In the UK, licences are pretty straightforward and easy, allowing the building of minor extensions or other buildings with a simple and basic process. However, that doesn’t happen in Spain. All building work needs one of the following three types of licences.
Mayor Building Work Licence
Required whenever there is:
Extensions either attached or detached, such as garages, work sheds, etc.
Any building work that implies building a roof with over 1.5mts high.
Pools – Even small or fibreglass ones.
Any structural building work inside or outside the property, such as putting new beams, structural repairs, knocking down load-bearing walls.
Any internal change of layouts, such as making rooms, kitchens or toilets bigger or smaller, subdividing rooms etc.
Mayor building work licences always need to be signed off by a qualified architect and the paperwork required is usually vast. The process can be long and bumpy. Town Halls take months to issue the licence and they also require that the builder is qualified and registered.
Minor Building Work Licences
Minor building work licences are those needed to do any building work that doesn’t imply structure, doesn’t increase the build size of the property or doesn’t involve a roof, for example, tiling, repairing, cladding, plumbing, electricity etc. They are generally easy and cheap to obtain.
Retrospective Licence/Certificate of Antiquity
This is required whenever the property has been extended, altered or had a pool built without a proper building licence. By having a Retrospective Licence/Antiquity Certificate, building work already done becomes unobjectionable and vendors use it to avoid putting off potential buyers, due to the existence of undeclared or unlicensed building work.
The Antiquity Certificate is also the document needed at the Notary to update the Title Deeds (Escritura) with any alterations introduced to the property.
The requirements to obtain a Retrospective Licence for any extension or pools are as follows:
Alicante: The extension or pool needs to be over four years old, before 20th August of 2014 (minimum 4 & ½ years).
Murcia: The extension or pool needs to be over four years old.
Almeria: The extension or pool needs to be over six years old.
Martinez de la Casa Architects is one of the most prominent and respectable practices in the area, providing all types of Certificates and Licenses, amongst other services. They are the Number 1 company in EPC Certificates (121€ inc IVA) and Number 1 for Antiquity Certificates (pools 229€ inc IVA, extensions 326€ inc IVA) and Habitation Licences (from 118€ inc IVA, Town Hall tax not included, depending on each municipality).
For all enquiries, or to arrange an appointment, please call 665 810 411 or visit www.martinezdelacasa.com to see over 150 testimonials on their services.
