Call to sell homes without occupancy certificates in Catalonia, 82,762 properties

The Platform 2015 for Access to Housing is organising a covered camp on November 5 in Barcelona to demand a change in the regulations regarding occupancy certificates.

According to idealista.com, the Platform 2015 for Access to Housing has announced a covered camp in Barcelona for November 5. With this, it demands to modify Catalan regulations so that, in certain transactions, the occupancy certificate can be replaced by a registered application accompanied by a favourable technical certificate.

The entity presents itself as a platform of builders, real estate professionals, owners, and tenants. It argues that the change would expand the residential offer, as there are second-hand homes that it considers suitable for habitation but are not entering the market due to their occupancy certificate applications being denied or archived by the Administration.

The proposal focuses on second occupancy certificates, which affect used homes, and calls for amendments to Articles 10 and 11 of Decree 141/2012. The draft retains the numbering and blank dates, indicating that it is a text the platform wants to see approved and not a regulation already in force.

With that text, buyer and seller could agree before a notary to replace the certificate with the registered application and a certificate from a competent technician. That professional would have to certify that the home meets the conditions to obtain the certificate. The entity wants to extend the same mechanism to the contracting of supplies, presenting it to the supplying companies.

Regarding the volume, the platform's email estimates 82,762 homes are affected, while the burofax sent to the Collegiate of Architects of Catalonia (COAC) cites 82,672, linked to denied or archived applications between 2013 and 2025. The organisation attributes the decisions to the Housing Agency of Catalonia, but does not break down whether the figures correspond to homes or files, nor how many are unoccupied. Therefore, the data does not allow for calculating how many homes would actually reach the market.

As context, the platform has published a guide detailing the difficulties that architects and owners describe in obtaining these certificates. Among them are discrepancies between the actual property and its documentation, and the difficulty in proving the previous residential use of some spaces. Changes in use from commercial premises to homes are also addressed, where urban planning weighs heavily. The Government of Catalonia asserts, according to the report cited by the platform, that it applies the regulation together with the municipalities and meets resolution deadlines, although that response does not refer to the draft currently being promoted.

The burofax addressed to the COAC asks the college to join the campaign and disseminate the call among its members. The documentation sent does not include any acceptance from the COAC. According to the organisation, among its supporters are small property owners, technical architects, lawyers, and other real estate professionals.

For those who have a second-hand home in Barcelona or elsewhere in Catalonia, the change is not immediate. Until the reform is approved, the second occupancy certificate remains the required document in sales, and the mobilisation on November 5 will serve to publicly present the demand.