Note

The Spanish coastal law (Ley de Costas) for property buyers

§ 1What the law does

Ley 22/1988 de Costas protects the Spanish shore. It declares the public maritime-terrestrial domain, the shore itself, inalienable and not subject to private possession. The law also places easements on neighbouring land to protect the shore and to keep it open to the public. This page belongs to the chapter in an overview of beachfront and golf. We read the law up to article forty-four and the ministry’s answers to common questions, but not the transitional provisions, so the section on existing buildings has gaps.

§ 2The shore

The public domain cannot be sold, and private possession has no effect against it, however long it lasts. The line that separates the public domain from private land is fixed by an administrative procedure called deslinde. The law says that the opening of a deslinde is notified to the property registry, and the registrar adds a note to affected properties. Entries in the registry cannot override the public character of land that the deslinde includes.

§ 3The protection easement

The protection easement covers 100 metres inland from the inner limit of the shore, and the State may extend it by another 100 metres. In that zone the law prohibits residential buildings, new interurban roads, new high-voltage lines and the dumping of waste, among other uses. Uses that can be authorised are those which by nature cannot be located elsewhere. The preamble says that urbanised areas are treated differently, with a narrower zone, but we did not read the operative provision, so check how it applies to the property.

§ 4The transit and access easements

A strip of 6 metres inland from the shore’s inner limit stays free for public passage and for surveillance and rescue vehicles, and it can be widened to 20 metres where passage is difficult. The law also creates a public easement of access to the sea over neighbouring land, and bars works that block it.

§ 5Existing homes

The ministry says that homes in the protection zone remain private property. Repair, improvement, consolidation and modernisation are allowed if they do not increase volume, height or surface, with a declaration by the owner before the planning authorisation, and building in the zone needs authorisation from the regional government. For land that becomes public domain after a revised deslinde, the law gives the owner a concession of 75 years without fee, respecting existing uses. We did not read the transitional provisions that deal with older constructions.

§ 6Before you buy

Ask the seller for the coastal status. Ask your lawyer to read the registry extract for notes, and to check the deslinde and the zones on the official map. The ministry says registering or transferring a coastal property can require an administrative certificate of no encroachment. Ask the provincial coastal service where in doubt.

§ 7Risks

Storms and erosion affect coastal homes, and the law restricts new occupation of areas in serious regression. Ask the insurer what is covered.

§ 8A draft change to the coastal regulation

In July 2026 the Ministry for the Ecological Transition put out for consultation a draft royal decree on flood risk that also amends the coastal regulation. The draft says the technical criteria for the shore line and the beach must take sea-level rise into account. Press reports say it would let one exceptional wave set the shore line instead of repeated storms, and the Valencian government has objected. It is a draft, we have not seen a final text, and we cannot say what it would mean for any particular home. If you are buying near the sea, ask your lawyer to check whether a boundary survey is open or planned for the stretch.

§ 9Where to go next

The wider checks for a home near the sea, and for golf resorts, are in the chapter, and more on a golf property covers the resort side.

Legal note. How the process works in general. It is not legal advice, and it never replaces an independent Spanish lawyer acting for you.