Spain's coastal law (Ley de Costas): what it means for a property near the sea

A flat with a sea view has one feature you cannot see from the balcony. It lies on one side or the other of a line that the Spanish state draws along the shore. Seaward of that line the land is public. Landward of it, Spain's coastal law, the Ley de Costas (Ley 22/1988, consolidated text as last updated on 11.12.2015), restricts what may stand and happen on private land for a set distance.

So two questions decide how the law touches a purchase. Which side of the line is the building on, and how wide is the protected strip at this particular spot?

The law works together with its regulation, the Reglamento General de Costas (Real Decreto 876/2014, consolidated text as updated on 20.04.2024), and with the reform made by Ley 2/2013.

Where does public land on the Spanish coast begin?

At the shore, and the law defines the shore by what is physically there.

The principle sits in the Constitution. Article 132 of the Constitución Española (consolidated text of 20.05.2026) names the land between land and sea, the zona marítimo-terrestre, and the beaches as public property of the state, whatever any ordinary law adds. The Ley de Costas calls this area the dominio público marítimo-terrestre, usually shortened to DPMT.

Articles 3 and 4 of the Ley de Costas list what belongs to it:

• the shore of the sea and of the estuaries (ribera del mar y de las rías);
• the zona marítimo-terrestre, from the low-water line up to where waves reach in the heaviest storms on record, or up to the highest spring tide line if that reaches further;
• beaches with their banks, berms and dunes, the dunes as far as they are needed to keep the beach stable and protect the coast;
• almost vertical cliffs in contact with the sea, up to the top edge.

The law declares this land inalienable and immune from acquisition by long possession or seizure (Art. 7). There can be no ownership in it other than the state's (Art. 9). Private possession has no effect against the state, however long it has lasted and even when it is recorded in the land registry (Art. 8).

An old title deed does not change that.

How is the line drawn, and what happens while it is pending?

The state draws it. The exact limit of the DPMT is fixed by an official boundary procedure called the deslinde (Art. 11), opened by the authorities themselves or at the request of anyone with an interest, and approved by the state. Neighbouring owners are notified and heard first. The decision has to be notified within 24 months (Art. 12).

The procedure has effects from the day it opens. The land registry adds a marginal note warning that the plots may fall wholly or partly into the DPMT or into the protection zone. And from the opening order onwards, no concessions or authorisations are granted in the DPMT or its protection zone until the procedure is closed (Art. 12). Planned works on a seafront property can be held up for that long.

Once approved, the deslinde declares possession and ownership in favour of the state, and entries in the land registry (Registro de la Propiedad) cannot prevail against it (Art. 13). Civil claims to land inside an approved DPMT expire five years after approval (Art. 14). A line can also be revised. If an owner loses land to the DPMT in a revision, the law grants a concession of 75 years in place of ownership, unless the owner expressly declines it (Art. 13 bis).

How wide are the zones behind the line?

Behind the DPMT the land is private, but it carries statutory easements (servidumbres). All of them are measured inland from the inner limit of the shore, the ribera del mar.

The one that matters most to buyers is the protection zone (servidumbre de protección). It reaches 100 metres inland (Art. 23). The state can widen it by up to another 100 metres, in agreement with the regional government and the town hall, where the stretch of coast requires it.

One exception shrinks it sharply. On land already classed as urban land (suelo urbano) when the law came into force on 29.07.1988, the protection zone is only 20 metres wide (third transitional provision, paragraph 3). Two flats at the same distance from the water can therefore be affected very differently. It depends on how their land was classified in 1988.

Inside the protection zone lies the transit strip (servidumbre de tránsito), 6 metres wide. It has to be kept open at all times for people on foot and for surveillance and rescue vehicles, except in specially protected areas (Art. 27). Where passage is difficult or dangerous it can be widened as needed, up to 20 metres.

Land next to the DPMT also carries a right of free public access to the sea (Art. 28). In urban areas, access roads to the sea may be at most 500 metres apart, footpaths at most 200 metres. Further inland, a zone of influence (zona de influencia) of at least 500 metres binds town planning: it has to avoid walls of buildings along the coast (Art. 30). That zone is addressed to development plans, not to individual flats.

1. DPMTArts. 3, 4 and 9Shore, beach, dunes and cliffs; owned by the state alone
2. Transit stripArt. 276 metres from the shore, up to 20 metres at difficult spots; open to walkers and rescue
3. Protection zoneArt. 23100 metres inland, can be widened by up to 100 metres more
4. Protection zone on old urban landThird transitional provision20 metres on land that was suelo urbano in 1988
5. Access to the seaArt. 28In urban areas roads at most 500 metres apart, footpaths at most 200 metres
6. Zone of influenceArt. 30At least 500 metres; town planning must respect the coast

What does the law restrict in each zone?

In the DPMT, private ownership is excluded altogether. What the law allows there are rights of use granted under the law itself (Art. 8), and a concession in the DPMT runs for at most 75 years (Art. 66).

The transit strip must stay clear for passage.

In the protection zone, buildings used as homes are prohibited (Art. 25). As a rule the only works, installations and activities allowed there are those that by their nature cannot be anywhere else, such as fish farms or sea salt works, those that serve the use of the DPMT, and open-air sports facilities. In the first 20 metres of the protection zone, fences and enclosures are allowed only as the Reglamento provides (Art. 24). Even the permitted uses need an authorisation from the regional government, the comunidad autónoma (Reglamento, Art. 49). The land registry follows on from that. Works and buildings in the protection zone cannot be entered in the registry unless that authorisation is shown. An earlier rule on who grants the authorisation, Article 26 paragraph 1 of the law, was struck down by the Constitutional Court.

One more right touches the sale itself. For land in the protection zone that the state considers necessary to protect and use the DPMT, the state has a right of first refusal and of repurchase (derecho de tanteo y retracto) on sales for consideration, and it must be notified in writing (Ley de Costas, third additional provision). The text of the law does not say on which stretches of coast such land has been designated.

What about buildings older than the law?

Many houses on the coast were standing when the law came into force in 1988, and the fourth transitional provision deals with them. Buildings put up before that date without the authorisation then required are demolished if legalising them is ruled out on grounds of public interest. Lawful older buildings standing in the DPMT are demolished when their concession ends.

The 2013 reform changed course for concessions. Under Ley 2/2013 (consolidated text as updated on 22.04.2016), concessions in the DPMT granted before 2013 can be extended at the holder's request, and so can rights of use held under the first transitional provision of the Ley de Costas. An extension may not exceed 75 years.

Where can you see the line for a particular property?

In three places, and only one of them is binding for the purchase itself.

The deed and the land registry extract

Two articles of the Reglamento reach every purchase near the coast. The title deed (escritura) and the registry description of a plot that touches the protection zone must state expressly whether it borders the DPMT (Art. 35). And whenever the land registry issues information on a property, in whatever form, it must state where the property lies in relation to the protection and transit zones (Art. 36). It does so from the plan supplied to the registry by the state's coastal directorate, the Dirección General de Sostenibilidad de la Costa y del Mar. That is the practical lever. The land registry extract, the nota simple, has to carry this information. If it is missing for a plot by the water, ask why.

The MITECO map viewer

Ley 2/2013 requires the deslinde lines to be published on the website of the competent ministry. Today the environment ministry MITECO provides them digitally, by its own account for more than 10,000 kilometres of coast. Its stated aim is that no citizen should again buy a home on the coast and find out later that it belongs to the DPMT.

For viewing in a browser there is a dedicated viewer, the Visor del Dominio Público Marítimo Terrestre (gis.miteco.gob.es/web/dpmt), listed on the ministry's page of map viewers. That page does not say which lines the viewer shows in detail, nor whether what it shows is legally binding. It is a good first look. It does not replace the land registry.

The cadastre

The cadastral reference tells you which plot you are dealing with; how it is built is explained in our guide to the Spanish cadastral reference. The disclosure duties of the Reglamento, though, are addressed to the deed and the land registry. The coastal zones are fixed by the deslinde, not by the cadastral map.

How close to the coast are the properties we have checked?

Most are nowhere near it. Our property report compares each address with the official coastal lines. The check found a hit for 30 properties and none for 390; together these are all checked properties with a coastal result (as of 29.09.2026, official data retrieved between 22 and 29 September 2026).

• No lines nearby330no official line in the vicinity
• Behind the protection zone60close to the coast, zone not touched
• In the protection zone15restrictions under Art. 25
• On the edge of the protection zone9position to be clarified case by case
• In the DPMT4public property of the state
• On the edge of the DPMT2position to be clarified case by case

Of the 30 hits, 15 properties lie in the protection zone and 9 on its edge. Four are in the DPMT itself, and 2 sit on its boundary. Another 60 are close to the sea but behind the protection zone. These figures describe the properties we checked, not the Spanish coast as a whole.

What should you ask before you sign?

Start with a current nota simple, requested before any reservation or private purchase contract. Check that it states the position in relation to the protection and transit zones and whether the plot borders the DPMT.

Then ask these questions, of the seller, the agent and your lawyer:

• Has the deslinde on this stretch of coast been approved, opened or not yet started?
• Does the registry carry a marginal note about a pending deslinde? While one is open, no authorisations are granted in the protection zone.
• Is the entry recorded subject to a future deslinde?
• Which width applies here: 100 metres, an extended zone, or 20 metres because the land was urban in 1988?
• Do the works and buildings on the plot have the regional authorisation required in the protection zone, and does the registry show it?
• Was the building there before 1988, and if so, on what legal basis?

For flooding by the sea, a separate set of official maps applies; our guide on flood risk in Spanish property explains them.

The property report checks for one address whether the property lies in the DPMT, in the protection zone, on its edge or behind it, and names the official source with its retrieval date. What else the property check covers is set out on its overview page.

In short

• Beaches, dunes, cliffs and the shore up to the storm-wave line are public land of the state (DPMT). No title deed or registry entry prevails against an approved deslinde.
• The protection zone runs 100 metres inland and can be widened by up to 100 metres more. On land that was already urban in 1988 it is 20 metres.
• Homes are prohibited in the protection zone. A 6-metre transit strip stays open to the public.
• The nota simple must show the position in relation to these zones. The MITECO viewer helps with a first look.
• For the individual property, the approved deslinde and the land registry are authoritative, not the general figures above.