Figure of the Great Holder in Catalonia (Decree Law 2/2025, which came into force on February 27, 2025)


🔹 1. What is a large holder in Catalonia according to current regulations?

large holder is a natural or legal person who owns:


🔹 2. Can a natural person be considered a large holder?

Yes. Both individuals and legal entities can be considered large holders if they meet the requirements for home ownership. A private individual who owns 5 or more homes in a stressed area will also be considered a large holder and must comply with the obligations established by law.


🔹 3. How are interests in real estate computed to determine whether someone is a major holder?

When a person or company is co-owner of a property , their proportional share in that property is recorded .

📌 Criteria for calculating shares:
✅ If a property is owned by one person, it counts as 1 property.
✅ If a person has a partial share in a property, it is counted proportionally.

  • Example: If someone owns 50% of 2 homes , 1 home is counted .
  • Example: If someone owns 25% of 4 homes , they are counted as having 1 home .
    ✅ If an individual and a company share ownership, each party counts according to their percentage of ownership.
    ✅ If a person has shares in several companies, an aggregation can be made to avoid artificial divisions.

🔎 Special case: The Administration may analyze whether the company and the natural person have related relationships (for example, whether the natural person is the majority shareholder or director of the company) to avoid strategies that seek to circumvent the regulations.


🔹 4. What happens if a property is shared between an individual and a company?

When a property is co-owned by an individual and a corporation , ownership percentages are taken into account to determine whether one of the parties meets the definition of a large owner .

📌 Possible situations:
✅ If the company is already a large-scale owner, the shared ownership may be included in the regulation as part of its real estate portfolio.
✅ If the individual, adding up all of his or her holdings in real estate, exceeds the limits, he or she may also be considered a large-scale owner.
✅ If none of the owners, individually, reaches the threshold of being a large-scale owner, the property is not considered to be affected by this regulation.


🔹 5. How does Decree Law 2/2025 affect the definition of a large holder?

The new decree reduces the property threshold to be considered a large property owner, from 10 to 5 properties in stressed areas . It also establishes new obligations such as mandatory registration in an official registry .


🔹 6. What is the Registry of Large Holders of Catalonia?

This is a mandatory registry in which large property owners must register all their properties and provide detailed information about them. Failure to register may lead to financial penalties .


🔹 7. What obligations do large holders have?

1️⃣ Mandatory registration in the Registry of Large Holders.
2️⃣ Offer of social rental before initiating an eviction in cases of vulnerability.
3️⃣ Compliance with the rights of first refusal and withdrawal , allowing the Administration to buy homes before third parties.


🔹 8. What happens if a large holder does not register?

Large holders who do not register may be penalized for administrative infringements , with significant financial fines .


🔹 9. What is the objective of Decree Law 2/2025?

This decree seeks to identify and mobilise vacant homes to guarantee access to housing and prevent speculative practices by large property owners.


📌 Conclusion:
Decree Law 2/2025 tightens the requirements for large holders, seeking greater control over the real estate market and better protection for tenants in vulnerable situations . Both companies and individuals can be considered large holders and must comply with current regulations.

⚠ If a property is shared between an individual and a company, the percentage of ownership and possible links will be taken into account to determine whether the definition of a large holder is met.

📢 In addition, real estate interests are accounted for proportionally, avoiding artificial fractioning to avoid regulations.


🔮 Immediate future

According to 3cat.cat , negotiations and measures are currently underway in Catalonia to modify legislation related to large property owners. The main recent actions are detailed below:

🔹 Increase in the Transfer Tax for Large Holders

The Catalan Government and the parliamentary group of the Comuns have agreed to double the Property Transfer Tax (ITP) to 20% for large property owners and for the purchase of entire buildings.

📌 Objective: To raise an additional 200 million euros annually, which will be allocated to social housing policies and to combat real estate speculation .

📌 New ITP tax brackets:

  • Up to 600,000 euros: 10%
  • Between 600,000 and 900,000 euros: 11%
  • Between 900,000 and 1,500,000 euros: 12%
  • More than 1,500,000 euros: 13%

In addition, an increased rate of 20% will be applied to the acquisition of homes by large holders , as well as to the purchase of entire buildings, except for those buildings with up to four homes, provided that the buyer is not a large holder and uses them as a habitual residence for three years following the purchase .


🔹 Criticism from experts and affected sectors

📌 Foment del Treball and the Association of Developers and Builders of Buildings of Catalonia (APCE) have warned that the measures adopted by the Generalitat, such as the increase in the ITP, could increase the price of housing in Catalonia .

📌 Arguments against:

  • Tax increases will make home purchases more expensive , which will affect the end consumer.
  • Lack of legal security for real estate operators, which could reduce investment and slow down housing construction projects.

📌 Position of Tenants' Unions:

  • They see the strengthening of the sanctioning regime to control rental prices as a positive thing .
  • They warn of the lack of inspectors to ensure compliance with regulations.
  • They claim that temporary rentals are used to avoid price regulation .

🔹 Likely consequences:

📌 More and more clients with rented properties from inmogirona.com are reconsidering whether to continue renting them and are seriously considering selling them.

📌 If this is the general impression, then once again politicians will have achieved exactly the opposite of what they intended: reducing supply and raising prices.


Drafted on: March 5, 2025, 4:14 p.m. | Does 3 days, 23 hours
Reviewed the: March 5, 2025, 5:43 p.m. | Does 3 days, 22 hours
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