Adequate Housing Report in Spain: Family Reunification Guide

Updated: 5 October 2026

An adequate housing report in Spain helps demonstrate that your home is suitable for your family when applying for ordinary family reunification. Known as an informe de adecuación de vivienda, it assesses your accommodation and your right to use it.

Preparing the correct documents early can help you coordinate the housing assessment with the rest of your residence application.

Who needs an adequate housing report?

This guide focuses on family reunification under the general immigration regime, where a foreign resident sponsors eligible relatives.

Family applications involving Spanish citizens, EU citizens or permits such as highly qualified worker residence have their own rules. Confirm your immigration route before using this checklist.

A housing report addresses accommodation. Financial resources, family relationships and the other residence requirements must be assessed separately.

Who issues the report?

The competent regional social services issue the report, or the municipality does so where the autonomous community has delegated that responsibility.

Start with the official instructions for your place of residence. The authority receiving your request and the body issuing the report may differ.

A private architect’s assessment is not automatically the official immigration housing report.

What does the report assess?

The national immigration rules require the following information:

Explain who already lives in the home and which relatives you intend to reunite. A clear account helps the authority assess the accommodation against your family’s needs.

Is there a minimum number of square metres per person?

There is no universal “10–15 square metres per person” rule in the national family reunification regulation.

Adequacy depends on the applicable housing standards and the household’s needs. Spain’s Housing Law considers factors including size, habitability, accessibility, basic utilities and privacy. Requirements set by the competent housing authorities also matter.

Ask which local criteria apply before committing to a property for your application. Floor area alone cannot establish that a home is suitable.

Which documents should you prepare?

Obtain the current checklist from the competent authority. Depending on the locality, it may include:

• The local housing report request form.
• Your identification and residence details.
• Identification and relationship documents for the relatives concerned.
• A current rental agreement, ownership deed or another accepted occupancy document.
• A current collective padrón certificate or registration extract.
• Recent utility bills.
• Photographs or other property information.
• Proof of payment where a local fee applies.

For example, the Community of Madrid’s official checklist includes collective registration, occupancy documents and utility bills, with certain documents presented at the interview.

Do not assume every document is submitted at the same stage. Follow your authority’s instructions for the initial request, appointment and any inspection.

Rental agreements and ownership

You do not have to buy a home. A rental agreement or another accepted legal arrangement can establish your right to use it.

Check that the address and names are consistent across the documents. If the agreement has been extended, include the relevant extension rather than leaving the authority to infer that it remains current.

The occupancy document may also belong to a qualifying family member in your cohabiting family unit, within Article 66 of the immigration regulation. Evidence of that relationship and living arrangement will be important.

Housing report, padrón and habitability certificate: the differences

These documents serve different purposes:

Empadronamiento does not grant ownership or a legal right to occupy a property. Registration also does not, by itself, demonstrate that the home is adequate for family reunification.

A cédula de habitabilidad, such as the document used in Catalonia, is a separate housing document. Check whether your local procedure requires it; it does not automatically replace the immigration report.

How to apply: five practical steps

1. Identify the correct authority

Check the regional or municipal website for the procedure at your current address. Confirm the form, submission channel, fees and documents.

The local housing request is separate from the EX-02 family reunification application.

2. Prepare a consistent file

Collect the required documents and check names, identification numbers and addresses. Explain any differences rather than submitting contradictory information.

Keep a copy of everything you provide.

3. Submit the request and keep the receipt

Use the accepted registration channel and retain the dated acknowledgement. Check how you will receive notifications and monitor that channel.

An appointment booking is not the same as proof that the report request has been formally submitted.

4. Attend the appointment or home inspection

Where a visit is arranged, make the property available and have the requested originals ready. Alicante, for example, uses a home visit as part of its municipal procedure.

Give accurate information about occupants and room use. Ask how to provide any additional documents requested.

5. Check the report before filing

Review the address, occupancy information, description and date. Request correction of factual errors.

Coordinate the report with your family reunification filing so that the accommodation evidence is current when submitted.

How long should the report take?

The national regulation requires the competent authority to issue and notify the report within one month of the request.

This deadline concerns the housing report. It does not establish the processing time for the whole family reunification application.

What if the report is not issued and notified in time?

The Ministry’s guidance allows legally admissible alternative evidence where the authority has not issued and notified the report within that month.

Provide the report request receipt, evidence of the missed deadline and documentation covering the required housing information.

Choose evidence that explains your occupancy rights, rooms and their uses, current occupants, habitability and equipment. Obtain advice on the appropriate evidence for your case before relying on this option.

Delay does not amount to an automatic favourable report or automatic residence approval.

How recent must the report be?

Under the current national rules, the report or permitted substitute documentation must be no more than six months old when the family reunification application is submitted.

Plan backwards from your intended filing date. This is a maximum age requirement, rather than a promise that every housing document will remain suitable throughout that period.

If you move or the household changes materially, check whether updated evidence is needed. Clarify any shorter period mentioned in a local checklist before filing.

What if the assessment is unfavourable?

Identify whether the concern involves the occupancy documents, household information or the property’s condition.

Correct factual errors and address the underlying issue with appropriate evidence. Where necessary, ask for advice before submitting or challenging an assessment.

The report is not binding on the Immigration Office, which must explain its reasons if it departs from the report’s content. A favourable assessment also does not guarantee approval of the residence application.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Requesting the report through the wrong authority.
• Treating municipal registration as proof of adequate housing.
• Omitting other occupants or presenting inconsistent addresses.
• Applying a space requirement taken from another locality.
• Losing the dated request receipt.
• Leaving the report request too late to coordinate with the immigration filing.

Do not register relatives at your address simply because you intend to reunite them. The padrón should reflect where people actually live.

Legal review: Francisco Javier Theuer Carmona, immigration lawyer and member of the Granada Bar Association (ICAGR 7984).

Last reviewed: 5 October 2026

Need help with your housing report?

Nodisea provides assistance with housing report applications, including document preparation and forms.

If you are unsure which family residence procedure applies, book a free immigration consultation to discuss your situation and the next steps.

Official sources

• Royal Decree 1155/2024 — Article 67.2
• Ministry of Inclusion — Family reunification guidance
• Housing Law 12/2023 — Article 3(c)
• Community of Madrid — Housing report procedure
• Alicante City Council — Housing report procedure
• INE — Municipal registration guidance, April 2026
• Generalitat de Catalunya — Habitability certificates