House Building in the Countryside (LISTA) + Regulation

URBANISM

Feb 23

Written By Francisco Javier Muñoz Fuentes

Do you have a plot in the countryside and you are thinking in building a house? Would you like to have a house near the nature, but you do not know if this is possible? Have you been told that building houses in the countryside is not allowed? Has you read in the newspapers about a new legislation in Andalucía allowing the construction of houses in the countryside? If this is your case, do not hesitate to keep reading, in this post you will discover many of the innovations that the new law, LISTA and its Reglamento has brought.

¿NOW YES, BEFORE NO?

For many years, the LOUA or law 7/2002, of 17 of December, has made very difficult the construction of houses and villas in the countryside in Andalucía. To be able to build a house you needed to request an special permit to the Junta de Andalucía and prepare a project that in most of the cases were rejected after big temporal delays and expensive technical fees. All of which create a general understanding that houses in the countryside were not possible, increasing the value of the existing houses and decreasing the value of the rural land.

As you may have heard the new law 7/2021 of 1 of December, propose a radical change to this situation, providing the opportunity to grant licenses to build houses and villas in the rural environment. Nevertheless, this law does not fully developed the conditions under which this properties will obtain a construction license and refers to another regulation the power to do so. It is on the 29th of November of 2022 when the regulation of the law is approved, providing the conditions needed to grant licenses to build in the countryside of Andalusia and its provinces and towns. (Málaga, Marbella, Mijas, Estepona, Sotogrande, Cádiz, etc)

¿THEN WHAT ARE THESE CONDITIONS?

The article 31 of the Regulation of LISTA, develops the conditions needed to grant constructions licenses to houses in the countryside and rural land as long as they do not encourage the formation of new settlements. It will be necessary to prepare a project for an architect and request construction license contemplating the following requirements:

No more than one detached house will be built for plot, and multiproperties will not be allowed unless it was built before the law 19/1975 of the 2nd of May.
The plot or piece of land will need to have a surface of at least 25 000 m2 and allowed a circle of 50 m of radios in its interior. The surface will be 50 000 m2 in forest land.
The property will be placed 100 m away of any other residential property.
The occupation of the building will not exceed 1 % of the plot. The rest of the surface will be left to trees, vegetation, topography and the natural conditions. The explanation surface both filling or excavation won’t be bigger than 30% of the occupancy rate.
The buildability left will not exceed 1 % of the surface of the plot and maximum height will be 2 stories according to the town hall regulations.
The property will be further than 25 m to the boundary of the plots.
The supply of services should be autonomous preferably using renewable energy.
The houses will not be place in areas with risks of floods, and when placed in forest land, the conditions of fire safety should comply with the forest legislation.

DO NOT HESITATE TO SHARE YOUR QUESTIONS

IN ADDITION…

Houses in the countryside will not avoid the normal activities and uses of the rural land, which mean, you can’t complain if your neighbor decides to place a pork farm. The near neighbors will be informed of the construction of the new house before the construction license is granted.

As in other posts, please keep in mind that this is not an exhaustive list and apart from these indications, you will always need to consider other legislation from the town hall and the Junta de Andalucía. That is why we will always encourage you to contact a professional architect, before you invest money in the purchase of land or rural plots, to be advised in your concrete situation.

For example if our land is located in Sotogrande, Marbella, Málaga or Mijas we may have different conditions due to regulations established by the town hall.

¿DO I NEED TO PAY EXTRA TAXES TO BUILD IN THE COUNTRYSIDE?

Yes, apart from the well know taxes and bonds, paid in urban ground, you will need to paid a compensation to build in rural ground of 15 % of the price of construction to be developed.

It is important that you develop your investments with the assistance of professional architects that can guide you through the best legal and technical solutions. Eventually, you will need and architect to develop a project for the construction of your house in the countryside and request construction license. Munoz Barcia Architects are at your disposal to solve your queries and advise you on any question without any further obligation. Call us and share with us your ideas, we enjoy helping our clients!

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