Spouse’s express approval necessary when selling the family residence.

The Balearic Civil Code

Depending on the region, Spain has different civil rights systems (Navarra, Basque, Galicia, Catalonia and the Balearic Islands). This means that the Balearic Islands have their own civil law regulating the relations between the citizens living here.

What is the matrimonial regime in the Balearic Islands?

In the Balearic Islands, the legal matrimonial regime is the separation of goods, unless a different regime has been agreed upon. Therefore, most marriages in the Balearics are closed in the separation of goods.

What does the separation of goods mean in this case of selling the family home?

The separation of goods results in a complete separation of the assets of both spouses. Each spouse is responsible for the management of his property, and he remains the owner of both the estate acquired before the marriage and the property acquired during his marriage. As a matter of principle, each spouse can also freely dispose of his / her assets without the consent of the other.

In case only one spouse is the legal owner of the family home- What happens when the family home is to be sold.

Until now, the spouse was free to dispose (dispose, burden, etc …..) as exclusive owner of the property, which served as a family residence, without the consent of the spouse who was not the legal owner. This has changed now.

Important changes in 2017

With the introduction of Law 7/2017 of 3rd of August it is now necessary that both spouses give their consent to the sale of the property that served as a family residence, although only one of them is the legal owner.

Why?

The aim is to protect the family’s interests of the family against any financial interests of the spouse who is the sole owner of the property which is used as a family residence.

Therefore, from now on, the spouse’s signature (who is not the legal owner of the property) under the sales contract is an indispensable condition.

What happens if the spouse who was not owner of the property has not signed the notarial deed of sale?

In this case, the spouse may apply for the cancellation of the sale within 4 years after registration of the new ownership in the land register.

What consequences would this have for the buyer of the property.

De facto none. In principle, the lack or erroneous statement in reference to the family residence does not have any negative effects on the buyer, provided that he has acted in good faith. This also applies to the case of any legal action between the two spouses.