Legalization of Buildings in Andalusia (I)

Legalization of Construction Works in Andalusia (I)

Legalization or Replacement. Procedure. Inspection Plans.

Between the provisions established by Decree 60/2010, about Regulation of Urban Infractions in Andalusia, are those governing the legalization of construction works performed with no license or violating the conditions in a granted license.

Legalization or Replacement

In Andalusia, if an act of urbanization, construction, or installation is subject to prior planning permission and is eventually performed without it, or against the conditions in a granted permit, the City Council shall order the immediate suspension of the works. After the suspension, the restoration of the disturbed legal order must be performed by one between the following procedures:

• if the performed works are compatible with current urban planning, through the Legalization of the Works
• if the performed works are not compatible with urban planning, through the Replacement of the Physical Reality to its original state.

All of the above also applies in the case of acts performed in breach of the terms of an Order by the City Council.

Procedure for the Protection of the Urban Law

If the works performed with no license, or against the conditions in a granted license, are compatible with current urban planning, the developer must be required to apply for the legalization or, where appropriate, to fit the performed works to the granted permit. If the developer chooses to legalize, he will have two months to apply for it; however, if the performance is very complex, he can apply for extend this period for two additional months.

Municipal Plans for Urban Inspections

According Andalusian Decree 60/2010, every Municipal Plan for Urban Inspections should count with an inventory containing, for each class and category of land, a relationship of buildings, settlements and other actions which must be subject to legalization, in conformity with all applicable territorial and urban planning regulations.

Architect Daniel Trujillano

http://www.arquitectotrujillano.com/legalization/home.html

Legalization Documents for Buildings in Andalusia

Video 00: Measurement of Floor Areas in Spanish Buildings

Architect Daniel Trujillano
http://www.arquitectotrujillano.com/measurement/home.html 
Measurement Reports for Properties in Spain

Legalization Documents for Buildings in Spain (II)

The Legalization of Buildings in Spain (II)

Drafting Legalization Documents

The Legalization Documents are required when the construction works were performed without the intervention of an Architect.

Technical Documentation

Generally, Legalization Documents refer to construction works that were performed without any Architectural Documents, so the technical and administrative documentation they require is the sum of the documents associated to the Architectural Design phase and the Construction Documents phase, with exception of some documents (Specifications Document, Measurement Document, Order Book, etc.). Normally, Legalization Documents shall consist of the following:

• Description, Justification and Construction Reports
• Justification of Compliance with Spanish Technical Building Code (CTE)
• Justification of Compliance with other Regulations (Telecommunications, Accesibility, etc.)
• Annexes (Fire Protection, Calculation of Installations, Energetic Efficiency, etc.)
• Location Plan, Site Plan, Urban Development Plan, Floor Plans, Elevations and Sections Plans, Structure Plans, Installations Plans, etc.
• Summary of the Construction Cost
• Instructions for Use and Maintenance
• Architect's Certificate
• Common Certificate suscribed by both Architect and Technical Architect, where legally required
• Pictures showing all exterior walls.

Legalization of Unfinished Construction Works

If the construction works are not fully completed, the architectural assignment needed shall be named “Legalization of Performed Works and Construction Documents for the Completion”. In that case, it will be necessary to clearly differentiate the completed parts from the unfinished ones, and the latter will need all documents associated to the Architectural Design phase and the Construction Documents phase, without exception.

Architectural Fees

Typically, fees associated to the professional service of drafting Legalization Documents for construction works are calculated by analogy with those applicable to a new building assgnment.

Endorsement by Architects' Association

According to the Spanish legislation (Royal Decree 1000/2010), during the administrative procedure associated to the legalization of construction works, all Legalization Documents and the Final Performance Certificate must obtain endorsement by the Architects' Association.

Daniel Trujillano, Architect

http://www.arquitectotrujillano.com/legalization/home.html

Legalization Documents for Buildings in Spain

Measuring Floor Areas in Spain (II)

Measuring Floor Areas in Buildings (II)

GIA and GFA in Spanish Order ECO/805/2003

In Spain, Order ECO/805/2003, on Valuation Standards for Real Estate Properties, includes specific criteria for the measurement of Gross Internal Areas (GIA) and Gross Floor Areas (GFA) in buildings.

Gross Internal Area - GIA

According to the Order ECO/805/2003, GIA is the result of substracting from the floor area bounded by the perimeter defined by the inner face of the external wall of a building -or a building element- the following areas:

• the area occupied by all internal walls and partitions
• the area occupied by vertical structural elements
• the area occupied by pipes or ducts with horizontal section area greater than 100 square centimeters
• the floor area where clear height is smaller than 150 centimeters.

The floor area bounded by the perimeter defined by the inner face of external walls must include 50 per cent of the floor area of all private use covered outdoor spaces (terraces, balconies, drying rooms, porches, loading docks, overhangs, etc.), as measured along the horizontal projection of the roof.

GFA Excluding Common Parts

According to the Order ECO/805/2003, the Gross Floor Area Excluding Common Parts is the result of adding to the floor area delimited by the inner face of the external walls of a building -or element of a building- the following areas:

• 100 per cent of all area occupied by facades
• 50 per cent of all area occupied by sharecropping partitions, or partitions shared with other elements in the same building.

Again, the floor area bounded by the perimeter defined by the inner face of the external walls must include 50 per cent of all private covered outdoor spaces, as measured along the horizontal projection of the roof.

GFA Including Common Parts

According to ECO/805/2003, Gross Floor Area Including Common Parts includes the proportionate share which is result of the application of the associated sharing rate on the floor area of all common elements of the building.

Architect Daniel Trujillano

http://www.arquitectotrujillano.com/measurement/home.html 

Bulding Measurement Reports in Spain

Legalization Documents for Buildings in Spain (I)

The Legalization of Buildings in Spain (I)

Legalization as a Method to Restore the Perturbed Legal Order

In Spain, when construction works are performed without having a building permit or violating the conditions in a granted building permit, the legal order is considered perturbed. The right method for restoring the legal order depends on whether the performed works are or not compatible with the applicable urban planning. If the performed construction works are not compatible with the urban planning, the only way to restore the legal order will be resetting the physical reality to its original state, which will involve demolishing what has been built, but if the works are compatible with urban planning, there will be another solution: legalizing the performed works.

Deadline for Applying for Legalization

When a developer is required for legalizing construction works performed without a building permit (or violating the conditions in a granted permit) he should apply for the legalization within a specific time frame wich, in Andalusia, is two months. That time frame can be expandable in response to the complexity of the project.

After the Application

It's neccesary to keep in mind that, having applied for legalization, it's still possible that finally the demolition of what was built gets ordered. If the legalization is applied and is denied, it will be neccesary to restore the physical reality and therefore to demolish what was built. The same applies if, after applying for the legalization, the result is the legal inadmissibility of the acts, because of non-conformity with determinations in applicable legislation and urban planning.

Penalties for Non-Compliance

If after the time granted to the developer in order to legalize the construction works, he doesn't apply for the legalization, successive coercive penalties will be imposed. In Andalusia, the amount of such penalties is, each time (penalties are imposed for minimum periods of one month), ten per cent of the value of the completed building works, with a minimum of 600 euros.

Infringement Procedure

When the alleged commission of an urban planning infringement is noticed, it produces the initiation, investigation and resolution of a disciplinary proceeding. This legal procedure is instructed and resolved regardless of the procedure derived from the requirement for the legalization of the construction works, but in a coordinated manner.

Coordination in the Cadastral Valuation of the Urban Real Estate in Spain

Coordination in the Cadastral Valuation of Properties in Spain

Homogeneous Economic Areas. Statements of Values. Property Market Research.

In Spain, Technical Territorial Boards of Urban Real Estate Coordination should, in their geographical coverage, make a delineation of homogeneous economic areas of land and buildings. For this, they must apply the Territorial Managers within their scope, to perform previous studies, which should include:

• data identifying the areas, and blueprint pointing the perimeter
• construction costs associated to the most common building types
• selling price associated to those building types
• estimation of values for the land
• economic data bearing on Real Estate activity.

When the previous studies are ready, Technical Territorial Boards must propose coordinated sets of values, which must include MBR modules and Bands of Coefficients, or VU modules for homogeneous economic areas of land and MBC modules for the areas of buildings. Coordinated Values Proposals should be submitted to the High Commission of Urban Real Estate Coordination, which must establish national-level criteria, definitely assigning MBR, VU and MBC modules to each municipality.

Statements of Values

Statements of Values are administrative documents that list the values of land and buildings, and the correction coefficients to be applied in each territorial scope. The statements are made by Territorial Managers of the Centre for Cadastral Management and Tax Cooperation, taking into account urban planning and cadastral valuation regulations, and also studies and analysis of the Property Market. Each Statement of Values should include the following separate documents:

• analysis and findings of Market Research, and results obtained by applying them to a significant number of properties, in order to verify the relationship between cadastral values and market values
• catalogs of buildings and urban construction.

Urban Real Estate Market Research

The Center of Cadastral Management and Tax Cooperation should establish the criteria and the minimum content for the Real Estate Studies which should serve as a basis for drafting Statements of Values. In general, the territorial scope of those studies should be municipal, but it can also be supra-municipal if it's convenient upon the circumstances. Conducting Market Studies has the following purposes:

• investigating economic data associated to urban real estate market
• collecting and analysing such data
• drawing some conclusions about the market status.

Daniel Trujillano, Architect

http://www.arquitectotrujillano.com/valuation/home.html 

Property Valuation Reports in Spain

PD03. Certificates of Antiquity in Andalusia

Certificates of Antiquity for Buildings in Andalusia from Arquitecto Daniel Trujillano
http://www.arquitectotrujillano.com/reports/antiquity.html

Technical Certificates Attesting the Antiquity of Buildings in Andalusia