The cédula de habitabilidad: Spain's certificate of habitation, region by region

The flat looks right and the price is agreed. Then the agent mentions, almost in passing, that it "has no cédula". Or that it "only has a licence of first occupation". Both phrases point to the same question for a buyer: which document proves that this home may be lived in, and who issued it?

There is no single answer for Spain. Each region writes its own rules, and the five set out here, the Balearic Islands, Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Andalusia and the Canary Islands, have gone different ways.

What is a cédula de habitabilidad?

The cédula de habitabilidad, the certificate of habitation, confirms that a home meets the minimum conditions for living in it. It is older than Spain's regions. A national decree of 23 November 1940 introduced it, and Decreto 469/1972 later laid down how it was issued. Responsibility has since moved to the regions.

National law reflects that change. The building act, Ley 38/1999 de Ordenación de la Edificación (LOE), names three documents side by side that entitle someone to occupy a home: the cédula de habitabilidad, the licence of first occupation (licencia de primera ocupación) and "an equivalent document". The wording sits in its first additional provision, in the version given by Ley 20/2015 and in force since 1 January 2016.

This matters off plan. Guarantees securing deposits paid on a new-build home are cancelled only once one of those three documents has been issued and the home has been handed over. All other papers on the finished building make up the building book (Libro del Edificio), which Art. 7 LOE says must be given to the end users.

A third route comes from the national land law, Real Decreto Legislativo 7/2015. It assumes that a region may subject the first occupation of a building to a simple notification instead of a permit, called a comunicación previa or declaración responsable (Art. 11 RDLeg 7/2015). When a notary records a finished new building (obra nueva terminada), Art. 28 asks either for the permits confirming the building is fit for its use or for proof that the notification was made.

So "no cédula" may mean very little.

The useful follow-up question is which of the three documents the home has, and who issued it.

Which regions use the cédula, and what do the others use?

Two of the five rely on the cédula. Valencia and Andalusia work with a licence of occupation or a declaración responsable, and the Canary Islands have a cédula decree and a later land law that point in different directions.

Cédula de habitabilidad

• Balearic Islands: compulsory to live in or let, copy with every sale, proof for utilitiesArt. 16 Ley 5/2018; Arts. 50 and 52 Ley 8/2012
• Catalonia: needed to occupy, handed over on sale and letting, proof for utilitiesArt. 26 Ley 18/2007; Arts. 9 to 13 Decreto 141/2012
• Canary Islands: cédula under the 2006 decree, proof for utilities, holiday-let capacityDecreto 117/2006; Ley 6/2025

Licence or declaration

• Valencian Community: licence of occupation or declaración responsable, proof for utilities, renewal on a second transferArts. 32 and 33 Ley 3/2004; Art. 233 Decreto Legislativo 1/2021
• Andalusia: declaración responsable for use, proof for the definitive supply contractArts. 138 and 142 Ley 7/2021
• Canary Islands: comunicación previa for first occupation under the land lawArts. 332 and 336 Ley 4/2017

For an individual home, the information from the competent body is authoritative: the island council in the Balearics, the Agencia de la Vivienda de Cataluña in Catalonia, or the town hall (ayuntamiento).

Madrid, Murcia, Galicia and the other regions set their own rules; Murcia has a separate law on habitability conditions, Ley 5/1995.

How does the cédula work in the Balearic Islands?

The island councils (Consells Insulars) issue them (Art. 1 Ley 9/1990). For minimum standards and procedure, the housing law Ley 5/2018 refers to Decreto 145/1997 and its later amendments (Art. 14). The BOE carries no consolidated text of that decree, so details on the types of cédula and how long one lasts have to come from the island council.

The core rule is Art. 16 Ley 5/2018. The cédula is compulsory to live in a home or to let it. In certain cases the licence of occupation or of first use (licencia de ocupación o de primera utilización) takes its place. Protected housing (viviendas protegidas) follows its own track: on first occupation the final classification (calificación definitiva) replaces the cédula, and from the second occupation onwards the cédula must be required again.

These duties are in the consolidated text of Ley 5/2018, last updated on 13 June 2026; Art. 16 was last amended by Ley 7/2024, in force since 14 December 2024.

A Balearic cédula is not permanent either. If the home loses the minimum conditions of habitability, the cédula is revoked.

For holiday lets it counts twice. Under the tourism law, short-term tourist letting is only allowed in homes with a valid cédula, an equivalent title from the island administration, or a licence of occupation that states the number of places (Art. 50 Ley 8/2012). Homes that earlier rules exempted from this are excluded. And the number of places a home may market to tourists is capped at the maximum in its cédula or equivalent document (Art. 52 Ley 8/2012). Read that number before planning a rental. Registration itself is a separate step, described in the guide to holiday let registration in Spain.

How long is a cédula valid in Catalonia?

A Catalan cédula is valid for 25 years for a new build. For second occupations, and for first occupation after a renovation, it is valid for 15 years (Art. 9 Decreto 141/2012). Decreto 141/2012 was published in DOGC No. 6245 on 2 November 2012; according to the DOGC register of amendments as consulted on 30 September 2026, Arts. 9 to 13 remain unchanged. For a specific flat, the expiry date on the certificate and the information from the Agencia de la Vivienda de Cataluña are authoritative.

An old cédula in the seller's folder may simply have run out.

The legal basis is the Catalan housing law, Ley 18/2007. Under Art. 26 the cédula certifies that a home is fit to be lived in, and a home may not be occupied without it. Every sale, letting or transfer of use must come with the valid cédula, including second and later sales, unless a legal exemption applies. Suppliers of electricity, water, gas, telecoms and other services must ask for it before contracting for the home.

The Agencia de la Vivienda de Cataluña issues the certificate through its regional offices; municipalities can take this over by delegation (Art. 13 Decreto 141/2012). Under Art. 12, the cédula must state, among other things, the useful floor area, the rooms and the maximum occupancy.

When a home that is not a new build is sold, the buyer can expressly release the seller from handing over the cédula, for instance when the home is to be renovated or demolished (Art. 10 Decreto 141/2012).

What replaces the cédula in Valencia and Andalusia?

Both regions moved the proof into planning and building law.

Valencian Community

The Valencian building quality law, Ley 3/2004 (LOFCE), describes the municipal licence of occupation (licencia municipal de ocupación) in Art. 32. It recognises that a building is fit for use. Electricity, water, gas and telecoms suppliers must ask for it before contracting with end users. An additional provision of the same law adds that every mention of the licence of occupation now means whichever occupation title planning law requires, a licence or a declaración responsable.

The land law, Decreto Legislativo 1/2021 (TRLOTUP), goes further. Under Art. 233, first occupation of new buildings and the second and every later occupation of homes are subject to a declaración responsable. Art. 233 was last amended by Ley 7/2023, in force since 1 January 2024.

Resales carry a renewal rule in Art. 33 Ley 3/2004. Ten years after the first licence of occupation, it must be renewed if the home is transferred for the second or a later time, or if a new supply contract for water, gas or electricity is signed. That rule is in the consolidated text of Ley 3/2004, last updated on 31 May 2025, and the town hall's information on a specific home is authoritative.

No Valencian rule says expressly whether suppliers now accept the declaración responsable in place of the licence. It follows only indirectly, from Art. 32 read with that additional provision.

Andalusia

The Andalusian land law, Ley 7/2021 (LISTA), puts the use of buildings on a declaración responsable. Under Art. 138 this covers finished buildings built with a permit. It also covers existing buildings on urban land that comply with current planning and have had no new works.

For a definitive supply contract, Art. 142 requires the licence of occupation or use, the declaración responsable or the notification, together with the documents that go with it. Older buildings without any such title have a separate path. The law gives the same effect to a resolution classifying a building as asimilado a fuera de ordenación, roughly an older building treated as outside the current plan. If a seller offers such a resolution instead of an occupation title, ask the town hall what it means for that particular home.

What applies in the Canary Islands?

Two texts apply, and they name different documents. Decreto 117/2006, published in BOC No. 161, governs the minimum conditions and the procedure for the cédula. Under Art. 4 the cédula certifies that a privately financed home (vivienda libre) can be lived in, and for a new build it also presupposes the licence of first occupation. Once granted, the cédula remains valid until it is revoked (Art. 5). Under Art. 6, suppliers may not supply buildings used as homes that lack a cédula or a calificación definitiva.

The later land law, Ley 4/2017, differs. Under Art. 332 the first occupation of a finished building needs a comunicación previa rather than a permit. Under Art. 336, suppliers ask for the calificación definitiva for protected housing, or for the comunicación previa for first occupation together with its documents.

Holiday lets bring in a third text. Ley 6/2025, in force since 13 December 2025, measures the capacity of a holiday home partly by the details in the declaración responsable, the cédula or the licence of first occupation. The old certificate still carries weight there.

What should you ask the seller and the town hall?

Start with the property itself. The cadastral reference (referencia catastral) identifies a home without ambiguity; the guide to the Spanish cadastral reference shows how to read one.

1. Everywhere. Which document does the home have? Ask for a copy with its date of issue.
2. Balearic Islands. A copy of the valid cédula from the island council, or for protected housing the calificación definitiva or the licence of occupation. If none exists, the contract must state it expressly (Art. 16 Ley 5/2018). For a holiday let, read the number of places on the cédula.
3. Catalonia. The cédula with its issue date. Count 25 or 15 years under Art. 9 Decreto 141/2012, and if in doubt ask the Agencia de la Vivienda de Cataluña or the town hall.
4. Valencian Community. The licence of occupation or the declaración responsable. For a licence older than 10 years, ask the town hall whether renewal under Art. 33 Ley 3/2004 is due.
5. Andalusia. The declaración responsable for use, a licence of occupation, or the resolution on the asimilado a fuera de ordenación status, and what the town hall says it covers.
6. Canary Islands. The cédula, the licence of first occupation or the comunicación previa, and the town hall's view of which one counts for this home today.
7. New builds. The building book under Art. 7 LOE and, for deposits paid off plan, confirmation that the occupation document has been issued.

Two gaps remain. For holiday lets in Valencia, Catalonia and Andalusia, the regional tourism rules decide whether one of these documents is needed. And none of the laws cited here says what a missing cédula means for a home bought at a court auction.

A Claronda property check brings the official data for an address together in one report, so you go to the seller and the town hall with the right reference and the right questions in hand.

In short

The cédula de habitabilidad dates from 1940 and is now a regional matter. In the Balearic Islands and Catalonia a home needs it to be lived in, and the certificate goes with every sale or letting unless their laws make an exception; Catalonia limits its validity to 25 or 15 years. Valencia and Andalusia rely on a licence of occupation or a declaración responsable, while the Canary Islands have a cédula decree and a later land law side by side. Utility companies need one of these documents for a definitive contract. For a specific home, the island council, the Catalan housing agency or the town hall is authoritative.