This is how the State stays with the abandoned houses: these are the keys to the mostrenco assets

At some point in our lives we have passed in front of an abandoned house, perhaps even in ruins. If in these cases you have imagined whose property this property could be… the answer could be unexpected: this house could be owned by the State.

For this, the main condition is that an owner of said property is not known. Or what is the same, in cases in which a property does not have a known owner, it will automatically be understood that said property will belong to the State.

It establishes in its article 17 that “properties that lack an owner belong to the General Administration of the State.” This law refers to the affected properties as “vacant” properties, a term that came to replace what in previous regulations was described as “unusual properties”.

This word, although in other contexts it is used to describe a “very fat and heavy” person or someone “ignorant and slow to reason”, the truth is that notorious assets are those “vacant properties or properties without a known owner that by law belong to the state.”

And, indeed, the possession of these properties by the State is by law. In fact, the Public Administration Assets Law explains that “the acquisition of these assets will take place by operation of law, without the need for any act or declaration by the General State Administration.”

This means that, due to the fact that the owner is not known, the property is considered property of the State. The Administration does not have to respond to any tax obligation or other responsibilities until there is an “effective incorporation” into the state patrimony.

How the State acquires these properties

According to the regulations, the State can acquire these properties “through administrative means, as long as they are not being owned by anyone as owner, and without prejudice to the rights of third parties.” If, in doing so, the existence of “a possessor as owner” is discovered, the General State Administration is given the possibility “to initiate the corresponding action before the civil courts.”

In the event that for legal purposes the state ownership of said properties is considered “sufficiently accredited”, the law establishes that the property will be appraised, “its inclusion in the General Inventory of State Assets and Rights and its registration in the Property Registry”, without prejudice to other measures necessary to guarantee possession.