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Whatever type of restoration you are planning to make in your Spanish property, you will most certainly need a license for it. Do not hire illegal labour force or try to avoid paying VAT or necessary invoices: you never know what can go wrong and then you will have no credentials for the money you spent on the works. You could even find yourself criminally responsible in case of an unfortunate accident during the works.

Even if locals might tell you that it is not necessary, it is absolutely necessary to follow the official rules and obtain all the permissions required. You will need to start by presenting to the city hall a budget plan for the works you intend to have in your Spanish real estate. This will get you the municipal licence needed to start the works which can amount to more than 5% of the budget.

The permission will be granted more easily provided that:

• The security of the building is not affected
• The general structure is not too changed
• Works do not impinge on the rights of the neighbours within a reasonable limit
• Effective communication is done about the works to the rest of the community

There are three main ‘types’ of restoration you can do in Spanish properties and each case is particular. The first one is called ‘obras de entidad menor’ or ‘obras de reforma menor’, which means that works in these cases are minor. This is when the restoration is just a case of floors, painting, change of sanitary implementations, etc… Basically this is the case when the works do not alter any of the principal architectural characteristics of the building (i.e. the structural system, the spatial composition, the general organization and distribution of major elements like the exterior façade).

The two other types of restoration are the ‘obras de reforma’ partial or general. These consist in changes that modify elements of the façade (i.e. windows) or major interior structural elements. Here you need to request for the ‘Licencia de Obra de Tramitación Abreviada’. The latter will be given to you if the conditions of edification of the area allow it.

The general process to obtain the urban license is as follows:

• You will have to pay a deposit on the future taxes
• You present to General Register (in the city hall) with all the documentation
• Emission of the Technical Reports (Informes Técnicos) from the corresponding parties
• Either the concession or refusal of the license by the Executive Commission from the city hall – taking no longer than forty-five days for the minor restorations and up to three months for the partial and general restorations.
• You will have to pay a deposit that will be around 2% of the budget you intend to spend on renovation, with a minimum of about 105€ for the VAT. Then you will have thirty days after the start of the works to pay the VAT of about 3% or more of the presumed budget.