We do not discover anything new if we talk about inflation, the exorbitant prices of some essential products or the impossibility of young people's emancipation. A few years ago, the idea of becoming a nomad was part of a lifestyle, now it seems like a realistic solution to economic pressure, but can I live in a motorhome or caravan?
Housing prices do not stop rising and, according to the National Institute of Statistics, rental prices rose 2% every month of 2023, compared to the previous year. A figure that some real estate portals place at around 10.1% in the last 12 months. A situation that becomes dramatic in towns in the Balearic Islands, which is the autonomy with the most expensive rent in the country, according to apartments.com.
Substandard housing, in these cases, has become the reality of many seasonal workers. Caravans on private property, or camping areas, serve as a home for those who go to work for a few months and then return to their roots. Others, however, are considering moving to a home with wheels forever and it is not as easy as it seems.
The difficulties do not lie in the habitability and comfort of current motorhomes or caravans, far from it. There are models that surpass many apartments in urban city centers in design, elegance and quality. Even large-volume campers, such as the Mobilvetta Admiral K5.1, have a bathroom with a shower, a full kitchen with a refrigerator and space for two adults.
The problem comes when talking about the regulation of camping in Spain. Staying overnight and camping are not the same, which requires the use of the periphery of the vehicle or the dumping of waste outside. This action is practically prohibited throughout the country, except for specific areas and campsites, but the Autonomous Communities are in charge of setting their limitations.
For example, Andalusia, Aragon, Asturias, Castilla y León, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid and the Basque Country are the most restrictive, with a total ban on free camping. While in the Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castilla La Mancha, Catalunya, Extremadura, Murcia, Navarra and Valencia have their own regulations and exceptions.
Even in those most belligerent Autonomous Communities, there is a requirement that we cannot ignore: registration. If your idea is to live nomadically, changing places from time to time, you will have to look for an address that serves as a fixed residence in Spain.
As established in article 15.1 of Law 7/1985, Regulating the bases of the Local Regime, “every Spaniard or foreigner who lives in Spanish territory must register in the municipality of habitual residence. Anyone who lives in several municipalities must register in the one they live in for the longest time per year. Third. “Registry registration sheets”.
There is the possibility of living in a caravan or motorhome, but owning the land or property on which it is camped. In that case, you will have to request the certificate of occupancy and it does not seem to be an easily surmountable procedure. So there is only one option left: the registration of substandard housing and homeless people.
This note, which is included in the Official State Gazette of May 2, 2020, would allow a caravan to be registered as a registration place: “...in the same way that the registry registration is completely independent of the legal-private controversies about The ownership of the home is also the ownership of the physical, hygienic-sanitary or other circumstances that affect the home. Consequently, substandard housing (shacks, caravans, caves, etc. and even the total absence of a roof) can and should appear as valid addresses in the Register.”
The motorhome or caravan would be considered substandard housing and, therefore, Social Services would have to assess whether or not it can be considered a home for registration purposes. There is no two ways about it, other than the possibility of keeping your registry at the home of a family member or friend, for example. That address will be used to access public health, bureaucratic procedures, schooling and countless administrative procedures that we are not aware of carrying out.
