Chapter

Buying land to build a house in Spain

§ 1A plot is a right to build

When you buy a plot, you buy land and, if you are lucky, the right to build on it. That right comes from the planning classification, the municipal plan and regional law. The price of the land reflects it. This page belongs to the section on property types, and the pages below explain each stage of a self-build.

§ 2Before you buy

Ask the town hall for a written answer on the classification of the plot, whether a house can be built, how large, and what conditions apply. Ask for the planning documents that apply to the plot. Compare the area and borders in the registry with the cadastre and the ground. Check legal access and the services, water, power, sewage and telephone, and who pays to connect them. Make the purchase conditional on a favourable answer if you can. Planning permission explains permission.

§ 3The team

A self-build needs an architect and a builder, and usually a technician to direct the work and a safety coordinator. Architect and builder explains how to choose them and what the contracts cover. Building a house explains the sequence of building a house, from design to registering the finished home.

§ 4Money

Budget for the land, the taxes, the architect, the permits, the works, the connections, insurance and a reserve. Build cost explains how to build a budget without invented averages. The tax agency states that construction of housing is taxed at the reduced rate of 10%, when the promoter contracts directly with the builder, and not for subcontracts. Ask your adviser how it applies to a self-builder.

§ 5Guarantees

The building law sets liability periods of one, three and ten years from acceptance of the works, and requires a ten-year guarantee on housing. A special rule exists for an individual who builds a single home for personal use, and the law ties liability to a later sale. Ask your lawyer to explain what applies and to put it in writing.

§ 6Planning for time

Permission, design and building take time, and delays are common. Plan for the time and money to stretch, and avoid paying for the plot with a loan that you cannot service while you wait.

§ 7Other kinds of home

If the plot comes with a house, read villas in detail or an overview of country houses and rural property.

If a house exists and needs work, read an overview of renovation projects.

For flats, read the rules on apartments, and for townhouses, read buying a townhouse in Spain.

For plots by the sea, read how beachfront and golf works.

§ 8Before you sign

Get the town hall’s answers in writing, a survey, and the advice of an architect and a lawyer. Then decide the price.

§ 9Services and utilities

Water, power, sewage and telephone are not always at the plot. Ask each utility in writing for the cost and time of a connection, and ask who must grant any easement. A plot without services can cost far more to make buildable than the price suggests.

§ 10Neighbours and views

Look at what is around the plot and ask the town hall what may be built there. A building next door can change the light and the view. Talk to the neighbours about access and boundaries before you buy.

§ 11Questions for the seller

Ask how the seller acquired the plot, whether any plans were filed, whether neighbours have objected to building, and whether utilities have been requested. Ask for all papers the seller holds, including old projects and permits. Write the answers down and compare them with the registry and the town hall’s reply.

§ 12Visiting well

Walk the plot with a technician. Check the slope, the ground, the access, the trees and any signs of water. Look at the neighbouring buildings and ask about flooding and wildfire. Take photos and a map with the boundaries marked.

§ 13Keep records

Keep the registry extract, the town hall answers, the project, the permit, the contracts and the invoices together. You will need them for the registry and for any later sale.

§ 14Back to the section

How types of property works explains the kinds of home a foreigner can buy and what each needs checked.

Legal note. How the process works in general. It is not legal advice, and it never replaces an independent Spanish lawyer acting for you.