December 13, 2022 by Andreas

Virtual cadastre: what is it and how to use it?

Modernisation and technological tools have been of great help in managing many procedures that used to involve more time and travel to certain government offices, and the virtual cadastre is now an excellent option. The direct beneficiaries of the virtual cadastre are companies and professionals dedicated to the real estate sector because they will be able to streamline everything related to this subject, it is a fast and practical platform.

What does the virtual cadastre consist of?

The virtual cadastre consists of an automated service of territorial information that is offered on the Internet thanks to the cadastral services and the database of the territories of Spain. The Electronic Headquarters of the Cadastre helps users to search for properties, identify them and carry out all kinds of procedures in an automated way.

What is the virtual cadastre for?

By means of the virtual cadastre through the website sedecatatro.gob.es, citizens are spared the step of going to the cadastre offices to start registering a property or to carry out other related procedures. On the portal, you can search for cadastral references and maps of regions and cities. You will also be able to access a lot of information about specific properties.

One of the most important functions of the virtual cadastre is related to the calculation of national and municipal taxes and duties on properties. This is the information that taxpayers are looking for when declaring income tax and other obligations.

The virtual cadastre also serves to know the zoning of a given area, be it city, municipality or region. This data is very useful for construction companies, municipal planners, urban planners who need to prepare projects and situational analyses.

How can I consult the virtual cadastre?

Anyone who requires data related to a certain property or real estate can access the Virtual Cadastre page via the Internet. Individuals, companies or administrations can download free of charge any cartography of the Spanish territory, except for the C.F. of Navarre and the C.A. of the Basque Country.

Once in the Property and Cartographic Viewer search engine, the user must enter data to locate the area or property required. The parameters for the search can be:

The cadastral reference
The province, street and number of the property.
The parcel and the polygon.
The latitude and longitude.
Or the unique registration code.

It should be noted that not all data is publicly and freely available to everyone. There are certain cadastral data that can only be searched by the cadastral owners of the properties.

In order to have access to this restricted part of the data, SEC identification such as an electronic signature certificate or another form accepted by the administration is requested. After entering the requested data, the cadastral titleholders will be able to
access data such as names and surnames, company name, fiscal address, tax identification number and cadastral values.

What is done with the data obtained in the virtual cadastre web portal?

Almost everything obtained from the virtual cadastre portal is used for tax purposes. With this database, the Ministry of Finance is able to establish the tax obligations of all taxpayers. The cadastral data are used to calculate the property tax (IBI), the municipal tax on the increase in value of urban land (Plusvalia) and the personal income tax (IRPF).