In short. The declaración de obra nueva is the deed by which you record that there is a house on your plot. Until it is executed and registered, for the Registro de la Propiedad — the Land Registry, a different body from the Catastro, which is the tax register — you still own a bare plot: the house cannot be mortgaged or sold with legal certainty.
It is governed by article 28 of Royal Legislative Decree 7/2015. In the Comunidad de Madrid — the region, a different administration from your ayuntamiento — the tax is 0.75 %, worked out on the cost of the works, not on the value of the house or the land.
Three routes, not one
Under construction
The works are declared as designed, not yet built. This requires the permit and a technician’s certificate of conformity with the design.
The usual route when there is a self-build mortgage: the bank wants the future building tied to the plot.
Completed
It also requires the certificado final de obra, evidence of the requirements for delivery to users, the document authorising occupancy and the energy performance certificate.
If the building under construction was already registered, completion is recorded afterwards.
By age
The exceptional route of article 28.4, when legality can no longer be restored by lapse of time. No permit and no completion certificate.
In Madrid: six years as a general rule, fifteen on protected non-developable land.
What the notario and the registrador require
The same things. Article 28.1 imposes them on notarios and article 28.2 on registradores before they register. A Spanish notario is not the equivalent of a solicitor: he is a public official, he acts for neither side, and he answers for the legality of the deed he authorises. For a completed new building:
| Document | Rule |
|---|---|
| Building permit | Art. 152.b Law 9/2001 (Madrid) |
| Certificado final de obra from a competent technician | Art. 28.1 TRLSRU; art. 12.3.e LOE |
| Declaración responsable of first occupancy (in Madrid no longer a licence) | Art. 155.c Law 9/2001; art. 28.1.b TRLSRU |
| Libro del edificio, the building manual, for filing at the Registry | Art. 202 LH |
| Seguro decenal, the ten-year insurance, or the self-build exemption | Arts. 19.1.c and 20.1 LOE; second additional provision |
| Energy performance certificate for the completed building | Art. 28.1.b TRLSRU; RD 390/2021 |
| Georeferenced coordinates of the footprint occupied | Art. 202 LH |
The coordinates surprise a lot of people. Since the 2015 reform of the Ley Hipotecaria (LH, the Land Registry statute), the land occupied by the building has to be identified by its geographic reference coordinates. Not a step the notario handles: it comes out of the technical work, and is worth having ready.
The ten-year insurance and the ten-year trap
The second additional provision of Law 38/1999 on Building Regulation (Ley de Ordenación de la Edificación, LOE) exempts the individual self-builder of a single detached house for his own use. That is the good news. The small print says that if a transfer between living persons happens within the ten years, the self-builder “unless otherwise agreed, shall be obliged to take out the guarantee for the time remaining”.
And the closing words are blunt: “public deeds of inter vivos transfer shall not be authorised or registered at the Registro de la Propiedad without evidence and a record of the said guarantee having been constituted, unless the self-builder, who must show that he has used the dwelling, is expressly released by the acquirer”.
- The exemption holds while the house is for your own use
- The ten years run from the reception of the works
- Saying you have lived there is not enough: it has to be evidenced
- The release has to be express, and it comes from the buyer
- It applies to a transfer in lieu of payment as well
- Inheritance is not covered: the rule speaks of transfers between the living
What it costs
The tax: actos jurídicos documentados (stamp duty)
| Item | In the Comunidad de Madrid |
|---|---|
| Rate | 0.75 % |
| Taxable base | The real cost value of the new building declared. Not the market value. The land is not included |
| Filing deadline | 30 business days from execution of the deed, form 600, to the region |
| Example | Declared cost of 300,000 € → 2,250 € |
Notary and registry fees
The scales date from 1989 and are fixed in bands, with a general reduction of 5 %. For a declared value of 300,000 euros the basic scale comes to around 388 euros of notary fees and 205 of registry fees, before pages, copies, disbursements and VAT. The final invoice is appreciably higher and depends on how long the deed runs.
Why we do not give a closed range. We have checked the scales and the reduction, but not a total invoice range with a source we trust. We would rather say so than invent a figure that fails to add up later.
The order everything goes in
Certificado final de obra
Signed by the architect and by the aparejador, the arquitecto técnico who directs the execution: articles 12 and 13 of the LOE require both. Fran Cortés holds both qualifications. And given a visado, the professional body’s stamp that the signatory is registered, insured and entitled to sign.
Energy performance certificate
For the completed building, registered with the Comunidad de Madrid.
Libro del edificio
Handed over by the director de obra and deposited at the council, which in Madrid makes first occupancy conditional on it.
Declaración responsable of first occupancy
At the council. Worth asking for the acto de conformidad too.
Deed of the completed new building
Before a notario, with all the documentation above.
Tax
Form 600, within 30 business days.
Registration
No legal deadline, but the entry of presentation lasts 60 business days.
Catastro and utilities
Form 900D and the permanent supply contracts. The Catastro is updated separately.
What happens if it is never declared
| Effect | Why |
|---|---|
| The house does not appear at the Registry: the property is still a plot | Art. 202 LH |
| The house cannot be mortgaged, nor sold with guarantees | The bank requires the property registered with the building |
| A mismatch with the Catastro, possibly a file opened | Consolidated Cadastral Act |
| No registry protection against third parties or registered attachments | Arts. 32 and 34 LH |
| The tax does not become time-barred: it falls due on the deed, not on building | Art. 31.2 of the consolidated act on the tax |
And do not confuse the lapse of planning enforcement with legalisation: the time limits running out prevents demolition, but the building stays fuera de ordenación, outside the plan, with a marginal note at the Registry.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need ten-year insurance if I build my own house?
No, not if you are the individual self-builder of a single detached house for your own use: the second additional provision of the LOE exempts you. But if you sell within ten years you must take it out for the time remaining, unless the buyer expressly releases you and you can show you have used the house.
What value do I pay the tax on?
On the real cost of carrying out the works as declared, not on the market value and not including the land. Article 70.1 of the regulations on the tax says so. In the Comunidad de Madrid the rate of actos jurídicos documentados is 0.75 %. You pay it to the region, not to the ayuntamiento: what the council charges on the works is ICIO, settled much earlier.
Can I execute the deed without first occupancy?
In Madrid you can, by producing the declaración responsable and showing that the period has run without an obstructive decision, under article 28.1.b of the Land Act. Even so, obtain the council’s acto de conformidad too: registry practice is demanding.
Is the libro del edificio compulsory in order to register?
Yes. Article 202 of the Ley Hipotecaria has required it to be filed at the Registry since November 2015, and the Directorate General has ruled that this applies to detached houses and to self-builds.
I built years ago without a permit. Can I register it?
You may be able to, by the route of article 28.4 of the Land Act, if planning legality can no longer be restored. In the Comunidad de Madrid the period is six years as a general rule and fifteen on protected non-developable land. You have to evidence the date of completion and that there is no note of planning enforcement.
One deed or two?
It depends on the financing. With a self-build mortgage the bank usually wants the building under construction registered before it releases funds, and completion is recorded afterwards. With no mortgage, the deed of the completed new building is executed directly.
We prepare the technical documentation for the deed
Certificado final de obra, energy performance certificate, libro del edificio and georeferenced coordinates. Coordinated with first occupancy, which is what usually holds up the signing at the notary’s office.