A VPO (vivienda de protección oficial) is Spain's subsidised, price-capped housing. Can you sell one? Yes — but while the protection lasts it is not a free-market sale: there is a legal maximum price, a prior administrative authorisation and a buyer who must meet eligibility rules. The good news: with the steps in the right order, it sells with full legal certainty. This guide follows the Generalitat Valenciana rules in force (Decree 180/2024, which governs protected housing in the Valencian region). Alicante has thousands of qualified homes in neighbourhoods such as Virgen del Remedio, Juan XXIII, Tómbola and the south of the city — and every year plenty of them change hands without drama.

First: check whether your home is still protected

Before making plans, request a nota simple from the Land Registry (the protection shows up as a restriction) and dig out the home's definitive qualification, which states the regime and its date. The protection period depends on the regime and the housing plan the development was built under: in the Valencian region it generally runs between 10 and 30 years from the definitive qualification — homes under the 2009-2012 Plan, for instance, are automatically declassified after 30 years. Many Alicante VPOs from the 1980s and 1990s have already run out their clock: if that is your case, your home is free and you can sell it like any other property in Alicante. If it is still protected, read on.

Prior authorisation from the regional housing department

While the home is protected, before signing at the notary you need the authorisation (visado) of the Generalitat's housing department (Conselleria). That procedure checks two things: that the agreed price does not exceed the legal cap, and that the buyer meets the requirements for access to protected housing (income limits, using it as their permanent main residence, not owning another home, depending on the regime). That last point matters: not every interested party can buy it, so pre-qualify candidates before getting excited about an offer.

In practice, the calendar of a protected sale has five milestones:

  • Nota simple and definitive qualification, to confirm regime and deadline.
  • Maximum-price certificate issued by the Generalitat.
  • A pre-qualified buyer who meets the eligibility rules.
  • Visado or authorisation from the Conselleria, which doubles as the first-refusal notification.
  • Signing at the notary and registration, from here on like any other sale.

The legal maximum price: the module

During protection the price is not free: it is calculated from a module set by the Generalitat. Under Decree 180/2024, until municipality-specific values are approved, a standard of €2,400 per m² of usable area applies; linked garage and storage room are capped at 60% of the module (€1,440/m²), counting at most 25 m² of garage and 8 m² of storage. Example: an 85 m² (usable) VPO would have a maximum price of around €204,000, plus linked annexes. Before signing anything, request the maximum-price certificate. And a serious warning: selling above the cap — or asking for an under-the-table top-up — is a very serious infringement, with fines, refund of the overprice and possible redemption of the transaction by the administration.

First refusal and redemption: the Generalitat has priority

Privately developed protected homes qualified after April 2005 (and publicly developed ones throughout their protection) are subject to the Generalitat's rights of tanteo and retracto — first refusal and redemption: once the sale is notified, the administration may buy the home itself on the same terms; and if a sale breaches the rules, it may step into the buyer's place afterwards. In practice, the visado application itself serves as the notification, and the authorisation entails waiving the first-refusal right. It is not a drama: just one more step to build into the calendar.

Voluntary declassification: is selling at free-market price worth it?

Declassification releases the home from the protection regime ahead of time. It is not always possible: it depends on the plan (discretionary for the administration under the older plans; under others, such as the 2009-2012 Plan, voluntary declassification is not available and it simply arrives automatically at 30 years). And it has a cost: returning the public aid received — subsidies, subsidised interest, tax benefits — plus interest. It pays off when the gap between the free-market price and the module price clearly exceeds what you would have to give back. It is a cold-numbers decision: work out your net with the selling-costs calculator and find out the real free-market price of your area with a free valuation.

FAQs

Can I sell my VPO whenever I want?

If the protection period has expired, yes: it is a free-market home. If it is still protected you can also sell, but with prior authorisation, within the price cap and to a buyer who meets the eligibility rules.

At what price can I sell a VPO in the Valencian region?

At the price derived from the current module: €2,400/m² usable as the Decree 180/2024 standard until municipal values exist, with linked garage and storage at 60%. Request the maximum-price certificate before signing.

What happens if it is sold above the maximum price?

It is a very serious infringement: fines, refund of the overprice, and the administration may exercise redemption. Cash "on the side" is illegal and leaves both buyer and seller unprotected.

How do I know whether my home is still a VPO?

Through the nota simple and the definitive qualification: they state the regime and the date. Protection usually runs between 10 and 30 years from the definitive qualification, depending on the applicable housing plan.