Buying a house or Land in Spain
The type of property that you own or wish to purchase will fall into one of the categories defined by planning regulations in the ‘Plan General de Ordenación Urbana’ which is available at the local town hall. The categories are broadly speaking, as follows:
- Urban plots – ‘suelo urbano’
Within this category, which refers to plots which are situated in a zone designated for housing development, it is important to be aware of the extent to which services such as water, electricity and gas supplies as well as access roads themselves, have already been provided. In some cases, where this initial work of ‘urbanizacion’ has not been completed, the outstanding work required will fall under the responsibility of the owners of the plots, and this means at some point in the future, a further financial investment will be needed.
When purchasing a property it is important to be aware of any local development plans, ‘planes parciales’, ‘planes de mejora urbana’, which are often put in place in order to determine areas designated for improvement (demolition and replacement, for example), or expansion of villages and towns.
Obviously, planning law is not static. When making an investment in property or making changes to a property, a degree of caution is required and the potential of any site needs to be determined prior to making a firm commitment. This is part of our task.
- Rural plots – ‘suelo rustico’
The laws that apply to this type of land are complex and vary in detail from place to place. Development in rural areas is severely restricted. Again it is necessary, through consultation with the local municipality, to determine the exact classification of the piece of land. This will enable an assessment to be made of its potential for development.
