An administrative register supervised by the Ministry of Finance and the Economy, in which the physical, economic and legal characteristics of properties are described. Based on those characteristics, every property is given a property register reference number and value.
A body that offers property owners advisory and management services through a team of specialised professionals. Membership is necessary in order to use those services.
An official document that shows that a home meets all safety and comfort requirements. Such a certificate is essential in order to contract water, electricity and gas supplies. Owners must provide tenants with a certificate of habitability when they sign a rental contract.
A document that shows that you have signed up for inclusion on the population register of the town or city in which you live. A population register is an administrative document that contains the addresses and basic details of an area's inhabitants, and is used for the purpose of performing censuses. Inclusion on the population register enables you to access most public and social services, regardless of whether you are legally or illegally present in Catalonia.
The act of assigning a rental contract to another person. It is only legal to transfer a rental contract with written authorisation from the lessor. Carrying out a transfer without such authorisation will result in the contract being terminated and lead to Desnonament / Eviction proceedings.
The part of a contract referred to as its “small print”. Clauses are the general or specific conditions established in a contract. A rental contract's general conditions are pre-established on the official document, while its specific conditions are those that the lessor applies and to which the lessor and lessee agree. You should read them very carefully, as they may involve the loss of some of your rights as a tenant.
A group of people who own property in a particular building (or various buildings) and who join together to protect their common interests.
A document that guarantees the fulfilment of a sale agreement established by the owner and the buyer of a property, and which is used as a way of reserving a home. The term arres penitencials (a literal translation would be ‘penitential down payment') is often used in Catalan, as either the owner or the buyer (depending on which of them is responsible) must pay a penalty if the agreement is not fulfilled.
A document signed by a lessor and a lessee, which contains all the conditions of an agreement through which a home is used in exchange for money. The money in question is called Renda / Rent. See Clàusules d'un contracte / Contract clauses.
A document that contains an agreement through which a buyer and a seller promise to complete a sale. It is necessary to go to court if either of them does not keep their side of the agreement.