Catalan Region of Spain
Property in Catalunya:
It may be that you have purchased a village property and intend to refurbish it, or that you have purchased a plot of land on which to build either a house for yourself, or a number of properties to sell on. In Catalunya, as throughout the developed world, the key to making the most of your property investment is to understand the local planning laws and to be able to manipulate them in your favour.
The first question to ask before buying is the planning status of the property. In Catalunya land can have one of three broad classifications, “no urbanizable” such as farmland, “urbanizable” and “urbano”.
If you are going to build a house for yourself you need to purchase a plot of land known in Spanish and Catalan as a “solar”. This is the only land on which you may build a house from scratch. In addition to checking that the land is indeed fit to be built on, you will need to know on how much of the plot you can build and the maximum floor area permitted. You will also need to be granted permission to build by the local Ajuntament, or town hall, before you begin to build. But the question often asked is how a piece of farmland becomes land on which one can build either a house, or a development of houses and/or apartments.
According to the current rules land starts its life as “no urbanizable”. Such land is used exclusively for farming, although exceptionally planning permission may be granted to refurbish an existing house to its previous standard. It is the Ajuntament of each municipality which determines whether and when such land will be reclassified as “urbanizable” with a view to being able to build on the land.
The final decision to reclassify the land is taken jointly by the local Ajuntament and the planning department of the Generalitat de Catalunya. That said, provided the Ajuntament’s plans have been drawn up according to the planning rules, it is more than likely that the will of the Ajuntament will prevail.
Very often large pieces of land which are reclassified in this way are owned by a number of different landowners, each one owning his or her own plot. In order to decide where the roads will be built, the lampposts will be positioned, the sewers will be laid and the electricity installed, the landowners often form a collective known in Spanish as a “Junta de Compensación”, failing which the local Ajuntament takes the necessary decisions on behalf of the landowners to prepare the land for development. Landowners benefit from the development of the land in proportion to the amount of land they own and, therefore, to the same extent bear the cost of preparing the land for development.
The end result of this process is that what was once farmland becomes plots of land on which houses, apartments, hotels, golf courses, industrial units or shops can be built perfectly legally once planning permission has been granted. One of the most surprising aspects of this process is that it may take many years for anyone to initiate it.
As one would imagine, the price of farmland increases dramatically as soon as the decision to reclassify has been taken. The cost of preparing the land for development (roads, sewers, etc) can be very high indeed, normally an issue to be considered by developers rather than by those looking to build a house for themselves. The result is a further increase in the value of the land.
As soon as the decision to reclassify has been taken, information is published regarding precisely what can be built on each plot. This will include the type of building (houses, flats, etc) and the total floor area of each type which can be built. Once prepared for development the reclassified land will be considered “urbano”. Each individual plot will be a “solar”.
Often a developer will purchase the entire reclassified area and will apply to the local Ajuntament, firstly for permission to prepare the land for development and subsequently for permission to build a development for sale to end users. Sometimes the owners of the different plots will hold out and, instead of selling to one developer, will share the cost of preparing the land for development and sell their plots to individual purchasers who design and build their own houses. If that is the case, each purchaser will need to apply to the local Ajuntament for planning permission specific to their own needs and wishes.
Instead of going through the often painful process of building from scratch, many people opt for refurbishing a village property. However, even then one must apply for planning permission for all works to be carried out. Often a representative of the Ajuntament will visit the property and take photographs of it prior to granting planning permission and then again before signing off on the works upon their completion.
In any event, the application for planning permission, whether for a development of new houses or apartments, the building of an individual house, or the refurbishment of an existing property, must almost always be applied for by submitting plans to the Ajuntament drawn up by an architect and passed by the architect’s professional body. The only exception to this is where the works are considered to be minor in nature, in which case a description of the proposed works and an estimate of the cost of the works is all that is required. It goes without saying that planning permission attracts a fee and a tax, totalling approximately 3.5 % of the total declared value of the works.
It will be apparent from the above that before deciding to move ahead with a building or refurbishment project, it is essential to obtain full information from the local Ajuntament in order to determine whether the piece of land you want to build on, or the property you want to refurbish, is best suited to your requirements. A reputable architect with a proven track record is often the key to assuring that you benefit to the fullest extent possible from the applicable rules.
The above is designed as a brief guide to the main thrust of the law. However, the specific legal and/or other advice of a specialist advisor must be taken in respect of any proposed building or refurbishment works, ideally before the property is purchased.
