Constructing a home and designing it exactly the way you want is the ultimate dream for many foreigners in Spain. Perhaps you want to build an eco-energy efficient home or maybe you have an amazing idea a la Grand Designs style.
Land can be cheaper in Spain than in many countries, particularly in rural areas in the countryside where there’s a lot of land available, so many assume it’s the perfect place to buy a plot of land and build their own perfect home.
The first challenge is finding a plot of land where you're allowed to build, as technically you're only allowed on urbano terrain.
READ MORE: Where can you build on rural (rústico) land in Spain?
Unfortunately, there are plenty of other challenges that follow. Even before you begin to lay a single brick or dig any foundations, you must apply for a building licence from the local town hall, as well as go through a lot of red tape and of course cough up more money.
In Spain, on average, it takes between one and three months to obtain a building permit for a house when the renovations are simple or minor. For a complete new build though, the process can take anywhere from three months to over a year, according to architectural experts.
As well as being incredibly slow and frustrating to obtain, a building permit for a new home will typically set you back around €13,000 on average. The longer it takes though, the more expensive it can be for the buyer too.
READ ALSO: A Spanish architect's step-by-step guide to building a home in Spain
In fact, getting this permit is taking so much time that Spain's General Council of Technical Architecture of Spain (CGATE) has recently issued a complaint, stating that the process is so much longer in Spain compared to other European countries.
Architect Jaime Salvá who works in Mallorca agrees. "Unfortunately, the most time-consuming part is processing the building permit. It depends on which city council you're working with; some are faster than others. Or rather, some are slower than others because we couldn't find any that were quick. The truth is, the time it takes is outrageous, and the legal uncertainty it entails is enormous,” he said during podcast Aladetres with Lluis Gracia.
READ ALSO: 'Red tape takes longer than building homes in Spain'
Recently, the ASPRIMA developers’ association and EY Abogados law firm undertook a study to find out the average time it takes to get planning permission in 10 different Spanish municipalities.
The biggest delay they found was actually in the capital region of Madrid in the upscale area of Majadahonda, where planning permission took an average of 16 months.
READ ALSO: Do I need a permit to install solar panels in Spain?
The second longest delay was also in Madrid region, in another well-heeled area called Pozuelo, where planning permission takes 14 months.
Madrid city, Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca all took an average of 12 months waiting time, along with Valencia and Zaragoza, where the delay was similar.
Málaga town council was one of the quickest to respond with an average of 8 months.
READ ALSO - Property in Spain: What's it like to build your own house?
This isn’t just a problem for foreigners coming to build their dream homes in Spain though, it’s a big issue for locals too, which is only adding to Spain’s housing crisis.
During the latest meeting of the European Consortium for Building Control (CEBC), Spanish architects argued that these delays are clearly detrimental to "the ability to address the housing access problem”.
"We cannot forget the urgent need for housing in our country and the significant delays caused by this administrative process," agrees Alfredo Sanz, president of the General Council of Technical Architecture of Spain.
According to Jaime Salvá, these extreme waiting times are nothing new, but have been an ongoing problem which need to be addressed.
As for the reasons for these delays, they're the usual ones that plague many official matters in Spain.
Many local councils have limited resources and do not have the necessary staff to process all applications on time.
There's also the typically excessive Spanish bureaucracy, as administrative processes are often complicated and lengthy, which delays the granting of licenses.
These usually come with additional requirements, such as technical reports relating to the project and the land, further delaying matters.
And there's even political instability at the local town hall, for example changes in who's governing which can influence the speed with which building permits are processed.
So, if you’re on a strict time line and a strict budget, you may want to think twice about building that house in Spain, as it could be a lot more work and frustration than you may have been led to believe.
You need a lot of time, a lot of patience and a lot of money to construct your own property in Spain.
It's worth noting that when a Spanish ayuntamiento (town hall) fails to grant a building permit within the legally established timeframe, those affected can file a complaint. This could spur local civil servants to take action, although it may not necessarily win you any friends.
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