ULI & LISAMallorca Property Glossary All chapters uli-lisa.com →
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★ Overview1 · From Offer to Deed — The Buying Process & Contracts on Mallorca2 · Notary, Land Registry & Cadastre — the three registers your purchase rests on3 · Money Transfers, Banking & Legal Due Diligence When Buying on Mallorca4 · What the Tax Office Takes When You Buy5 · The Annual Running Costs of a Mallorca Property6 · What to Expect When You Resell — Taxes on Disposal7 · Wealth Tax & Solidarity Tax on Mallorca8 · Inheritance & Gifting on Mallorca: the Balearic Foral Law9 · Building Legality, the cédula & Retroactive Legalisation10 · Building on Mallorca: Land, Permits & New-Build Protection11 · ETV — Tourist Rental on Mallorca12 · Where People Buy on Mallorca — Thinking Municipality by Municipality13 · Tenanted Properties, Tenancy Law & the Okupas Risk14 · Your Passport Shapes the Deal: Military Permit, Visas & the Tax Chain15 · Financing & Mortgages in Mallorca16 · Estate Agents & Property Values When Buying17 · Property Types & Forms of Ownership — what the listing and the land register really tell you18 · Buying Through a Company or in Your Own Name? Legal Structures Explained19 · From Purchase to Centre of Life: NIE/TIE, Residency & Health Cover20 · Mobility & Authorities: Car, ITV, Driving Licence, Appointments21 · Buyer Pitfalls on Mallorca — and How to Avoid Them22 · The Authorities Map & Spanish Abbreviations at a Glance23 · Register of Court Rulings: the case law behind the chapters24 · Where Our Information Comes From — and How Reliable It Is25 · Building & Renovating in Mallorca — What Buyers Need to Know About Costs, Trades and the Law26 · Utilities on Mallorca: Electricity, Water, Gas & Solar27 · Agroturismo, Turismo Rural & Tourist Accommodation in the Countryside28 · Insurance Cover for Your Mallorca Property29 · What the Listing Really Says — Property-Ad & Viewing Vocabulary (ES/CAT → EN)30 · Living Here, Not Just Buying Here: Children, Pets and the Rhythm of Island Life31 · Selling Smart: What the ganancia patrimonial (Capital Gains Tax) Really Costs You32 · Boat Moorings on Mallorca (Amarre): What You Actually Buy — and What You Don't33 · Releasing Equity From Your Mallorca Home in Later Life34 · Separation & Divorce — Who Keeps the Mallorca Property35 · The Owners' Association in Mallorca: A Practical Guide to the Comunidad de Propietarios36 · The ULI & LISA Roadmap: From Search Profile to Handover of the Keys
Glossary › Chapter 32

32 · Boat Moorings on Mallorca (Amarre): What You Actually Buy — and What You Don't

*Let's clear up the most common and most expensive misconception before you spend a euro: on Mallorca, a mooring is not something you own. What you buy your way into is a time-limited right of use based on a concession. How many years that right still has to run matters more to its value than anything else.*

Key: ✅ official / corroborated by multiple sources · 🟡 indicative value / single source · 🔴 listing only / rough pointer.

An amarre (mooring berth) — or punto de atraque (berthing point) — is simply the mooring itself. In public harbours it sits on dominio público marítimo-terrestre (the public maritime-terrestrial domain, governed by the Ley de Costas 22/1988) and is therefore inalienable. In plain terms for you as a buyer: you will never be the owner. What you acquire is a derecho de uso preferente — a preferential right of use that lasts exactly as long as the remaining term of the concession. When that term expires, the berth reverts to the state without compensation (reversión).

If a mooring is marketed to you as "ownership," from a buyer's perspective it is a right for a period of time and nothing more. With every year the remaining term shrinks, the value moves closer to zero. Hence our first rule: always check the remaining term before anyone talks about price.

Concessions and Harbours: Who Grants What#

  • Legal framework: State-run harbours are governed by RDLeg 2/2011 (maximum term 50 years). The regional Balearic harbours (Ports IB) fall under Ley 10/2005 and Decreto 11/2011 (to date, 35 years).
  • May 2026 reform: Regional concessions have been extended to up to 50 years (in exceptional cases 75) 🟡 — implementation is still under way.
  • Who runs them: You are essentially dealing with three camps — APB (Ports de Balears, state-run: Palma, Alcúdia …), Ports IB (regional), and private marinas and clubs (Puerto Portals, Port Adriano, Club de Mar …). With a private marina there is an extra factor many buyers overlook: the operator's own concession term. Where in doubt, that term caps your right.

Transfer (Cesión / Traspaso): Not a Normal Sale ✅#

If you think a mooring changes hands as freely as an apartment, think again:

  • The derecho de uso preferente can, in principle, be transferred — but the deal often has a pre-emption right (tanteo y retracto) held by the concession grantor breathing down its neck.
  • The transfer of the concession itself works only with prior authorisation from the port authority.
  • A bare right of use under direct Ports-IB administration is even personal and non-transferable. The sole exception: a one-time transfer mortis causa (on death) for the same boat.
What you, as a buyer, must watch for: without the required authorisation there is no valid transfer. This is not a formality — it is your central acquisition and pricing risk.

Costs and Taxes at a Glance#

  • Purchase price (precio de cesión): Set by the concession holder; it varies widely by harbour, boat length, and remaining term. 🔴 As a very rough figure in the premium segment (Puerto Portals), values circulate from around 68.000 € (10 m) to roughly 175.000 € (12 m) — these are listing figures only.
  • Running costs: cuota / upkeep, plus tasas portuarias / canon de ocupación (port fees / occupation levy).
  • Purchase tax: If a business sells, IVA 21 % (VAT) applies; if a private individual sells, ITP (transfer tax) at the Balearic rate comes into play 🟡. Never both at once. The old rates of IVA 18 % / ITP 4 % are outdated and no longer to be applied.
  • IBI: The concession holder is liable for IBI (the local property tax, assessed on the valor catastral / cadastral value). Combined with the port tasas, this can amount to a double charge 🟡.

The Boat Itself: Registration, Lists, Tax, Licence#

  • Flag and registration: abanderamiento (Spanish flagging) plus matriculación (registration). With the lists, use determines the category: Lista 6ª is for commercial charter, Lista 7ª for private use (RD 1435/2010).
  • IEDMT (registration tax): For private boats > 8 m it costs 12 %; up to and including 8 m it remains tax-free. An exemption is possible where the boat is used exclusively for charter (in particular 8–15 m) 🟡.
  • IVA: Letting out a mooring is, per DGT criteria, subject to the standard rate of 21 % 🟡. Charter, moreover, requires a Spanish or EU flag.
  • Licence: For yachts between 12 and 15 m you need the PER (the recreational skipper's licence, valid up to 15 m, 12 nautical miles, including the mainland–Balearics crossing).

The Typical Pitfalls ✅#

1. A short remaining term is the surest value-killer. 2. The "purchased" berth remains only a right of use — it never enters the land register. 3. The harbour's transfer authorisation and pre-emption right can sink your deal. 4. Real-world case, Puerto Portals: a shortening of the term led here to a loss in value of up to 50 % 🟡. 5. Waiting lists are real — with Ports IB in 2026 there were over 7.200 registered entries on the list. 6. Double costs through IBI plus tasas. 7. A list or flag error costs you the IEDMT exemption.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions#

Can I buy a mooring as freehold property? No. It is public harbour property. You acquire a time-limited right of use via a concession, and the remaining term determines what it is worth.

IVA or ITP on the purchase? It depends on the seller: if they are a business, IVA 21 % applies; if they are a private individual, ITP at the Balearic rate applies. The two never come together.

Do I need authorisation to resell? As a rule, yes — the port authority must consent. Bare Ports-IB rights of use can in any case only be passed on mortis causa.

Sources (selection)#

  • Ley 22/1988 (Costas) · RDLeg 2/2011 · Ley 10/2005 + Decreto 11/2011 (Ports IB) · RD 1435/2010 (lists)
  • APB / Ports IB · NauticaLegal / Buades Legal · Reform Ley de Puertos 2026 (press) 🟡
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