Guide: Everything you need to know about subdivision and segregation projects

URBANISM

Dec 2

Written By Francisco Javier Muñoz Fuentes

You have probably heard about the term "subdivision" on more than one occasion, but you are not sure what it is, or what the differences are with other similar concepts such as "reparcelling" or "segregation". Today we come to provide you with a guide on everything you need to know about subdivision and segregation projects, so that you can know all the details you need about this urban operation.

1. DEFINITIONS

Both the subdivision projects and the segregation projects are aimed at the "restructuring" of parcels, farms, land ... that are independent of each other, either by joining with other farms or by dividing them. It is important, before delving further into the explanation, to clarify a series of concepts:

Property: The unit of land or building attributed exclusively and exclusively to one owner or several jointly owned, which can be located on the ground, in the flight or in the subsoil.
Plot: The unit of land, both on the ground and in the flight or subsoil, that has been assigned buildability and use or only independent urban use.
Solar: It includes the plots that have all the necessary requirements (referring to the minimum conditions that the urbanization must meet) to proceed with the construction.

2. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SUBDIVISION AND REPARCERLLING

According to the provisions of the urban planning legislation of Andalusia, urban subdivision is considered to be: “any simultaneous or successive division of land, farms, parcels or plots”. When we speak of subdivisions, we refer to all those divisions of urban or developable land that have the main characteristic that, in addition to physically dividing the land, it is also necessary to distribute the urban rights over that land. These urban rights depend on the specific type of land in which we find ourselves, but in general it is about the "normal use, enjoyment and exploitation of the property" which translates into a buildable area (square meters of roof that we can build) of a determined use assigned by urban planning (residential, commercial, industrial, tertiary ...)

What is a reparcelling? Although it looks like parceling, they are different operations. Unlike parceling, in which an individual decides voluntarily (and for whatever reasons) to parcel out his land, farm, plot or plot; the reparcelling is a consequence of the execution of urban planning:

Urban planning assigns a series of uses to the land in which the city is going to expand (residential, commercial, equipment, roads, green areas ...). The process by which rustic properties become these new uses is a restructuring of farms that is carried out through a reparcelling project. It is an urban planning instrument that orders this restructuring so, in this case, it will not be necessary to apply for any type of license.

3. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SUBDIVISION AND SEGREGATION

As we have already commented, parceling refers to those lands, farms, parcels or plots for which, in addition to physically dividing the land, it is necessary to distribute the urban rights associated with that land. This generally occurs on urban or developable land for which urban planning has assigned a buildable area and a use.

Segregation is the procedure by which a real estate is divided into several smaller assets, and is used for all those cases of divisions in which there are no associated planning rights to distribute. This occurs, for example, for divisions of land on undeveloped land, partitions of single-family homes or apartments in a multi-family building, divisions of commercial premises or any other use that is not the one mentioned in the previous paragraph.

4. SO WHAT OPERATION DO I HAVE TO CARRY OUT ON EACH TYPE OF LAND?

As we have already mentioned, if we are facing an urban or urbanized land that has urban use assigned by urban planning, we have to carry out a subdivision project. For the other cases, a segregation project must be carried out. It is important to point out that, in Andalusia, urban parcels on undeveloped land are strictly prohibited, the administrative acts that authorize them being null and void. This is due to the fact that the subdivisions "distribute buildability" and this can induce the formation of new settlements on undeveloped land, something totally prohibited by urban and sectoral legislation. In this type of soil, therefore, we will always be faced with segregation.

5. CAN ALL FARMS BE PARCELED / SEGREGATED?

The segregation of a farm to give rise to two or more different ones is only possible if each of the resulting properties meets the characteristics required by the applicable legislation and territorial and urban planning.

That is to say: the urban legislation establishes a series of minimum requirements that the lands, farms, plots or plots must meet (minimum surface, minimum length of facade ...) If at the end of the process of subdivision or segregation, one of the resulting properties does not comply With these requirements, in that case it would not be possible to carry out the operation.

If you have doubts about what are the minimum requirements for land, farms ... that affect your particular case, we recommend that you contact a professional, since it is necessary that they advise you correctly to avoid problems in the future. At Munoz Barcia Arquitectos we have extensive experience in this type of project, ask us, we are happy to help you!

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6. WHAT FARMS ARE INDIVISIBLE?

To answer this question, it is necessary to differentiate according to the type of soil that we find, since they are governed by different criteria:

For urban and developable land, the following farms, units suitable for building, plots and plots are indivisible:

Those that have dimensions less than or equal to those determined as minimum in the planning instrument, except that the resulting lots are acquired simultaneously by the owners of neighboring farms, in order to group them and form a new one with the minimum required dimensions. .
Those with dimensions less than twice those required as minimum in the planning instrument, unless the excess of these is grouped in the same act to adjoining lands.
Those that are assigned a buildable area depending on the surface, when all the corresponding to it materializes.
Those linked to or legally affected by the constructions or buildings and facilities authorized on them.

For non-developable soils, they must meet the above conditions and, in addition, since for this type of soil only the subdivisions of land are allowed exclusively for agricultural or forestry purposes, the resulting plots must comply with the minimum cultivation units established by the Ministry of the Junta de Andalucía.

In the case of the municipality of Malaga, to give an example that serves as a reference, a minimum unit of cultivation in drying of thirty thousand square meters is established, and a minimum unit of cultivation in irrigated land of two thousand five hundred square meters.

7. WHAT IS THE PROCEDURE TO CARRY OUT THE SUBDIVISION / SEGREGATION? DO I HAVE TO APPLY FOR A LICENSE?

Although previously there were certain segregation projects on undeveloped land for which the application for a license was not necessary (and only had to present a declaration of unnecessary license ”), this has caused a multitude of problems, so after the publication of the Decree-Law 3/2019, of September 24, this declaration has been eliminated, being mandatory, therefore, the request for a license for all acts of parceling or segregation.

To obtain the subdivision or segregation license, you must submit (along with the corresponding application to the City Council) a project signed by a competent technician that will include, among others, the following aspects:

Georeferenced plans of the situation and surface of the land affected by the alteration.
Plans of the farms and initial and resulting plots.
Cadastral and registry identification of the affected farms.
Current urban conditions.

It is important to note that the municipal license on subdivisions is granted by the city council under the condition that the public deed is presented by which the subdivision project has been formalized within the three months following the granting of the license. Once this period has elapsed without such formalization having been submitted, the license will expire, so the procedures will have to be started again.

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