Guide for Building in Moraira

What do I have to do?

1  What do I want to build?

2  Where should I build?

3  What materials and personnel are expected to be used in the construction?

What is required to obtain a building licence?

5  Once the licence is obtained, can construction take place throughout the year?

6  Does my licence expire?

7  What must be done to cooperate and avoid problems?

8  What can I do so that the Town Hall will grant me the building licence more quickly?

9  When does the construction start?

10  What happens if I want to change the construction during the construction period?

11  What happens if the town hall checks me during construction?

12  Last point: for the adventurer and the one who dares.

 


What do I have to do?

To know what can be built legally, I have to ask myself the following questions:

What do I want to build?
-  Where do I want to build?
-  What kind of personnel and materials do I expect to use.

Building is generally a very complex matter. With the exception of small gardening jobs, maintenance and repairs, which you can do yourself, it is generally necessary to seek technical advice. For this there are the architects, the construction managers, a building company or qualified masons.

We will help to act in such a way that problems are avoided.

 

 


1  Where should I build?

The basic requirement is to know exactly what is to be built: a house, an extension for a garage, a storeroom, a fence.... or just a roof repair or a window replacement.

It must then be clear whether what is being built is a large building (obra mayor) or a small building (obra menor). The type of licence and the whole procedure is different in both cases.

 

        A  Work for which an OBRA MAYOR is required:

In general, any work which requires an structure is an obra mayor. For reasons of safety and responsibility it requires a project signed by a qualified technician to be carried out. For residential work (e.g. a house) the technician must be an architect, for general work (e.g. sewage or underground electrical wiring) an engineer must sign the project.

 

Examples of this are:

-  A new house or building
Extensions of residential buildings of existing buildings
-  A garage or a carport on a residential building, a swimming pool, a tennis court or a covered sports facility, the restoration of a building....
Retaining walls over 1.5 metres high

 

          B  Work for which an OBRA MENOR is required:

In general, an obra menor is the one which does not require structure. It can be carried out with less human and material input, requires less documentation and responsibility. For some (which we have summarized below type B2) no project is necessary. However, they need drawings and information that define the work and especially show its location. It is therefore advisable to involve a technician, site manager or engineer, although there is not always an obligation to do so.

 

Examples of Obra Menor which require a project (type B-1):

Type B-1: Habitable rooms or adjoining rooms for use by persons

 

-  Preparation of floors or basements which are ventilated from the outside.
- Adjacent buildings:
  Courtyard roofing
  Pergolas
  -  Freestanding garages
  -  Storerooms and other complements
  -  Outdoor Grills
  -  Tennis court or other open sports facilities
  -  Raised terraces
  -  Reform work on interior walls

 

 

Examples of obra menor not requiring a project (type B-2):

Type B-2: non-residential premises and premises not intended for use by persons 

 

-  Enclosures and retaining walls below 1.5 metres high.
Entrances and doors to access the property
-  Facilities like:
  -  Antennas
  -  Air conditioning
  -  Solar systems
  Gashouses
-  Floor level terraces
Garden land leveling

 

          Work for which ONLY COMMUNICATION is required:

In general, type C does not apply in the historical centre of Teulada called "Conjunto Histórico, Teulada Gótica Amurallada"

If the planned work does not require any technical effort, its execution does not change the style of the building and there is no danger during its execution, the building regulations can be fulfilled very easily: the planned work must only be notified to the Town Hall before it is executed. 

 

Examples of this are:

Interior panelling of buildings
-  Replacement of doors or windows without changing the openings in the facade
-  Painting, welding, irrigation systems
-  Geotechnical investigations
-  Roof renewal over 50% of the area, gutter replacement
-  Replacement of sanitary facilities, property cleaning
-  Interior gardening

 

It must be pointed out that a facade coating is a work that only requires notification, but that the colour cannot be freely chosen. The Town Hall's building regulations list the colours permitted for each building zone. It is therefore essential to look at the authorized colours before painting the building.

 

 


2  Where will construction take place?

After clarifying what is to be built, it must be clarified whether the current legal situation permits building where it is to be built. It is therefore necessary to find out from the town hall or from specialists what urbanistic classification my land or property has and in which zone it is located. This will determine which urbanistic norm applies.

Building is done on a plot of land, but not all plots are the same.

 

Basicaly there are 3 types of land qualification?:

1  Non-building Plots (rustico)

2  Land for future development (for new urbanisations)

3  Building land: these are plots of land with all utilities (water, sewage, electricity and access by asphalted roads and footpaths) and which are connected to the town.

 

Non-building Plots (Rustico)


This plot of land is intended for farming use. The intention is to maintain or restore its agricultural use and to provide special agricultural, historical, archaeological, scientific, environmental or cultural protection. A distinction is made between:

-  Non-buildable with special protection (enclosed or not in special protection areas such as Les Sorts): In these areas there is an absolute ban on building. No new buildings or additional buildings are permitted.

-  Non-buildable land in general (Rustico no protegido): The rules for this can be found in Valencian Law 10/2004 of 9 December. 

          A  In the case of plots of land of at least 10,000 square metres with water and electricity connections, a detached house with additional buildings (garages, car park, etc.) may be built. The area of the land may not    exceed 2% of the total area. In addition, swimming pools, depots, etc. are permitted under certain conditions.

         If the size of the plot is less than 10.000 sqm, it may not be built on. An existing, legally constructed building can be made habitable without altering its original dimensions.

 

Land for future development:

These are plots of land intended for new construction, but which may only be built on if they have been urbanized. This means that they must be provided with water, sewage, electricity, roads and footpaths. Development and urbanisation can take place simultaneously. The buildings will not receive a certificate of habitability until the entire urbanisation is completed.

 

Building land is the ground on which building is allowed:

To this end, the land must comply with the regulations (see Annex I). However, there are different zones for building land. Each of these zones has its own regulations on the height, distance, type of building, etc.

In this guide we would like to highlight some of these zones:

Historical cores: The historic centre of Teulada: to this end, the Generalidad Valenciana issued Decree 232/2007 declaring the centre a Historic-Artistic Site (BIC). The area has been named "Teulada gótica amurallada". The regulations there are very strict in preserving the historical elements of our Gothic town centre. In order to build there, special attention is paid to the preservation of traditional values. It should be noted that work in this zone is not possible with the authorisation of a mere notification.

 

Urbanisation or Residential Zones: The zones are distinguished:

     -  Zone 1: Single Houses (AIS)

     -  Zone 2: Terraced Houses

     -  Zone 3: Open Development

 

Basic requirements for building: the following parameters must be observed: Occupancy, development potential, distance to streets and neighbours, building height etc. (see Annex I)

 

Because of the problems involved, the annexes are explained in particular: these are buildings that complement the main house, such as parking spaces, pergolas, washrooms, drying rooms, barbeques, swimming pools and similar buildings. The full set of standards is contained in Article 73 of the Building Regulations and a summary of the required abstracts is given in Annex III to this Guide.

 

In the case of building land, it is therefore very important to know the zone at the time of construction, because each development zone has its own building regulations and there are great differences.

It is not the same whether the construction is in the town centre or in an urbanisation. Also in the town centre and in the urbanisations the same rules do not apply in all zones. It is therefore recommended to get detailed information about each zone.

 

 


What materials and personnel are expected to be used in construction?

 

The execution of constructions is connected with dangers, e.g. the use of toxic materials, the use of tools, vehicles, machines, etc.

Obras Mayores, in addition to the submission of a project, is obliged to submit a health and safety study. These are documents explaining measures to prevent damage. The contractor must comply with these measures during construction. A technician responsible for health and safety must be appointed. Therefore, obras mayores must appoint a technical project manager, usually an architect or engineer. A director must also be appointed for the execution of the work. Architect or a construction manager. There is also a person responsible for health and safety. Normally one of the above mentioned technicians is responsible for this. The contractor is also responsible for the execution of the works.

 

In the case of an Obra Menor, fewer safety measures are required because the projects are small. Safety is the responsibility of the contractor, who must have all the necessary means at his disposal. It is recommended to employ aTechnical Project Manager if the project does not already require one.

 

In the case of the so-called "Obras de Mera Comunicación" (pure communication) wich are the ones who have to expect all the necessary measures. We have to take the precautions to avoid accidents. The measures taken by the contractor, the owner or the site manager can help.

It is highly recommended that a technician of our confidence to be called in. The technicians will help us to estimate the cost of the project by avoiding any additional work which could lead to large overruns of the budget and in case of dispute with the contractor, they can help to solve the problem. In the long run cheap is expensive and the support of a good technician pays off.

 

 


What is required to obtain the building licence?

 

The necessary forms are available at the Town Hall or on its website. All questions will be answered in the customer office of the Town Hall and it will be checked whether the set of forms is complete.

The following procedure applies to obtaining the building licence LICENCIA DE OBRA MAYOR for building land:

1  The first step is the written application by filling in all the forms and the signature of the technician, construction manager or contractor. The respective association must have confirmed the signature. To be enclosed:

     -  The technical project, signed by the architect or engineer. 
     -  A description of the compliance with the tree protection regulation, including two layer plans of the situation of the trees before and after construction.
     -  Health and safety study, signed by the responsible technician.
     -  Payment of the town hall fees.
     -  In the case of farmland: study of the agricultural classification.
     -  Application for the establishment of boundaries and distances if there has been no prior authorization or redistribution of the plot.

 

On receipt of the project, the technician responsible in the Town hall (Arquitecto Municipal) must inspect the project and the documents submitted. For the architect to give his approval, the following must be available:

     1  The location where the building is to be constructed must be correct. The cadastral number of the land plot is very important.


     2  The urbanistic norm must allow the construction on the plot of land that is the subject of the project.


    3  The land must not be subject to any obligation to pay the town hall charges under the general development plan. This can happen if road extensions are planned or if such extensions are planned for public land. Therefore, limits and distances must be requested.


    4  The land must be developed, i.e. it must be urbanized, buildable and have all the necessary connections such as roads and footpaths, drinking water, electricity and sewage.... or there is the possibility to get all connections during the construction period. For this a guarantee (Aval) must be provided.

 

     5  The tree protection regulation must be respected by preserving at least 50% of the trees on the property and by replacing each felled tree according to the municipal regulations.


     6  No urbanistic standards may be exceeded, e.g:


              A.  Occupancy of the land
              B.  Development potential
              C.  Distances to streets and neighbours
              D.  Building height
              E.  Building style and habitability
              F.  Other provisions not specified here

 

    7  The project must be technically sound, signed by the responsible technicians and stamped by the relevant association. All required documents must be available.

     8  All fees must be paid.

    9  The responsible technicians and the site manager must be named.

 

If the architect's report is positive, the Building Council shall sign the decision containing the building licence. From this moment on, the construction can begin. If the report is negative, the architect explains the negative deviations and how they can be corrected. The negative report will be handed over to the applicant in order to find a quick solution.

 

The procedure for obtaining a LICENCE FROM OBRA MENOR is the same in points 2 and 3, only step 1 changes, starting with the written application for the licence, completing all the forms and attaching the following documents

     -  A map of the area and/or the cadastral number, indicating the area.


     -  Report on compliance with the tree protection regulation with two plans of the tree population before and after construction.


     -  Two cases are distinguished for sketches or projects.
            -  Licence obra menor type B1 require a project signed and confirmed by the technician.
           -  Licence obra menor type B2 require a plan signed by the applicant. This must specifically indicate areas, heights, distances to the road and neighbours, etc.


     -  Payment of the building fee.


     -  Payment of the Town Hall fees.


     -  Designation of the responsible technicians and site managers.


     -  And the provision of a guarantee to guarantee the good condition of the public infrastructures (asphalt, footpaths, etc.).

 

The OBRAS DE MERA COMUNICACIÓN must be notified in writing before work begins and the construction fee (ICIO) must be paid. There is no need to wait for a reply from the Town Hall. In these cases, the work of the Town Hall is to check that the work carried out is in accordance with the application.

 

 


5  Once approval has been obtained, can construction take place throughout the year?

 

No, it is not possible to build in Teulada-Moraira all year round. The Town Hall has imposed restrictions on building activity during the summer months from 15 June to 15 September - in the building regulations. In August it is totally prohibited to build during the tourist season in order to ensure the peace and quiet of the visitors. At present the scheme is as follows:

In addition, the following rules apply, but public works and work in emergencies are excluded:

ZONE A

A  Work in the urban area and on the outskirts of Moraira and in the "Pla del Mar" urbanisation

     -  From 1 July to 15 September all building activities are prohibited.

B  All the urbanisations in the AIS zone except Pla del Mar:

     -  From 15 July to 31 July only completions and repairs are allowed.
     -  From 1 to 31 August no works are allowed.

C  Urban area and outskirts of Teulada:

     -  No work is allowed from 1 to 31 August.

 

ZONE B Rustico zone (not buildable)

- From 1 to 31 August all work is prohibited.

 

IN ANY CASE: it is forbidden to exceed the noise limits laid down in Annex II to Law 7/2002 of 3 December 2002 of the Generalitat Valenciana on Noise Limitation and in the municipal ordinance it is forbidden to operate vehicles, heavy machinery, tools, equipment and other objects that exceed the prescribed noise levels.

In general, all materials and waste must be removed from building sites between 1 July and 15 September.

 

 


Does my licence expire?

 

All licences are granted for specific periods of time, both for the start and the end of the work. If the period of time set has expired and the work has not been completed, the Town Hall will declare the licence to be terminated and it will cease to be valid. In some cases this is very important, because if, for example, a new general plan has been drawn up in the meantime and this plan prohibits building where a licence has been granted, the Town Hall cannot grant a new licence.

Of course, it is possible to apply for an extension of the licence, which is normally granted by the town hall with the same period of validity as the first one.

 

 


7 What must be done to cooperate and avoid problems?

 

The Town Hall must control all construction works on its territory. In order to be able to do this, all the necessary data must be available in advance. The Town Hall employs lawyers, architects, engineers and experts whose job it is to check the feasibility of the planned project, taking into account the regulations in force and especially the general development plan.

Carrying out "wild" construction without safety and security measures can have serious consequences in terms of liability. 

By granting a building licence, the Town Hall recognises the right of a citizen to build something. But in order to recognise this right, the Town Hall must know all the details of the construction applied for.

Of course, exactly what is requested in the licence must be built. If this is not the case, there is a risk that construction will take place against the rules. This leads to the negative consequences which are shown in Annex XII.

It is important to know that the Town Hall must inspect all buildings on its territory and that every citizen has the right to insist on compliance with the standards in force.

 

 


8 What can I do so that the town hall will grant me the building licence faster?

 

The most important thing is to provide all the necessary documentation so that the Town Hall can quickly and clearly check whether the application complies with the standards in force. All the necessary forms must be read and filled in. The "SIT" of the Town Hall will help you with this.

It is also essential that the exact location of the building is described.

The cadastral plan or cadastral number of the plot must be indicated. It is necessary to check whether the land is subject to an obligation of the General to pay the tax.

The documentation must clearly show the details of the construction, especially the area occupied and its height, as well as the distances to neighbours and roads.

There are three situations in which one can actively cooperate with the Town Hall:

 

Before starting the construction and submitting the application.  By giving advice and information in the town hall about:

-  The classification of the plot of land (building land, building land or rustico), as there are 11 different building regulations.

-  Whether the planned building complies with all regulations and how to adapt it if necessary.

-  Which documents have to be submitted with the licence application.

 

After the application has been submitted

It is important to follow the process closely, because errors in the documentation can occur. It may be erroneous or incorrectly completed. In such cases, the errors detected must be corrected. How quickly the building licence is issued depends on how quickly this is done. In addition to official contact via the address given in the building application, there should be a direct, simple and fast link between the town hall and the applicant. That is why it is important:

-  Provide a mobile phone number so that errors in the application can be communicated by SMS.

-  A valid and operational e-mail address should be provided.

In this way, solutions can be reached more quickly.

 

After granting the building licence

Must be delivered and there are two ways of doing this:

- By personal collection at the town hall after notification by SMS or mail.

- Or by delivery by messenger of the town hall.

 

 


9 When is the start of construction?

 

For obra mayor and obra menor you have to wait until the licence has been issued. This makes it clear that the construction complies with the regulations and thus the right to build has been recognised. Waiting also applies to earthmoving and tree removing operations.

-  The Town Hall must decide within two months for obra mayour and one month for obra menor. This period begins with the registration of the building application at the Town Hall. In the case of catalogued buildings, the deadline is three months. To meet the deadline, all the documents listed in Annex IV must be submitted. If this is not the case, the deadline is interrupted, missing documents must be submitted and the procedure is extended.

-  All the general and specific conditions set out in the standards and in the licence must be complied with. This is a condition for the validity of the licence. The conditions can be appealed against, but construction cannot take place until the appeal is decided.

Only in the case of work with mera comunicación can the measures be started immediately after submission of all documents and payment of taxes.

 

 


10  What happens if I want to change the construction during the construction period?

 

If the planned change is significant in relation to the approved licence, the whole operation must be renewed. An obra mayor must submit a modified project, pay all fees and taxes and be given time to review the new data.

In the case of an obra menor, a choice can be made between submitting a new building licence or amending the plans. The fees must be paid again each time.

The building tax (ICIO) already paid on the first application can be considered as a down payment for the new project, while the town hall fees have to be paid in full.

 

 


11  What happens if the town hall controls during construction?

 

If I have a valid building licence and what I build is in accordance with the licence, I don't have to worry. The inspectors check that the construction is in accordance with the licence (including the Tree Protection Ordinance) and that is the end of the process. There is an obligation to display the licence in a place visible from the road. This includes all the important basic data of the construction.

If no building permit is available, please read article XII of this guide.

It must be made clear that in the event of a dispute between neighbours or owners of the property, the Town Hall cannot and must not intervene. Those concerned must use other means, such as the Justice of the Peace or the courts. The obligation of the town hall, when granting licences, is to check that they comply with urban planning standards. The Town Hall does not evaluate open questions between neighbours. Examples of this are: The neighbour is building a wall on my land or he is building something without the permission of the community of owners. 

 

 


12 Last point: for the adventurer and those who dare

 

What happens if I build "as I wish" or "where I like" without involving the town hall?

If this is done, it can be very expensive. If the Town Hall has established that a work is being carried out without a licence, it will demand the immediate cessation of the work and start a process of legalisation to establish what has been done so far. If tree removing operations have been carried out, an environmental penalty order will be issued. It is very important that the suspension of work is respected. If the contractor, the owner or a technician continues the work despite the decision to stop, the Town Hall must notify the Ministry of Finance. Legal action will then be taken for possible infringement, e.g. for failure to comply with authority.

Two situations can be distinguished:

AUTHORIZED work

If what has been started complies with the rules, approval for it can be obtained by applying for a building licence. In this case, the licence will be issued after all the procedures in Article IV of this Guide have been carried out. However, the town hall will open a criminal file and set a penalty depending on the seriousness of the case and the value of the works.

It is very important to know that if you do not apply for a licence within the time allowed by the Town Hall (normally 2 months), the process will continue until the demolition.

 

NON-APPROVED work

If what was started without a licence does not meet the standards and therefore cannot be legalised, it can be very expensive. The criminal offence ends with a demolition order, the town hall obliges me to demolish it sooner or later at my own expense. Fines must also be paid.

In both cases, the town hall left a procedure which includes the right of defence. Before a work without a licence has to be demolished, the Town Hall has a lot to consider in order to avoid mistakes. But in the end, if all or part of a building does not meet the standards, it must be demolished or the Town Hall will do it at my expense. If I want to take the case to court because I do not agree with the decision of the town hall, I need lawyers and technicians. These are expensive and the total cost of my adventure can be very high: penalties, demolition costs and technical fees can cost more than the whole construction. The risk of doing things without the appropriate guarantees is very high. In most cases, appealing to the courts will only save time. The demolition by the town hall takes place after sometimes a long time, but it is done. 

The best thing is to get good advice from the beginning and not to start building until the approved licence from the town hall has been obtained. Then the Town Hall will have checked the legality of what is to be built. Building without a license is a great risk for those who dare to do it and who put themselves in danger without evaluating the consequences.

 

You may be also interested in viewing our catalog for New build villas for sale in Moraira or the following catalogues:

Plots for sale in Moraira

Houses & Villas for sale in Moraira

Or why not our catalog of Villas to Refurbish in Moraira

 

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