Licenses for construction in Sotogrande (San Roque)

CONSTRUCTION

May 24

Written By Francisco Javier Muñoz Fuentes

If you have ever built your own home, carried out reforms in the home you already have or modified some element of your plot, you have probably already heard about building licenses. But how much do you know about them? Do you know how many types of license there are, what is the procedure and the necessary documentation?

The information regarding construction licenses is usually somewhat confusing, mainly because, although state and regional legislation establishes common bases that all municipalities must comply with, in the end it is the City Councils that, through ordinances, establish the conditions and types of license that there are in a specific municipality.

In this post we are going to explain all the basic aspects you need to know about the different types of work licenses that exist, specifying for the specific case of Sotogrande (San Roque)

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TYPES OF AUTHORIZATIONS - BUILDING LICENSE AND RESPONSIBLE DECLARATION

In the case of Sotogrande, there are mainly three types of authorization that, from least to greatest “importance” are:

Actions submitted to the responsible declaration procedure.
Minor work licenses.
Major work licenses.

However, before explaining which are the actions that are included in each of these types, as well as the procedure and documentation, it is necessary that you understand the difference between license and responsible declaration:

Building license

The building license is a permit required by the local administration (Town Halls) to carry out any type of construction, installation ... on any type of land, whether urban, developable or undeveloped. Its objective is to verify that the action we intend to carry out complies with urban regulations (in terms of land use, number of floors, buildable area ...)

Responsible declaration

The responsible declaration is a “document signed by the applicant, which normally accompanies the main instance at the beginning of a file for the exercise of an activity, in which it declares, under its responsibility, that it meets all the requirements demanded by normative".

Unlike the license, with the responsible declaration we do not need any type of response from the Administration, but, from the moment of its presentation, we can start the activity that we have requested.

However, although we do not need a response, the actions communicated through this procedure may not be carried out before ten business days have elapsed (from the day following the date of their disclosure to the administration).

ACTIONS SUBJECT TO A RESPONSIBLE DECLARATION

The following may be processed through the responsible declaration procedure: works of little technical entity that do not require a technical project and that are in any of the following cases:

Conservation and maintenance works

Provided that they do not increase the volume of the building or modify structural elements. Some examples of this type of work can be:

Painting and finishes of façade or dividing walls.
Repair or replacement of exterior carpentry (without modifying the size of the holes) or the placement of bars and awnings on facades.
Cleaning works and interior painting of buildings or patios.

Reforms in existing buildings

Provided that it does not affect the structure or the façade, or modify the conditions of habitability, accessibility and security. Some examples are:

Reform, repair or modification of coatings.
Change or replacement of interior carpentry or sanitary equipment.
Works that involve small specific changes in the interior layout.

Other actions

Such as cleaning and clearing of sites, drilling and prospecting actions; landscaping, paving on private land...

However, actions that meet any of the following conditions may not be processed by means of a responsible declaration (although the work can be identified with any of the above), and actions that meet any of the following conditions must request the corresponding license:

That it is in any of the cases of actions in which a technical report is required (explained in the following section):
That requires a technical project (for example, when it affects protected elements).
Your budget is greater than fifty thousand euros.
That the authorization of other administrations is necessary (for example, when the action requires the environmental qualification process)
That it is a work of special complexity (that requires a more detailed analysis)
That the action is intended to be implemented on undeveloped land.

MINOR WORK PERMIT

Actions subject to a minor work license

Minor works are considered those whose purpose is to carry out reforms, conservation or demolitions that do not affect the structure, facades or roofs of the building and that do not require scaffolding, being processed by the abbreviated procedure.

If the action you intend to carry out cannot be carried out by means of the responsible declaration (because it is not in any of the anticipated cases, because it has a budget greater than the maximum allowed for this procedure ...) but it meets the definition of minor work, you can apply for this type of license.

Within this definition, some specific actions that are subject to a minor work license are specified, such as:

Actions in commercial premises: adaptation, reform, expansion, placement of bars or awnings, enclosures, change of horizontal or vertical cladding ...
Enclosure of pergolas or glazing of terraces.
Fencing of plots.
Placement of smoke outlet pipes, replacement of fascia on terraces, revision of gutters and downspouts ...
Other actions on public roads (such as placement of advertisements).

Documentation to present

Along with the application form for minor works, the following documentation must be submitted to the City Council:

Document justifying the deposit of the fee and the ICIO.
Location map (e: 1/20000)
Detailed budget of the works.
Photographs of the area where it is intervened.
Bounded sketch of the current and renovated state.

MAJOR WORK PERMIT

Major works are all those that cannot be considered minor works or are subject to the responsible declaration procedure; that is to say: the actions of a new plant and the carrying out of reforms, conservation or demolitions that do affect the structure, facades or roofs of the building or that require scaffolding.

In this case, the procedure is more complex, since it will require the preparation of a basic project (which will be presented at the City Council at the time of requesting the license, and will be the one that will serve as the basis for the granting or not of the license) and later (prior to the start of the works) an execution project will have to be presented. If you do not have clear differences between these two projects, we recommend that you read our post: Differences between a Basic Project and an Architecture Execution Project.

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