Want to inherit a home from your parents or relatives? In Spain, it may now come with strings attached.
Lawyers across the country report a rise in wills and property transfers that take effect only if heirs agree to meet specific conditions, including caring for the deceased’s pets for the rest of the animals’ lives.
2 View gallery
Report shows a rise in wills and property transfers that take effect only if heirs agree to meet specific conditions
(Photo: Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock)
Notarial data show that gifts of residential property with attached conditions rose 67.8% over seven years, from 32,623 transactions in 2017 to 54,735 in 2024. Professionals in the field link the increase to the difficulty young people face in securing housing amid rising property prices.
According to Spain’s Youth Council, 85% of people under 30 are unable to move out of their parents’ homes, and seven in 10 employed young adults still live with their families.
Lawyers describe these arrangements as binding contracts that may include enforceable clauses, including revocation if the agreement is breached. A common mechanism allows an individual to transfer ownership of a home during their lifetime to children, grandchildren, friends or trusted caregivers, while retaining the right to live in or rent out the property until death.
Professionals cite cases such as a grandmother in Madrid who granted her apartment to her granddaughter on the condition that she complete a university degree and a master’s program. In other cases, homeowners have left property to caregivers in gratitude for support during their final years.
Within this broader trend, lawyers say pet-related clauses are becoming more frequent. Owners seek to ensure their animals will be cared for after their death by conditioning inheritance on a commitment to look after one or more pets for as long as they live. If the obligation is not fulfilled, the transfer can be canceled.
In one case in Madrid, a man with limited ties to his children arranged for a younger friend to inherit his home on the condition that she care for his three dogs. Financial planners also report clients who want to ensure their pets remain with them in their final years and are not sent to shelters, by tying ownership and usage rights of the home to continued care of the animals.
Experts link the phenomenon to demographic shifts. Spain’s National Statistics Institute reports that more than 1.8 million people over age 64 live alone. At the same time, pet ownership is widespread, with industry estimates placing the country’s pet population between 20 million and 28 million, primarily dogs and cats.