dimmaz88

Hey folks, I hope you can help as I'm pulling out my hair with my web searches.

I'm looking for info regarding self-building, as in actually building a house myself. All of the searches turn up people 'self-building' by paying a builder lol.

Are you allowed to build your own houses in Spain is all I need to know.

TIA

Scott

Dxf

Hola

I can only speak for my town but people here build their own houses and outbuildings without planning permission relying on administrative silence for their house not to be demolished.

Davexf

Fred James

Yes, there is no reason why you cannot build your own house, but the permissions can be very difficult to get and you will have to employ an architect to get the plans drawn up and approved and also supervise the building process.

You can, of course, do it without all this, but you will end up with a totally illegal house, likely to be demolished at any time with large fines involved.

Mark604

I employed a local builder to do a few basics who then obtained all the necessary paperwork and permissions. A guy not far from me decided to do it himself without any local help, started building and then fell at the first hurdle when he couldn't get a water hook up because he'd tried to short cut the bureaucracy.

Manclass

My husband built our house on his own , we employed an architect who charged the earth to do the drawings but other than that he wasn't much help. The town hall passed our plans and the building commenced, the only part of the build that he had to have help with was the earthquake frame , there was no way one man could do this so we paid a company to put the frame up. he employed one Spanish labourer after a couple of months to help .. It was very different to building in the UK but we got there in the end, the only main problem we came up against was when we wanted to go off the building supply of water and electric, apparently without being a registered builder you cant get it, this the architect hadn't informed us about, when we went back to him he offered to give us the correct paperwork to enable us to get the supplies connected as long as we put all our IVA through him which we did...

dimmaz88

Thanks for the replies everyone. I was hoping it would be as simple as it is in France, apparently not.

Oh well, at least I'll know what I'm getting into

Thanks again

Moses2013

Don't forget that Spain is not all the same, just like you have different planning laws in the UK. It can be anything from very easy to complicated, so first you'd have to look at where the house will be built?

Rotor

New builds can take years to get planning in place and town hall like to screw you over for every penny they can get ,easier to buy a ruin and restore it,

rspltd

It seems like it's not just the councils that try to screw you.

amideislas

The rules in each province are clear and unambiguous. Best to first check with a property lawyer.

Over here, there are two basic categories: urban or rural. Urban properties are subject to the rules of the community it belongs to (and they tend to bevmore lax). They vary significantly. Rural (or "rustica") properties are subject to the rules of the province.

Over here, you cannot build on "rustic" land of less than 14000 square meters. Don't bother trying if you have less than 14000 square meters. This will be different in other provinces.

So, if your land is urban (belonging to a town, village or community), then you need to find out the specific rules of that community. If the land is "rustic", then the rules will be that of the province it resides in.

Get a property lawyer to Wade through it...

Good luck...

me33

Wondering what the sqm price range could be when one actually builds a house himself?
Just hire a local architect to get all the legal documents and permits, hire a couple of labourers to get things going, buy your own building materials, organise & supervise the whole proces yourself.
Has anyone experience and wants to share anything about that?
I am an experienced architect (and pretty much a builder) myself.
cheers

Rotor

If only it was that easy , its far easier to buy a ruin (if its legal) and restore it .The Spanish authorities see foreigners as a cash cow and you will get milked dry on new builds in most cases., its nothing like the UK in any shape or form.

me33

Is there someone with a more positive opinion? Or is this the general realistic view?
​​​​​​​Is Spain really that bad? I'm looking at Mallorca.
i ve built my own house in Indonesia, as an architect/projectmanager. Sure, i had to "sponsor" some officials and communities here and there to get things flowing, but in the end, it went pretty smooth (and really quick) that way! 😂

davidinspain

Approaching the town halls architect to contract to do the plans for you can be a big help.

Rotor

My opinion is based on experience and having lived in Spain for many years , bribery will most likely get you jail time , but what do I know , crack on .