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How do I know if a home is a VPO (protected housing)?

Piso Propio · · Checked on each region's official pages

Look at the deed: if the home is protected, it cites the definitive calificación with its file number and date. The Land Registry's nota simple, where the protection appears as a limitation on the property, and the cédula de calificación definitiva confirm it. In Catalonia, Madrid and the Comunitat Valenciana an official procedure certifies it in writing.

Before buying, inheriting, selling or renting out a flat it pays to know whether it is still a protected home (vivienda protegida, VPO) and until when: the maximum price, the sale authorisation and the Administration's right of first refusal all depend on it. Three documents say so, and some regions run a procedure that certifies it in writing.

Where can I see if a flat is protected housing?

The calificación does not lapse on its own and does not vanish when the owner changes: it follows the flat. So it is checked in the flat's documents, not the seller's.

  1. The deed (escritura)The purchase deed of a protected home cites the definitive calificación: its file number (expediente), its date and the rules it was qualified under. With those two facts (file number and date) any enquiry in your region can be answered.
  2. The Land Registry note (nota simple)The protection usually appears as a limitation or charge on the property. It is requested online at the Registrars' office with the address or the cadastral reference.
  3. The cédula de calificación definitivaThe document with which the region (in Andalucía, the town council since Ley 5/2025) declared the home protected when the works finished. It states the regime, the rules and the protection period. If the seller does not have it, it is requested from the authority that issued it, with the file number.

Does it show in the nota simple?

Usually, yes. In the nota simple of a protected home, phrases like these tend to appear in the description of the property or under charges and limitations:

  • “vivienda de protección oficial”, “vivienda con protección pública” or your region's acronym (VPO, VPP, VPPB, VPPL, HPO, VPT)
  • “calificación definitiva” with a date and a file number
  • the regime (general, especial, precio limitado, promoción pública)
  • “prohibición de disponer” (a ban on selling) for some years, or “derecho de tanteo y retracto” (right of first refusal) in favour of the Administration
  • a charge for the repayment of a grant or a qualified loan

An ordinary nota simple may not show the limitation if it sits in an old entry: then ask for the continued note (nota continuada) or the full history of the property.

Request a nota simple (Registrars' online office) ↗

Who issues the calificación?

The calificación is an act of the region: provisional when the works start and definitive when they finish. Its archive keeps the file, so when the deed and the registry leave it unclear, the answer is at the housing department. In Andalucía, since Ley 5/2025 the town councils issue it.

Until when is a home a VPO?

The period is set by each home's calificación and its region's rules. These are the rules we have read in an official text; in the other regions the answer is in the definitive calificación.

  • Andalucía

    Ley 5/2025, in force since January 2026, sets how long protection lasts according to the programme and makes it permanent for homes built on land reserved for public facilities (suelo dotacional).

    Sources ↗ · Checked on 17 September 2026.

  • Catalunya

    Since 1 January 2026, Llei 11/2025 extends with no end date the qualification of protected homes (HPO) in municipalities declared stressed residential markets. In those municipalities you can no longer count on the protection expiring.

    Sources ↗ · Checked on 11 October 2026.

  • Comunitat Valenciana

    Privately promoted homes have a maximum protection period of 30 years from the definitive calificación (Decreto 180/2024); publicly promoted homes keep the period they were qualified with.

    Sources ↗ · Checked on 11 October 2026.

  • Galicia

    Since 1 January 2025 protection is permanent for public-promotion homes and for regional-protection homes built on public land or promoted by IGVS entities. For the rest it lasts 30 years from the definitive calificación (15 for regional-protection rentals); homes qualified before 2025 follow their own rule.

    Sources ↗ · Checked on 11 October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know whether a home is a VPO?

Look at the deed: if the home is protected, it cites the definitive calificación with its file number and date. Confirm it with a nota simple from the Land Registry, where the protection appears as a limitation on the property. If in doubt, ask the region's housing department (or, in Catalonia, Madrid and the Comunitat Valenciana, use their information procedure) to certify it with that file number.

When does a home stop being a VPO?

When its calificación's period ends (it varies with the rules and the region: 10, 15, 20, 30 years or more) or when the region grants de-qualification at the owner's request. Several regions have made the protection of recent homes permanent: Galicia since 2025 for public promotion and public land, Catalonia in stressed municipalities since 2026, Andalucía on land reserved for public facilities. A home with permanent protection never stops being a VPO.

What does a VPO's nota simple say?

The definitive calificación with its date and file number, the protection regime and, often, a ban on selling or the Administration's right of first refusal. If nothing appears and you suspect the limitation sits in an old entry, ask for the continued note.

Can I buy or sell a second-hand VPO?

Yes, within the regime: at the legal maximum price, to a buyer who meets the requirements and, depending on the region and the years elapsed, with prior authorisation and notice for the right of first refusal. The resale calculator gives the maximum price in the modelled regions.

Does the protection lapse by itself as the years pass?

Yes, once the calificación's period is up the home becomes free with no procedure, unless the rules have made it permanent. It is worth asking the region for a report or certificate proving it before selling at a free price: Madrid and the Comunitat Valenciana issue one through their procedure.

Guidance read on the official pages on the date shown. Your home's own calificación and its rules prevail; the binding answer comes from your region.

Where is it checked in each region?

Three regions run a procedure that answers in writing whether the home is protected, until when and at what price it may be sold. In the others we found no lookup service on the official website: the route is to ask the housing department with the file number from the deed.

Andalucía

Official check
No official source foundWhere to ask: Your town council, which issues the calificaciones since Ley 5/2025, or the Delegación Territorial ↗Checked on 11 October 2026.
What it asks for, what it costs and what it gives
We found no lookup procedure on its official website. Ask the housing department (or whoever issued the calificación) for a copy of the cédula de calificación definitiva or a certificate of the protection period, quoting the file number in the deed.

Aragón

Official check
No official source foundWhere to ask: Suelo y Vivienda de Aragón, the Government of Aragón's public housing company ↗Checked on 11 October 2026.
What it asks for, what it costs and what it gives
We found no lookup procedure on its official website. Ask the housing department (or whoever issued the calificación) for a copy of the cédula de calificación definitiva or a certificate of the protection period, quoting the file number in the deed.

Asturias

Official check
No official source foundWhere to ask: The comunidad's housing department ↗Checked on 11 October 2026.
What it asks for, what it costs and what it gives
We found no lookup procedure on its official website. Ask the housing department (or whoever issued the calificación) for a copy of the cédula de calificación definitiva or a certificate of the protection period, quoting the file number in the deed.

Canarias

Official check
No official source foundWhere to ask: The comunidad's housing department ↗Checked on 11 October 2026.
What it asks for, what it costs and what it gives
We found no lookup procedure on its official website. Ask the housing department (or whoever issued the calificación) for a copy of the cédula de calificación definitiva or a certificate of the protection period, quoting the file number in the deed.

Cantabria

Official check
No official source foundWhere to ask: The comunidad's housing department ↗Checked on 11 October 2026.
What it asks for, what it costs and what it gives
We found no lookup procedure on its official website. Ask the housing department (or whoever issued the calificación) for a copy of the cédula de calificación definitiva or a certificate of the protection period, quoting the file number in the deed.

Castilla y León

Official check
No official source foundWhere to ask: The comunidad's housing department ↗Checked on 11 October 2026.
What it asks for, what it costs and what it gives
We found no lookup procedure on its official website. Ask the housing department (or whoever issued the calificación) for a copy of the cédula de calificación definitiva or a certificate of the protection period, quoting the file number in the deed.

Castilla-La Mancha

Official check
No official source foundWhere to ask: The comunidad's housing department ↗Checked on 11 October 2026.
What it asks for, what it costs and what it gives
We found no lookup procedure on its official website. Ask the housing department (or whoever issued the calificación) for a copy of the cédula de calificación definitiva or a certificate of the protection period, quoting the file number in the deed.

Catalunya

Official check
Informació sobre un habitatge protegit (Agència de l'Habitatge de Catalunya) ↗In person for individuals; online for companies. Checked on 11 October 2026.
What it asks for, what it costs and what it gives
It asks for: The file number of the official protection (it is in the deed or in the Land Registry note) and a copy of the deed or of that note. No fee.The conditions to sell, rent or hand over the home: maximum price, whether authorisation is needed and which clauses the contract carries. It answers within up to three months.

Ceuta

Official check
No official source foundWhere to ask: The comunidad's housing department ↗Checked on 11 October 2026.
What it asks for, what it costs and what it gives
We found no lookup procedure on its official website. Ask the housing department (or whoever issued the calificación) for a copy of the cédula de calificación definitiva or a certificate of the protection period, quoting the file number in the deed.

Comunitat Valenciana

What it asks for, what it costs and what it gives
It asks for: The deed or a nota simple from the Land Registry with the file number and the cadastral reference, the standard form and the fee payment (form 046). Fee of 2.50 euros.The maximum sale or rent price on second and later transfers and the home's protection period.

Euskadi

Official check
No official source foundWhere to ask: The comunidad's housing department ↗Checked on 11 October 2026.
What it asks for, what it costs and what it gives
We found no lookup procedure on its official website. Ask the housing department (or whoever issued the calificación) for a copy of the cédula de calificación definitiva or a certificate of the protection period, quoting the file number in the deed.

Extremadura

Official check
No official source foundWhere to ask: The comunidad's housing department ↗Checked on 11 October 2026.
What it asks for, what it costs and what it gives
We found no lookup procedure on its official website. Ask the housing department (or whoever issued the calificación) for a copy of the cédula de calificación definitiva or a certificate of the protection period, quoting the file number in the deed.

Galicia

Official check
No official source foundWhere to ask: Public service of the Instituto Galego da Vivenda e Solo (IGVS) ↗Checked on 11 October 2026.
What it asks for, what it costs and what it gives
We found no lookup procedure on its official website. Ask the housing department (or whoever issued the calificación) for a copy of the cédula de calificación definitiva or a certificate of the protection period, quoting the file number in the deed.

Illes Balears

Official check
No official source foundWhere to ask: The comunidad's housing department ↗Checked on 11 October 2026.
What it asks for, what it costs and what it gives
We found no lookup procedure on its official website. Ask the housing department (or whoever issued the calificación) for a copy of the cédula de calificación definitiva or a certificate of the protection period, quoting the file number in the deed.

La Rioja

Official check
No official source foundWhere to ask: The comunidad's housing department ↗Checked on 11 October 2026.
What it asks for, what it costs and what it gives
We found no lookup procedure on its official website. Ask the housing department (or whoever issued the calificación) for a copy of the cédula de calificación definitiva or a certificate of the protection period, quoting the file number in the deed.

Madrid

Official check
Informe para la transmisión de inmuebles protegidos (VPO o VPP) ↗Online or in person. Checked on 11 October 2026.
What it asks for, what it costs and what it gives
It asks for: An up-to-date nota simple from the Land Registry, a copy of the deed and the fee receipt (form 030). Fee of 13.28 euros.A report proving whether the sale needs authorisation, the maximum sale price, the protection period or that the home is already de-qualified. Decided within three months.The cédula: The cédula de calificación definitiva states the type of protection and the rules that apply. If you do not have it, its number and date are in the deed, and with those you request it from the Comunidad's qualifications office (area_de_calificaciones@madrid.org). comunidad.madrid ↗

Melilla

Official check
No official source foundWhere to ask: The comunidad's housing department ↗Checked on 11 October 2026.
What it asks for, what it costs and what it gives
We found no lookup procedure on its official website. Ask the housing department (or whoever issued the calificación) for a copy of the cédula de calificación definitiva or a certificate of the protection period, quoting the file number in the deed.

Murcia

Official check
No official source foundWhere to ask: The comunidad's housing department ↗Checked on 11 October 2026.
What it asks for, what it costs and what it gives
We found no lookup procedure on its official website. Ask the housing department (or whoever issued the calificación) for a copy of the cédula de calificación definitiva or a certificate of the protection period, quoting the file number in the deed.

Navarra

Official check
No official source foundWhere to ask: The comunidad's housing department ↗Checked on 11 October 2026.
What it asks for, what it costs and what it gives
We found no lookup procedure on its official website. Ask the housing department (or whoever issued the calificación) for a copy of the cédula de calificación definitiva or a certificate of the protection period, quoting the file number in the deed.