[Anonymous]

Mark, I have received a lot of good information from this site, I thankyou and the other contributors.

I have a friend who is considering buying a plot of land on which he will construct a wooden house in the belief that he won’t need planning permission because wooden houses are considered temporary structures. Is my friend correct? Failing that could he buy land and then live in a caravan on the land legally?

[Anonymous]

Your friend may be able to erect a log cabin if the ayuntamiento class it as non-permanent. But if you need water and electricity then they will more than likely deem that the structure is permanent. Also, if and when you come to sell it there will only exist deeds for the land, not the building.
I think the only way to find out for sure is to talk to the local ayuntamiento to see what their attitude is as I understand it varies from place to place.
I have come across a case where 2 “semi-permanent” mobile homes have been sited on someone’s land (but already land with buildings and services and destined for staff accommodation) where the town hall was consulted and said no planning permission was required for them.

[Anonymous]

Hillybilly has said it all. Both the wooden house and caravan assumptions, especially the former, are flimsy and your friend would need to check this with the local authority before going ahead. You might get away with a wooden dog house or a tool shed, that sort of thing, but anything more substantial would need permits.

Mark

[Anonymous]

As Mark has already pointed out, you could build a shed or a doghouse. Anything more substantial would have to comply with the local building regulations. We are currently building a timber house in the Cerdanya, and I can assure you that it is regarded as a permanent structure and must comply with building and planning regulations. If you are planning to build something that you intend to live in, you will require permission.

[Anonymous]

The best company i have come across is Pinewood Lodges Ltd. They are an international company with a terrific range of standard buildings and are also fully bespoke, they don’t even charge a design fee. There website is http://www.pinewoodlodges.com i am sure they would be able to give good advice.

espanauk

[Anonymous]

In my opinion what we call in Spain the “Derecho Urbanístico” which means urban planning law , applies to wooden houses the same as traditional “brick” houses because what that law mainly regulates is the occupation of land, the volume of construction. That law tries to control urban development and that happens ( wheter wooden or traditional building ) when supplies like water, electricity , are needed and when sewage ( for instance ) is required. Therefore you will not be given building license for a wooden house in a suelo no urbanizable ( rustic land ).

for other sort of living , like caravan or mobile homes, you must contact the Departamento de Urbanismo of the Ayuntamiento where you are planning to live or build, as spanish ayuntamientos tend to have different criteria on this issues.

Also bear in mind that the spanish Comunidades Autonomas ( regions ) like Cataluña, Andalucía or Valencia have different “leyes urbanísticas” or urban planning regulations as the Central Government handed over practically all the authority on urban planning to the Regions. For example the laws and politics about urban planning in Andalucía ( socialist government ) and Valencia ( conservative government ) are very different at the moment.

If you get lost with your requests with the Ayuntamiento ( Council ) you should use a local lawyer so you get proper advice.

I hope this helps, Regards

José María Sánchez Alfons
Lawyer / Abogado
Fuengirola, Málaga
jmsalfonso@inicia.es

[Author]

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