There are strict planning and building regulations in Spain and failure to comply can result in a hefty fine or, in extreme cases, your property may be demolished. These regulations do vary in each region and often from one town hall to another, so it is always best to consult a lawyer to guide you through the process.
There is no restriction on who may carry out such works, although you do need to ensure you have the correct building licence/permissions before you start and, depending on the type of work carried out, the work may need to be inspected and approved once it is completed (usually only for structural changes and new buildings).
There are really two types of building licence in Spain:
1. Licencia de Obra Mayor (Major Work Licence) – you will need this licence if you are making structural changes to a house, or adding an extension or external building work such as swimming pool or garage. This can be obtained from your town hall planning department (Urbanismo).
The cost of this licence is usually around 5% of the total estimated cost – payable to the town hall. Note that, if you plan to do the work yourself, you do need to include labour costs as well, based on the standard professional rate. Usually you will need to get an architect to draw up plans for the work to be carried out and these need to be approved by the College of Architects.
Building regulations depend on where the plot is and how it is classified – is it urban or rustic? (and if rustic whether dry or irrigated). The amount you can build or extend will depend on local and/or regional rules for that specific area. In Valencia, for example, you can build up to 2% or 200m2 on 10,000m2 of “Rustic” land. In our local town of Almunecar (Granada Province), there are some areas where you can build on 5,000m2 of rustic land, others where you need 15,000m2 (dependent on height above sea level) and in other towns nearby you can build on 2,500m2.
Building on rustic land has many more remits and, as suprising as it may seem, you can never build a swimming pool on rustic land – it is an urban feature and therefore not permitted, owners can get around this by declaring their pool as a ‘water deposit’ (just a very pretty one with steps and mosaic tiles!).
There are also general rules regarding keeping the appearance of the building – any extensions should be in keeping with the aesthetics of the current building or, if it is a construction on rural land, in keeping with the aesthetics of the area (stone house or Andaluz style cortijo etc). Again, these limitations vary depending on where in Spain you are and the classification of the land.
Regulations in urban areas are very different to those in rural areas and usually urban areas simply have set building rules, e.g. You need a plot of at least 400m2 and can generally build 25% of the plot (above road level – which is why you often see houses on stilts that are later closed in to make additional living space. In the old quarter of a town the build percentages are normally 100%.
If the house is situated in an urbanisation, there are likely to also be guidelines and rules laid down by the Comunidad, which should be followed.
2. Licencia de Obra Menor or Rehabilitacion (Minor Work Licence or Rehabilitation) – you will need this licence if you are making “minor” changes to a building, such as painting, changing tiles, removing or adding internal partition walls. Again, this should be obtained from your town hall planning department.
This licence is also required for any interior work that does not affect the building’s structure, plumbing, electric works, repair to structure of the building etc. The cost of this licence varies between 2% and 6% of the estimated total cost of the project.
It is usually easier to get a Licencia de Obra Menor than Obra Mayor – architects plans are not required and a sketch can be sufficient.
Finally, the universal rule of building regulations is that there are no universal regulations! ALWAYS consult a solicitor and always double check what you are told.
