Catastro -v- Escritura

In October 2006 my new property was notified to the Catastro Department using form 902-S.  The details on that form read:

Planta Sotano:    164                 Garage

Planta ALT:           147                 Vivienda

Planta ALT:             35                 Terraza        Total: 346m2 which accords with my escritura

I have a copy of this form 902-S bearing the official stamp of the Alzira Town Hall Registre D'Entrada.

I recently had occasion to check the Oficina Virual del Catastro and was surprised to see that my property has been registered as follows:

Vivienda                    Escalera 1             Planta 00          Puerta 01            Superficie Catastral m2:  223

Aparcamiento           Escalera 1            Planta SM         Puerta 01            Superficie Catastral m2:  182

Vivienda                     Escalera 1            Planta SM         Puerta 01            Superficie Catastral m2:   39

Total:  444m2                              Parcela: 1.041m2

Am I right in thinking that my IBI is calculated according to the actual entry on the catastro, in which case I would appear to be paying rates for a house nearly 100m2 bigger than I own.  I intend going into the catastro department to query this but before doing so and perhaps making a big fool of myself, would like to know whether there is a co-efficient or something applied to the Form 902-S figure which would account for the increased build size given on the Catastro register.   I had always understood that the Catastro Value should reflect the Escritura description.

I am hoping that someone is going to tell me that I should make haste to the Catastro and insist that the record is corrected and demand a refund of the amount overpaid for years 2007 and 2008 or am I asking for the Gods to look too kindly on me?

Annie

Hi AnnieR,

yes you are right, the IBI tax is calculated on the basis of the Cadastral value, which is fixed by the catastro. This value changes depending - among other things - on the built area. The maximum deadline to get refunds is 4 years after the tax is paid.

Concerning the measures in Catastro and in the Escritura, in principle the Escritura should prevail unless the changes in the property have taken place after the escritura was done or the Deed measures are wrong (this is not unusual either, considering that old deeds contain old descriptions and also that the developers sometimes commit mistakes when describing the properties).  it is also possible that the catastro measures refer to an older building which no longer exists. Finally, it we are talking about an urbanisation or apartment complex, it is possible that the cadastro has added the proportional area in communal property as well...

The measures in Catastro are obtained not only on the basis of the Deeds but also through "revisiones" or "ponencias", which are administrative process whereby the technicians selected by catastro visit the towns in order to make a new catastro. Such process is complex and takes usually 6 months, afterwards there are also 6 months to appeal, etc. The catastro takes into account then many data from many different sources, such us aerial photographs and obtain the measures from those photos. The result is the updated catastro with new ownership situations and new descriptions of properties, which might well include differences in the areas.

Having said that, it is not unusual that the abuse on the aearial photographs gives rise to different measures as in the reality. I have had a case where a property had 3 floors, the area of the first two was the same but the area of the 3rd was lower, and the catastro has simply taken that the three floors are do just have the same area. of course, the catastro technicians have not been there, but no one cared to go to the Catastro when the update was made in order to complain.

Consequently, I would suggest the following:

1.- Arrange an appointment with the Cadastro services, the contact number is  902373635, you have to identify yourself and provide for the cadastral reference of your property.

2.-Provided you are not satisfied with their explanations, have the actual area checked by a technician. This will tell you who's wrong, the deed or the catastro. Please note that private drawings are not currently accepted, it has to be done by someone with Spanish degree in a technical issue.

3.- Change the catastro by submitting an application/appeal with a copy of your Deed and if possible a certificate and/or plans from the technician who visits the property.

4.- In the application you should estate that the measures of the property were like that since you became the owner, and therefore the change SHOULD HAVE EFFECT SINCE THE PURCHASE DATE. With this you will have the possibility to fight for the proportional refund of the unduly paid moneys.