Land Registry and Cadastre: what each one certifies

Land Registry and Cadastre: two different functions

When an owner hears about the Land Registry and the Cadastre, it is common to think that both documents serve the same purpose. In reality, they do not. The difference matters because each one certifies different aspects of the property and, moreover, their practical usefulness is not the same.

The legal basis for this distinction is that the Cadastre is an administrative register where properties are described and their physical, economic and legal characteristics are recorded, whereas the Land Registry is the institution that gives legal publicity to ownership and real rights over the property. The cadastral regulations themselves sum this up clearly: the Cadastre acts “without prejudice to the Land Registry, whose legal pronouncements shall prevail” and the explanatory memorandum emphasises that the Land Registry is the only one that has public faith effects in relation to ownership and real rights over property. This can be seen in the consolidated text of the Real Estate Cadastre: BOE, article 3 and in its explanatory memorandum.

For you, as an owner, this difference is not theoretical. It affects you when selling, when regularising a discrepancy in surface area, when preparing an inheritance or when checking whether a cadastral reference correctly identifies your home.

What the Cadastre certifies

The Cadastre certifies, mainly, the description of the property. According to article 3, that description includes the location, the cadastral reference, the surface area, the use or purpose, the type of cultivation or use, the quality of the buildings, the graphic representation, the reference value, the cadastral value and the cadastral owner, with their tax identification. In addition, the descriptive and graphic cadastral certificate certifies those characteristics and may be incorporated into public documents and administrative procedures as a means of certifying the physical description of the property. BOE, article 3

In practical terms, the Cadastre is useful for:

1. Identifying the property physically.

2. Checking the cadastral reference.

3. Verifying surface area, use and mapping.

4. Checking who appears as the cadastral owner.

5. Providing a descriptive and graphic certificate when a notary or an Administration requests it.

However, it is important not to confuse “cadastral owner” with legal owner for registry purposes. The Cadastre may reflect ownership declared or updated through its procedures, but it does not replace the registry pronouncement where there is a discrepancy over ownership or real rights.

A common mistake is to think that, if a dwelling appears in the name of a person in the Cadastre, that alone is enough to state that they are the owner in the full legal sense. It is not.

What the Land Registry certifies

The Land Registry certifies the legal situation of the property. The information provided by the Community of Madrid for buying and selling homes states that the simple register extract allows you to know the charges, such as mortgages or attachments, and to check whether the person selling the property is actually its owner. It also indicates that public documents relating to acquisitions of property, real rights, mortgages, easements or legal decisions are registered in the Land Registry, and that registration provides legal certainty. Community of Madrid

In practice, the Land Registry informs you about:

1. Who appears as the registered owner.

2. Which real rights are registered.

3. Which charges affect the property.

4. Whether there are mortgages, attachments or other restrictions.

5. The correspondence between the registered property and its registry description.

This point is key: the Land Registry does not merely describe, it publishes rights with legal effect. That is why, if you want to sell a home or buy with confidence, checking the registry is essential. The simple register extract remains a very useful consultation tool, although in this article we do not repeat its full interpretation.

If the Cadastre and the Land Registry do not match, what should you look at first

The cadastral regulations expressly provide that, when there is a discrepancy between the cadastral owner and the owner of the corresponding right according to the Land Registry, the ownership that results from the latter will be taken into account for Cadastre purposes, unless the document that supplied the information to the Cadastre is later than the title registered in the Land Registry. In other words, the legal pronouncements of the Land Registry prevail. BOE, article 9

This does not mean that the Cadastre is irrelevant. It means that each system performs a different function and that, in the event of a conflict, the registry legal criterion carries more weight as regards ownership and real rights. The Cadastre, for its part, remains very important for the physical description and for document coordination.

### Practical steps if you detect a discrepancy

1. **Check exactly what the discrepancy is.** A difference in surface area is not the same as an error in the owner or in the cadastral reference.

2. **Review the deed and the simple register extract.** See whether the property is described in the same way in both documents.

3. **Look at the descriptive and graphic cadastral certificate.** This is the useful document for physical and cartographic identification.

4. **Assess whether the problem is one of description or of right.** Surface area and graphic representation usually fit better with the Cadastre; ownership and charges are resolved in the Land Registry.

5. **If you are going to sell, do not leave the discrepancy until the end.** An unexplained difference can delay the notary, registration or financing.

As a general guide, article 18 of the consolidated text allows procedures for correcting discrepancies and rectification when the cadastral description and the real property do not match, and it also provides that, in certain cases, the registrar may notify the Cadastre of the rectification made in order to coordinate both systems. BOE, article 18

How to use both documents without making mistakes

The safest way to deal with a property is to treat the Land Registry and the Cadastre as complementary documents, not interchangeable ones. The Cadastre helps you identify the property physically; the Land Registry tells you which rights are registered and to what extent.

### Useful advice for owners

- Request the descriptive and graphic cadastral certificate when you need to check boundaries, surface area or representation.

- Request a simple register extract when you want to review ownership and charges.

- If you detect a change in surface area, do not assume everything is resolved with a printout from the Cadastre.

- If you are going to sign a sale, check that the cadastral reference can be linked to the registered property.

- If there are elements such as a parking space, storage room or annexes, check how they appear in both systems.

### Common mistakes to avoid

- Believing that the Cadastre “proves” ownership to the same extent as the Land Registry.

- Accepting a cadastral owner without checking the registry position.

- Ignoring a discrepancy in surface area because “the price has already been agreed”.

- Mixing up cadastral value, reference value and market price as if they were equivalent.

- Thinking that a minor documentary difference never matters; sometimes it does complicate signing or registration.

If you need to review a specific property before selling it, you can request a valuation guide at /valoracion-vivienda-madrid or raise your case at /contacto. The online estimate is indicative, not an official valuation, and can be accompanied by a PDF report and an optional visit.

When to seek individual advice

The general rule is clear: the Land Registry certifies the legal situation and the Cadastre certifies the administrative and physical description of the property. But when there are inheritances, a mismatch in surface area, several properties that appear to be one, or doubts about annexes, the solution depends on the specific case.

Therefore, if the documentation does not fit together or the property has a complex registry history, the sensible approach is to review the documents first and then decide whether it is advisable to amend the Cadastre, adjust the registered property or prepare an explanatory deed. It will not always be necessary to do everything; sometimes it is enough to organise the documentation properly.

UBICASA is located at Calle Montesa 29, Madrid, Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 15:00 and from 16:00 to 19:00.