Non Consolidated Urbanisations in Spain
In previous reports, we were explaining the differences between URBAN LAND and RUSTIC LAND.
What is URBAN LAND?
It is a land in which it is authorized to build with determinate specifications contained in the “Development Plans” of the city or area (Plan General de Ordenación Urbana), or in specific areas of urbanization called “Partial Plans” (Planes Parciales), etc.
This land has all the facilities and requirements to live there in high density of population, like the proper water and electric supplies for the properties and constructions, and public electric and water. And other supplies connections, like sewage, gas, telecommunications, etc.
Urban Land or “Suelo Urbano” is the land of cities or village or urbanizations and it uses to have the proper access by roads, with pavement, streets, commercial areas, health assistance, schools, colleges, sport centers, etc.
But, talking about Urban Land, there is an important difference between Urban Land “CONSOLIDATED” and “NON CONSOLIDATED” or “SEMI-CONSOLIDATED”.
What is a CONSOLIDATED URBAN PLOT?
It is a plot where all the necessary urbanization infrastructure has been completed, and the plot has all the services to be considered as “urban” (electric, wáter, road Access, sewage, etc.), and has already given all the necessary space to the public administration to install all this urbanization infrastructure. This plot has participated on the payment of the infrastructure, and already given (if necessary) parts of the land to be used for this public infrastructure.
If the plot is not built, then, it will be a plot with the proper rights of building defined by the current construction laws.
If the plot is already built, then, the existing constructions, if built following the constructions laws, will be totally legal Properties, as the ownership rights will be absolutely protected from the public administration for both, land and construction.
What is a NON CONSOLIDATED URBAN PLOT?
It is the opposite. Is a plot where there are not installed all the necessary infrastructures to be considered as “CONSOLIDATED”.
So, if the plot is not built, then, before obtaining the building permission, the Town Hall will request to complete the urbanization infrastructure in the area, following the existing construction laws, and/or the plot has not given the space to the public administration for the installation of this infrastructure. So, eventual costs of urbanizations may be pending on the land, and eventual parts of the plot may be affected by the urbanizations rules, and then, consequently, being forced to “give” to the public administration in order to install such as infrastructure.
If the plot is already built, then, eventual charges of urbanization may affect the developing and the use of these constructions, and these constructions may be also affected if they are in the middle of the future infrastructure areas. These cases are the ones in which Properties were built before the areas was converted into “urban” (because they were quite old), or simply because these constructions were built without the proper building permission (illegal).
In these cases, the ownership rights on the plot, and the eventual constructions, are not consolidated by the owner. In other words, the Public administration may have faculties to obtain part (or total) of the land, and constructions may be affected when adapting the plot to the urbanization requirements. So, both, plot, and constructions, are not totally integrated in the ownership rights from the owner, as both may be affected by the urbanization requirements and projects.
What is SEMI-CONSOLIDATED?
Inside the NON CONSOLIDATED areas, there is also an special classification called SEMI-CONSOLIDATED. Semi-consolidated areas are those ones that, being “urban”, they are in one of the following cases:
- There are some urbanization works done, but not all of them.
- There are some parts of the land given to the public administration for public infrastructure, but not all what the laws request.
These are the typical cases that we may find in areas from Valencia, Alicante (Dénia, Campello, Benidoleig, Onda, Jávea, Benissa, Moraira, Calpe, Gata de Gorgos, etc.), some others from Murcia, Almería (Almanzora Valley, Vera, etc.), Málaga, Mallorca, Ibiza, Sevilla, etc.
Usually, these are areas where the land was always considered as “rustic”, and with the time, there were progressing the constructions of houses with a high density of constructions (following current normative, more than 6-8 per hectare). In these areas these constructions are provided more or less with determinate infrastructure of water, electric, public access and roads. Depending of the case, we may find areas where the infrastructure installed is total, and other areas in which is poorer.
In this cases, in Semi-Consolidated constructions use to be legal. And “legal”, because they were built with the proper building license, or because they were legalized after built.
In these cases, then, the owner “consolidates” the ownership of the construction, but not the ownership of the land. So, the public administration cannot do anything against the construction, but the land may be affected by eventual parts of it to be given for urban infrastructures, or affected by urbanization charges.
Typical problems that we may find in these properties are:
- That to extend, or to build houses in plots inside these areas, the Town Hall may request to give some of the land to be used for the installation of public infrastructure (pedestrian areas, sewage connection, wiring of electric, gas, water, etc.)
- That the owners are requested to pay part, or all, the expenses of urbanization of the area.
So, if you are buying in areas like Castalla, Benissa, Moraira, Agost, Calpe, Jávea, Dénia, Lliber, Benidoleig, Pego, Onda, surrounding Valencia (Llíria, Olocau, Montroy, Villamarxant, etc.), Vera, Almanzora Valley, Málaga, Mallorca, Ibiza, Costa del Sol, we recommend you take legal advice from experts in constructions law as TLA CORP.
