Enclosing a terrace and incorporating it into the living room is a very common renovation in homes in our country, especially in major cities like Barcelona or Madrid. A priori, gaining a few meters of living space seems like a great aesthetic and spatial advantage. However, the problem arises when you decide to purchase a property and assume that this additional usable area is fully regularized.
Before taking any steps in such an important transaction, it is crucial to perform a complete audit of the property. You do not want to find unpleasant surprises after signing the contract. Therefore, we recommend that you conduct a legal review of the property thoroughly before committing your savings.
Why does enclosing a terrace require legal authorization?
A terrace enclosure cannot be considered an ordinary interior renovation (such as painting or changing the flooring). This type of modification directly alters substantial elements of the building, such as:
- The facade and the external aesthetics of the building.
- The total built volume (volumetrics).
- The usable area of the private interior part.
- Common security elements of the property.
According to the regulations in force in Cataluña, an owner has the right to carry out renovations within their private space, as long as these do not harm other joint owners or alter the external configuration of the architectural complex. When a work affects common parts of the structure, it is imperative to obtain the unanimous or majority agreement of the homeowners' association (junta de propietarios), in accordance with the provisions of the Código Civil de Cataluña.
On the other hand, at an administrative level, these actions require the corresponding municipal planning license or, failing that, a formal communication of works before the relevant town hall (ayuntamiento). If you are considering buying a property with non-legalized works, a closed terrace is usually the first source of conflict.
1. Check the nature of the terrace: private or common?
The first aspect to clarify is the actual ownership of that outdoor space. Although access to the terrace is exclusively through your living room, this does not guarantee that the area is your absolute property. In the context of condominium property (propiedad horizontal), we can distinguish several situations:
- Elemento privativo (Private element): The terrace belongs entirely to the owner and is included in their co-ownership coefficient.
- Elemento común de uso exclusivo (Common element for exclusive use): The terrace is owned by the community, but its use and enjoyment are attributed solely to a specific home. In Cataluña, according to the corresponding articles of the Código Civil de Cataluña, even if you enjoy exclusive use, you still cannot alter the structure or enclose it without the express consent of the homeowners' association (junta de propietarios).
- Anejo (Annex): A space linked to the home in an accessory manner.
To clarify this point, it is vital to check the title deed (escritura de propiedad), the building bylaws, and the land registry extract (nota simple registral).
2. The role of the homeowners' association (comunidad de propietarios) regarding the enclosure
Since the external facade is a common element of the building, any enclosure requires authorization from the neighbors. The seller's assertion that "no one has complained in twenty years" or that "all the neighbors have it the same way" is not enough.
To have full legal guarantees, you should request from the property manager or the president:
- The minutes of the owners' association meeting where the enclosure was expressly approved.
- The community statutes in case they contemplate permission for uniformity of enclosures on the facade.
It is highly advisable to review the community minutes of the last few years to ensure there are no open claims or neighborhood disputes regarding said element.
Tacit or presumed consent in Catalonia
Legislation in Catalonia contemplates the figure of tacit consent if the owners' association has not taken action to restore common elements within a period of four years from the completion of the visible works, provided they do not affect structural integrity or create new easements. Nonetheless, this tacit neighborhood consent only acts against the owners' association; under no circumstances does it validate urban planning illegality before the town hall.
3. The municipal planning license: the building permit file
For the enclosure to be fully legal, it must have the due municipal license granted in its day by the town hall, or a subsequent legalization file for the works. The seller should provide you with:
- Technical project certified by an architect.
- Work license granted.
- Certificate of completion of works.
If this documentation is not available, it is necessary to inquire in the town hall archives to verify if the enclosure is legally protected in accordance with urban planning legislation. If the work was executed without a license, the town hall retains the power to open a file to restore urban planning legality.
4. Surface area discrepancies between the Registry, Catastro, and reality
It is common to encounter a discrepancy in surface areas: for example, the property physically measures 90 m² because 10 m² of the terrace were added to it, but the nota simple (registry certificate) states only 80 usable m².
Before committing yourself, you must check differences between Registry and Catastro. The Catastro (Cadastre) information is mainly tax-related in nature and usually incorporates the physical reality (the enclosure) to charge the corresponding IBI (Property Tax), but the fact that it appears in the Catastro does not mean under any circumstances that it is urbanistically legal or that it is registered in the Property Registry.
5. Is it possible to legalize an enclosed terrace in Catalonia?
The viability of legalizing an executed enclosure depends on whether the parameters of the municipality's urban planning (such as the maximum buildability of the plot, occupancy, and minimum setbacks) are simultaneously met. If the building has already exhausted its permitted buildability, it will be technically impossible to legalize the enclosure through ordinary means, even if all neighbors agree.
Statute of limitations for urban planning infractions
In Catalonia, the administration's power to order the demolition or restoration of the legality of works executed without a license generally expires (prescribes) six years after the complete completion of the works. However, this statute of limitations does not make the work legal; the property remains in a state of "fuera de ordenación" (non-conforming status) or "volumen disconforme" (non-conforming volume), which severely limits future renovations.
6. The direct impact on the appraisal and the granting of the mortgage
If you need bank financing, this point is extremely critical. Approved appraisers are strictly guided by the ECO regulation (ordenanza ECO) and the surface area legally registered in the Property Registry (Registro de la Propiedad). If there are square meters gained irregularly from the exterior:
- The appraiser will not compute them as interior usable area of the property.
- The final valuation of the apartment could turn out to be significantly lower than the price agreed with the seller.
Discover how a discrepancy affects the appraisal and how this can translate into the need to contribute more of your own funds than planned to be able to formalize the mortgage.
7. How to protect yourself in the earnest money contract
To avoid insurmountable economic and legal risks, you must define very well which documents to request before signing and reflect the situation explicitly in the earnest money contract (contrato de arras). We advise you to incorporate clauses that:
- Condition the signing of the public deed of sale (escritura de compraventa) on obtaining the legalization certificate or the closure of potential municipal files.
- Provide for a proportional reduction of the purchase price if it is found that the meters of the enclosure cannot be regularized or computed for appraisal purposes.
- Withhold a financial amount of the final price at the notary to cover potential legalization costs or sanctions pending resolution.
Conclusion: Do not overpay for square meters out of zoning conformity
Buying an apartment with a terrace enclosed without permission can be a viable transaction, but only if you know the exact risk you are exposing yourself to and the price of the property reliably reflects its true legal status. Do not accept verbal promises about the supposed legality of a space that could cost you thousands of euros in penalties or future devaluation.
At INMODOCS, we are specialists in performing due diligence audits for buyers in Catalonia. We analyze the urban planning, community, cadastral, and registry status of the apartment you like so that you can buy with complete peace of mind and pay exactly what legally corresponds.
Before signing the deposit
If you are considering buying in Barcelona, read the full guide: Buying a flat in Barcelona without surprises.