{"id":33773,"date":"2026-07-20T13:47:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T11:47:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/?p=33773"},"modified":"2026-07-20T13:47:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T11:47:25","slug":"estate-agent-in-catalonia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/makelaar-in-catalonie\/","title":{"rendered":"Thinking of buying a property on the Costa Brava? Is your estate agent in Catalonia registered?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Anyone exploring the Spanish property market will soon realise that the profession of estate agent is not regulated in large parts of the country. In theory, anyone can set up a website and call themselves an \u2018estate agent\u2019. This poses risks for you as a buyer. Fortunately, Catalonia (along with the Valencia region) is a welcome exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Catalan government has strictly regulated the property market to protect consumers.<sup><\/sup> Are you working with an estate agent on the Costa Brava or in Barcelona? If so, they must comply with mandatory legal requirements.<sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As an independent legal adviser specialising in the purchase of Spanish properties, Confianz explains the requirements that a licensed estate agent in Catalonia must meet and how to spot unscrupulous intermediaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The cornerstone of the legislation: the AICAT register<sup><\/sup><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Catalonia, estate agents are legally required to be registered in the official register: the <a href=\"https:\/\/directori.aicat.barcelona\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/directori.aicat.barcelona\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>AICAT<\/strong> <\/a>(<em>Register of Estate Agents of Catalonia<\/em>). Without this registration, no one is permitted to act as an estate agent in the purchase or sale of property in the region of Catalonia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In order to obtain and retain an AICAT number, estate agents must meet strict conditions:<sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Professional competence and training:<\/strong> The estate agent must hold a recognised university degree (such as in Law or Economics) or have completed a specific, government-recognised property qualification.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Physical location:<\/strong> A legitimate estate agent must have an office open to the public or an official business address in Catalonia. A website or an email address alone is not sufficient.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Recognisability:<\/strong> Registered estate agents are required to clearly display their AICAT registration number on their website, in documents and via an official badge or sticker on the fa\u00e7ade of their office.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Financial guarantees for the buyer<sup><\/sup><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The biggest risk when buying property in Spain often lies in the deposits.<sup><\/sup> If an estate agent takes your money and then goes bankrupt or disappears without a trace, you will lose your money.<sup><\/sup> The Catalan decree therefore requires estate agents to provide two crucial financial guarantees:<sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. The financial guarantee (Garant\u00eda Econ\u00f3mica)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Estate agents must take out a bank guarantee or special insurance to cover clients\u2019 deposits.<sup><\/sup> Should anything go wrong with the estate agent, this guarantee ensures that you will be refunded your deposit (up to a statutory minimum, usually \u20ac60,000).<sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Professional indemnity insurance (Seguro de Responsabilidad Civil)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An error in a contract or incorrect information can have serious financial consequences. Catalan estate agents are required to be insured against professional negligence, with a minimum cover of <strong>\u20ac 600.000<\/strong> per claim.<sup><\/sup> This provides you, the consumer, with a solid safety net.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/transfer-tax-catalonia\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/overdrachtsbelasting-catalonie\/\">Here you will find information about transfer tax in Catalonia.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is the difference between AICAT and API?<sup><\/sup><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You will often come across these terms together: <em>AICAT<\/em> and <em>API<\/em>.<sup><\/sup> Although they look similar, there is a fundamental difference:<sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><td><strong>Term<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>What is it?<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Status<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>AICAT<\/strong><\/td><td>The Catalan government\u2019s official, compulsory register.<\/td><td><strong>Legally required<\/strong> for anyone acting as an estate agent in Catalonia. Similar to the BIV in Belgium.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>API<\/strong><\/td><td>The professional association of estate agents (<em>Agente de la Propiedad Inmobiliaria<\/em>).<\/td><td><strong>Voluntary membership<\/strong>, similar to membership of the CIB in Belgium or the NVM in the Netherlands.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Our tip:<\/strong> Always check the estate agent\u2019s AICAT number in advance via the public database of the <em>Catalonia Housing Agency<\/em>. Is this number missing?<sup><\/sup> In that case, break off the negotiations immediately.<sup><\/sup><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why a estate agent alone is not enough<sup><\/sup><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although the AICAT legislation significantly improves the quality of estate agents in Catalonia, an estate agent remains a commercial intermediary who earns a commission on sales.<sup><\/sup> In practice, an estate agent carries out <strong>no<\/strong> excludes a comprehensive legal and tax due diligence.<sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Spain, any debts, outstanding tax liabilities and planning offences are passed on to the new owner.<sup><\/sup> Nor does the Spanish notary carry out a thorough check of this on your behalf.<sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To buy property safely in Catalonia, you need an independent solicitor who acts solely in your best interests. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/buying-in-spain\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/kopen-in-spanje\/\">Confianz provides you with comprehensive support<\/a><\/strong> We will assist you with your purchase by checking planning permissions and any (hidden) debts, drawing up the contracts of sale, and supporting you through the conveyancing process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Do you have any questions about buying a property in Catalonia? Please feel free to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/contact\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"www.confianz.be\/contact\">contact <\/a><\/strong>with us.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you are looking for property on the Costa Brava, work with accredited estate agents. Estate agents in Catalonia are registered with AICAT.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33774,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[129,138],"tags":[989,988],"class_list":["post-33773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-catalonie","category-aankoop-in-spanje","tag-aicat","tag-makelaar-in-catalonie"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33773"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33773\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33775,"href":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33773\/revisions\/33775"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confianz.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}