Georeferencing Denied in Coastal Zone: Key Points for Property Owners in Motril 2026

Key data

If you own a property in a coastal zone or in a municipality with restrictive urban planning and want to update its property registry description with georeferencing, this resolution directly affects you. The General Directorate of Legal Security and Public Faith resolved on July 2, 2026 an appeal by the Archdiocese of Granada against the negative qualification of the Property Registry of Motril No. 2, which denied the registration of georeferencing for a property due to founded indications of invasion of maritime-terrestrial public domain.

The case raises a real and frequent risk: the Article 199 Mortgage Law proceeding requires the registrar to notify neighboring properties and competent administrations, and if any of them present allegations with sufficient basis, the registration can remain blocked indefinitely.

What does this resolution establish?

The resolution analyzes whether the allegations received during the processing of the Article 199 Mortgage Law proceeding have sufficient evidentiary support to justify the registrar's negative qualification. The two identified obstacles are:

• Allegation by the Coastal Service: the proposed georeferencing partially invades maritime-terrestrial public domain.
• Allegation by the Municipality of Motril: the property description does not respect the alignment to public roads established in Motril's General Urban Planning Plan (PGOU).

Article 199 of the Mortgage Law establishes that the registrar must assess allegations with reasoning. It is not enough that allegations exist: they must have founded indications of invasion of public domain or affection to third-party rights. If they do, the registrar can—and must—deny registration.

The General Directorate of Legal Security and Public Faith confirms in this resolution that the registrar acted correctly in denying, given that the allegations provided had sufficient evidentiary basis to justify the negative qualification.

Economic and operational impact

For a property owner or entity that wants to register georeferencing of a property, blocking the Article 199 Mortgage Law proceeding has immediate practical consequences:

• Paralysis of registry update: the property cannot reflect its actual surface area or georeferencing in the Registry, which limits future operations (sales, mortgages, divisions).
• Additional management cost: the property owner must prove to the Coastal Service that the property does not invade maritime-terrestrial public domain, or initiate a boundary determination procedure, which involves time and technical and legal fees.
• Urban planning risk: if the PGOU establishes a public road alignment that affects the property, the registrable surface area may be less than the actual area, with direct impact on appraisal value and financing capacity.
• Prolonged legal uncertainty: while the conflict with Coastal Service or Municipality is not resolved, the property maintains an outdated registry description, which can generate problems in transfers or obtaining licenses.

Who does it affect?

• Property owners of plots in coastal zones who want to register surface corrections or georeferencing.
• Real estate developers with land in municipalities with restrictive PGOU or with public road alignments pending regularization.
• Religious entities, foundations and public organizations with real estate assets in coastal easement zones.
• Legal and technical advisors (lawyers, notaries, architects, surveyors) processing Article 199 Mortgage Law proceedings in coastal zones or with complex urban planning.
• Any property owner who has initiated or will initiate a surface correction and georeferencing proceeding in municipalities with adjacent maritime-terrestrial public domain.

Practical example

The specific case resolved by this resolution is that of the Archdiocese of Granada, which attempted to register the georeferencing of a property located in Motril through the Article 199 Mortgage Law proceeding. During processing, the registrar notified neighboring properties and competent administrations. Two organizations presented allegations:

• The Coastal Service warned that the proposed georeferencing partially invaded maritime-terrestrial public domain.
• The Municipality of Motril indicated that the description did not respect the public road alignment of the PGOU.

The registrar of the Property Registry of Motril No. 2 denied registration. The Archdiocese appealed to the General Directorate of Legal Security and Public Faith, which confirmed the negative qualification by understanding that the allegations had sufficient evidentiary support. The result: the property cannot update its registry description until the conflict with Coastal Service and Municipality is resolved.

What should property owners do now?

1. Verify if your property is in a maritime-terrestrial public domain zone or its easement before initiating the Article 199 Mortgage Law proceeding. You can check this in the boundary viewer of the Ministry for Ecological Transition.
2. Review the municipality's PGOU to identify if there are public road alignments, cessions or urban planning affections that may reduce the registrable surface area.
3. Request a preliminary report from the Coastal Service before submitting the georeferencing to the Registry, to anticipate possible allegations and correct the graphic representation if necessary.
4. Coordinate with the Municipality the official alignment of the property with respect to public roads, especially if the PGOU is recent or has been modified.
5. Commission the georeferencing to a technician with experience in coastal zones, who knows the limits of maritime-terrestrial public domain and can adjust the graphic representation before submitting it to the Registry.
6. If you already have a negative qualification, assess whether the allegations have sufficient basis or if it is viable to appeal to the General Directorate of Legal Security and Public Faith, as the Archdiocese of Granada did in this case.

Official source

Consult complete regulation in official source

Notice: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific decisions, consult a qualified professional. Source: https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2026-22041