Getting the cadastral reference of a house or property in Spain is relatively simple and does not involve too much paperwork. This unique property reference can be found in the Land Registry in Spain (Catastro) and if you need to know this number, either to carry out a legal procedure, because you are interested in renting or selling a property or for any other reason, we are here to help. This is our simple step by step guide on the different ways of how to find a property's cadastral reference in Spain.
What is a cadastral reference?
The cadastral reference in Spain is an official and obligatory identifier of real estate, such as houses, premises, plots of land, etc. It is a public document to which anyone can have access and is composed of an alphanumeric code with twenty letters and numbers. It is unique throughout the country and refers to each property, having a function similar to that of a Spanish person's ID number (DNI), for example.
This is done by the Land Registry (Catastro in Spanish), a body charged with keeping the statistical census of all the real estate in a town.
Why is it important to see the cadastral reference of a property?
To begin with, the cadastral reference of a property will be requested when you want to contract any sort of energy service in Spain, for example, electricity, gas, water, etc.
With this information you can consult the Land Registry for complete information on the property, such as the year the house was built, its floor plan or exact measurements, among other things.
How can I find out the cadastral reference of a property?
Although the most traditional option to consult this information is on the internet, specifically in the official Land Registry website, the easiest and quickest way to search for the cadastral reference is by using the idealista/maps tool, in which knowing the exact address of the property or its cadastral reference you can find all the information about the property you want.
If you opt for this alternative, all you have to do is go to the official idealista/maps website and enter an address or cadastral reference in the search engine.
Once the street and number have been entered (for example, Calle Madrid 25), the specific details of the chosen property will be listed, as well as two graphs showing both the estimated value of the sale (in this case 68,654 euros) and the estimated rental value (in this case 343 euros per month). By scrolling down you will also be able to view the property's cadastral reference and other information about the building.
If you only know the name of the street, you will get a screen similar to the one below with the options and different numbers that are on the same street.
Once you have the cadastral reference of your house, you can get a free estimate of its value by clicking here.
Other ways of finding the cadastral reference of a property
If you choose to do this procedure online through the Cadastral Electronic Site, you will have to search for the desired property through a form that offers you five ways of searching: by cadastral reference, by street, polygon, GPS coordinates or unique registry code (CRU).
Other more conventional methods of consulting the Spanish Land Registry are:
- Through the territorial offices of the Land Registry called Gerencias del Catastro (Land Registry Offices).
- At Cadastral Information Points: Centres authorised by the General Directorate of the Cadastre and located in public entities.
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