Land Registry, Zoning, and Other Matters
If you need lawyers with experience handling Land Registry problems, disputed easements, or any other situation that doesn't fit the usual categories, get in touch with us.
We study your case and tell you whether it can be solved and how. These problems tend to surface at the worst possible moment: when you're about to sell, take out a mortgage, or inherit. At La Propiedad Consulting, we deal with them regularly, and in many cases they can be resolved through administrative or notarial procedures, without having to go to court.
Solutions to Complex Problems
Not every real estate matter fits neatly into a category. A property that the Land Registry lists as smaller than it really is, a mortgage paid off twenty years ago that still shows up on the nota simple, a neighbor who has been crossing your land for decades and now claims they have a right to do so, or a deed the registrar refuses to record because of a defect nobody warned you about.
Discrepancies Between the Land Registry, the Cadastre, and Reality
We correct the property's description in the Land Registry when it doesn't match the actual property: differences in square footage, incorrectly recorded boundaries, undeclared buildings, or inaccurate plot maps. We handle proceedings to correct a property's recorded area, align the property's records with the Cadastre (Catastro), and register its georeferenced map. We also handle the first-time registration (inmatriculación) of properties that were never recorded, and the restoration of the chain of title (reanudación del tracto) when the line of ownership has been broken, which is common with rural properties and old inheritances that were never formalized.
Registration, Refusals, and Appeals
If the registrar has refused to record your deed, we analyze the defects identified, assess whether they can be fixed, and decide on the best course of action: correcting the defects, filing an appeal with the Directorate General (Spain's registry oversight authority), or challenging the decision in court. The deadlines to appeal are short, so don't leave the registrar's decision sitting in a drawer.
Removing Liens and Clearing Title
Mortgages that have been paid off but never removed from the registry, attachments that were lifted but are still recorded, expired termination clauses (condiciones resolutorias), lapsed provisional entries (anotaciones preventivas), and cases where the same property has been registered twice. Clearing the title before putting the property on the market prevents last-minute renegotiations and buyers backing out.
Easements, Boundaries, and Neighbor Relations
Rights of way, easements for light and views, water easements, and power line easements: creating, modifying, recognizing, or terminating them. We also handle boundary determination and marking disputes, party walls, minimum distances for buildings and trees, and encroachment onto neighboring property. When someone has been exercising a right without legal title for years, the key question is usually whether that use has ripened into a legally recognized right.
Other Real Estate Matters
Recovering possession from someone occupying a property without legal title or paying rent, including homes lent to family members or shared by a couple who have since split up. Building permits, zoning enforcement proceedings, legalizing unpermitted construction, and nonconforming buildings. Lot splits, lot mergers, and dividing buildings into separately owned units. Eminent domain and just compensation. Challenging cadastral values and the reference value (valor de referencia) applied to a transaction.
If your situation isn't listed here, tell us about it anyway. Many of our cases start with "I'm not sure if this is a legal issue."
How We Work
We listen first. Before giving any opinion, we need to understand your specific transaction: what documents have been signed, what has been discussed, and what has been paid.
We tell you where you stand. If a claim isn't viable or the cost outweighs the expected result, we'll say so from the start. We'd rather lose a case than see you lose time and money.
Fixed quote, no surprises. You'll know the cost of our services before you hire us.
A single point of contact. The lawyer who studies your case is the same one who negotiates, signs, and calls you.
Tell us about your situation. We'll review whatever documents you have and tell you clearly where you stand and what your options are.