Student accommodation
Habitability certificate
A habitability certificate (cédula de habitabilidad) is the document certifying that a home meets the minimum conditions to be lived in under the habitability rules of its Spanish autonomous community. In Catalonia, for example, it is needed to occupy, sell or let the home and to sign up for utilities.
Also known ascédula de habitabilidad · certificate of occupancy · cèdula d'habitabilitat
What it certifies and what it does not
Each autonomous community that requires it regulates it with its own habitability rules. The Catalan Right to Housing Act shows its reach: the certificate shows that the home meets the quality conditions and is fit to live in, and without it the home cannot be occupied (Llei 18/2007, art. 26.1); it has to be handed over in any sale, letting or transfer of use (art. 26.2), and electricity, water and gas companies ask for it before connecting supply (art. 26.3). But it only certifies technical habitability: it does not make the use as housing lawful in planning terms (art. 26.5 bis).
In coliving it matters more. Catalonia makes housing with complementary common spaces subject to the certificate (art. 26.7), and in the Balearic Islands, until there are regulations, the certificate for that housing "shall be one for the whole building" (Llei 5/2018, seventh transitional provision). The pages on Catalonia and the Balearic Islands go into detail.
Worth knowing
Having the certificate is not having a licence. The certificate looks at the home from the inside; whether the use fits the planning and whether the activity can be carried out are decided by the plot's zoning and the activity licence. For a coliving, it is worth checking all three before signing.
Sources
Related terms
- ColivingA coliving is a building of private rooms or studios with a shared kitchen, lounge and work areas, run by an operator with services included and a community life. It is aimed mainly at young professionals and stays of several months. In Spain it has no national law of its own.
- Activity licence (licencia de actividad)The licencia de actividad is the prior municipal licence to run a business from premises in Spain. Today it is the exception: Ley 12/2012 bans it for retail and the services in its annex up to 750 m², where a self-declaration is enough, and outside that annex the region and the town hall decide.