it and who can recognise it.

What a cédula urbanística is and what it is for

The official document stating what can be done on a parcel: who issues it and when it is worth requesting.

What alineaciones y rasantes are and why they are needed before building

The alineación marks the position relative to the street and the rasante the reference level: that is why they are needed before building.

Prior notification of works: when it is used and what documentation you need

Which works can be processed by prior notification and why it depends on each municipality's ordinance.

Major works licence: what documentation you need

Which works require a major works licence and what technical documentation the file needs.

Land Registry & deeds

What is the horizontal division (división horizontal) and when is it needed

The legal figure that turns a building into independent units: what it documents and when measurement is needed.

Change of use from commercial premises to dwelling in the Canary Islands: what to check first

What must be checked, before building or buying, to know whether premises can become a dwelling.

What is the IVGA: the Alternative Graphic Validation Report

The report by which a technician graphically validates the representation of a plot: when it is used and what 'positive' means.

How to rectify the surface area of your plot in Catastro

What to check and what to document when the square metres recorded in Catastro do not match your real plot.

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