Buying a property in Mallorca: flood zones, rustic land and holiday rental rules
Mallorca is one of the most expensive places to buy in Spain, and the price of a mistake grows with it. Flash floods, strict rules for country houses (fincas) and limits on holiday rentals are the three things to check before falling in love with a view.
Check a specific property →Mallorca by town: official data
Town-level figures from official sources. They describe the area, not your house: a villa on high ground in a town with floods can be safe, and the opposite. The Hogarfax report checks the exact plot.
| Town | Population | Urban plots in 100-year flood zone | Forest fires 2006–2015 | Seismic acceleration (ab) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palma | 434,786 | 16.6% | 8 (+65 small) | 0.04 g |
| Calvià | 53,793 | 0.9% | 11 (+42 small) | 0.04 g |
| Andratx | 12,195 | 0.0% | 7 (+32 small) | 0.04 g |
| Sóller | 13,882 | 9.9% | 5 (+14 small) | 0.04 g |
| Pollença | 17,807 | 0.6% | 7 (+24 small) | 0.04 g |
| Alcúdia | 21,907 | 0.0% | 2 (+22 small) | 0.04 g |
| Santanyí | 13,067 | 0.0% | none recorded | 0.04 g |
| Sant Llorenç des Cardassar | 9,231 | 10.4% | 1 (+8 small) | 0.04 g |
Sources: population, INE municipal register (2025); flood, share of urban cadastral plots inside the 100-year river flood zone (SNCZI, MITECO; it does not cover rain or sea flooding, nor the Canary Islands); fires, municipal forest fire statistics (EGIF, MITECO, CC-BY 4.0); seismic, basic acceleration of the Spanish seismic building code NCSE-02.
Flash floods and torrents
In October 2018 a flash flood in Sant Llorenç des Cardassar killed 13 people. Mallorca's torrents are dry most of the year. In Palma about one in six urban plots is inside the official 100-year river flood zone (SNCZI), and in Sant Llorenç one in ten. Check the exact plot.
Fincas on rustic land
Building and extending on rustic land in Mallorca is tightly restricted, and the rules have changed several times. Before buying a finca, check that every building has a licence, how the Land Registry describes it and whether the pool or guest house was legalised. Ask the town hall and the Consell de Mallorca.
Holiday rentals
Renting to tourists needs a registration that is limited by zone and type of home, and new registrations have been restricted. If rental income is part of your plan, check the property's tourist licence number and whether it can be transferred to you.
41 things to check before buying a home in Spain
Many buyers think they can check it all themselves. In practice the data is spread across the Cadastre, the Land Registry, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, the Nuclear Safety Council, the National Geographic Institute, regional planning and town halls, each with its own maps and its own language. Missing just one can cost far more than the house's renovation.
Legal status and land
- Cadastral use (is it legally a home?)
- Planning classification of the land
- Urban, developable or rustic land
- Livestock trails (vías pecuarias)
- River public domain (DPH)
- Coastal public domain and easements (Costas)
- Minimum habitable floor area
- Building inspection status (ITE/IEE)
- Land Registry: owner, mortgages, seizures, easements (Land Registry Study)
Natural hazards
- River flooding (100-year flood zone)
- Sea and coastal flooding
- Wildfire: forest next to the house
- Wildfire history of the area
- Areas burned in recent fires
- Active fires detected by satellite
- Earthquake hazard
- Radon gas
- Dams upstream
Installations and surroundings
- High-voltage power lines
- Electrical substations and energy plants
- Wind farms
- Solar farms
- Nuclear power plants
- Thermal power plants
- Macro-farms (intensive livestock)
- Factories and industrial land
- Landfills and incinerators
- Petrol stations next to the home
- Vacant plots next door (what will be built?)
- Noisy roads and motorways
- Railways
- Airports
The house and the price
- Real square metres vs the listing
- Age of the building and its parts
- Estimated renovation cost
- Asking price vs real sales nearby
- Indicative price range
- Estimated rent
- Real buying costs (taxes, notary, registry)
- Annual costs (IBI, community, waste)
- Facade photo and official record
The one you forget is the one that matters: a power line behind the garden, a macro-farm just down the road, a vacant plot next door where a block will go up, a ravine that floods once every few years, or a "villa" that the Cadastre doesn't record as a home. Hogarfax checks all of them for the exact property, with the official source of each one.
Before you pay a deposit in Mallorca
- Check the exact plot, not the town: flood zone, distance to forest, planning classification and what is planned around it.
- Check it is legally a home: the cadastral use, the Land Registry description (nota simple) and the occupancy licence.
- Compare the real square metres with the listing and the price with real sales nearby.
- Make the deposit conditional on anything that doesn't add up, and have a lawyer review the contract.
Check the house you like in Mallorca
The Hogarfax report checks the specific property against 30+ official sources — legal use, flood zone, wildfire, planning, real size and price — in English, reviewed by a person and emailed within 24 hours. €24.90 VAT included. Add the Land Registry Study (€89) and we request and explain the nota simple for you.
Find the property →Free: check the flood zone of an address on the flood zone page or the wildfire history on the wildfire map.
Frequently asked questions
Is Palma in a flood zone?
Parts of it: about 17% of Palma's urban plots are in the official 100-year river flood zone (SNCZI, MITECO), mostly along its torrents. Check the specific plot.
Can I rent out my house in Mallorca to tourists?
Only with a tourist rental registration, which is limited by area and type of home. Check whether the property already has one and whether it can be transferred.
What should I check before buying a finca in Mallorca?
That every building has a licence or is legalised, how the Land Registry and the Cadastre describe it, access, water supply and whether it is in a protected area.
Other areas
Are you a lawyer, agent or adviser working with buyers here? See our partner programme. Written by Diana Popescu, Hogarfax. This guide is general information, not legal advice.