What to ask the town hall before paying a deposit
Ask for an informe or certificado urbanístico, the town hall's planning report on the plot, using the text below.
It is information, not a licence, and does not guarantee approval of the project (national land law, TRLSRU, article 11.3). In Andalusia it is the cédula urbanística: the town hall must issue it within a month, and it stays valid for up to six months while the plans behind it do not change (Decreto 550/2022, article 3).
First question: is the plot urban, urbanizable or rustic under the town plan?
Start with the municipal plan (PGOU), not the Catastro. Andalusia's land law (LISTA) has only urban and rustic classes (article 12), but older plans still apply in many places, so land once marked urbanizable may still be developed under them (LISTA, first and second transitional provisions): ask the town hall which rules and obligations apply today. The TRLSRU sets no national minimum plot size for a house (articles 21 and 13.1).
Urban land: is it actually a serviced building plot?
Urban land still needs a licence: have your architect check the project against the municipal rules first (TRLSRU, article 11.3). A road alongside does not make land urban; it must legally form part of the urban area and meet the statutory criteria for completed infrastructure, connected services or the share already built up (TRLSRU, article 21.3).
In Andalusia, a solar is an urban plot with paved access, street lighting, water, sewerage and electricity. ‘Electricity nearby’ and ‘accessible by car’ do not show that the plot has those connections (LISTA, articles 13.1 and 13.3).
Urbanizable (developable) land: a future possibility, not a building plot
Until roads and services are built, urbanizable land is not a building plot. Ask the town hall what work is outstanding, who does it and what you pay.
Second question: do protected areas or risks affect your house?
For any land class, check for nature, heritage or public-domain protection and hazards such as flooding. On protected land, only what its rules expressly allow is possible (TRLSRU, article 13.1). A flood or protected-area map that shows nothing does not prove there are no restrictions: ask for written confirmation.
Third question: what does your region require to build a house on rustic land?
Below: Andalusia, the Valencia region and four other regions. Elsewhere (the Balearics, Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha), regional law and the town plan decide.
Andalusia: permission, plot rules and costs
Ask the town hall to state in its report the category of rustic land: common, specially protected, or preserved because of risks or by the plan. A house not linked to an ordinary rural use, such as farming or forestry, is an extraordinary project and needs authorisation before the licence (LISTA, articles 21 and 22). The main conditions, all of which must be met (Decreto 550/2022, article 31):
- a plot of at least 2.5 ha, or 5 ha on forest land, that can hold a circle of 50 m radius;
- one house per plot;
- more than 100 m from any other residential building and at least 25 m from the boundaries;
- the house covers at most 1% of the plot, and its floor area, over two storeys at most, is also no more than 1%: on 2.5 ha, 250 m² in all;
- basic services self-supplied, preferably with on-site renewables; mains connection only as an exception, with the required sectoral authorisation, and only if no works beyond the connection are needed;
- outside flood zones and, on forest land, meeting the wildfire-prevention requirements;
- at least 200 m from a settlement, a group of unauthorised homes or a hábitat rural diseminado (a traditional scattered rural settlement recognised by the plan).
Detail: earthworks, counting buildings and neighbouring farmland
- earthworks (cut and fill) for the house cannot exceed 30% of the area it covers, which matters on a slope;
- the house must not create a cluster of six residential, industrial or tertiary buildings within a 200 m radius, or ten of any use. Demountable farm structures such as greenhouses are not counted, nor are small buildings for farming or other ordinary rural uses under 10 m² and under 4 m high. The buildings of one authorised project count as one (article 24.2);
- it must not obstruct farming on the plot or neighbouring plots; neighbours can object during the procedure.
The town plan or protection rules can still exclude the plot. A regional land-use plan can adjust these parameters for an area, up or down (article 21.4); the municipal plan cannot, though it can add conditions against new settlements (article 24.1). Buying 2 ha? Unless a regional plan lowers the minimum in your area, you cannot build a house there without a farming or forestry link.
If the seller says ‘residencial extraordinario’, ask which route: in 2024 the Constitutional Court struck down the provision allowing homes alongside other extraordinary projects; a detached house remains possible under the conditions above (STC 25/2024; LISTA, article 22.2).
You, as the person commissioning the project (the promotor), apply for prior authorisation with a Proyecto de Actuación, usually prepared by an architect. It describes the house and its services and shows that the requirements are met (Decreto 550/2022, articles 32 and 33). To apply before buying, agree the seller's cooperation and who pays for the project if the purchase does not go ahead.
After public consultation and at least a month's hearing for neighbours, the town hall decides, with a binding regional report where effects go beyond the municipality. If the town hall has not notified a decision within six months, treat the application as refused (LISTA, article 22.3). Submitting the building project too lets you apply for the licence at the same time (Decreto 550/2022, article 32.5). An existing authorisation lapses unless the licence is applied for within a year: check its date (Decreto 550/2022, article 33.4.d).
Valencia: one hectare can be enough, with conditions
Under the Valencian planning law (TRLOTUP), the plot's shape and continuity, zoning and the conditions for the house count alongside the minimum area (TRLOTUP, article 211.1.b):
- at least 1 ha; the house covers at most 2% (200 m² on 1 ha), counting the ground it stands on, not all storeys;
- the rest stays natural or cultivated; the plan may allow extra facilities with no masonry structures above natural ground level on up to another 2%;
- outside natural run-off channels, respecting existing trees and the lie of the land;
- drinking water, waste and wastewater treatment at your own expense;
- must not form a núcleo de población (a settlement, as the plan defines it): ask your architect to check the houses nearby;
- one home per plot.
The farming exception can waive the hectare and 2% limits, but needs zones designated by the plan and a favourable agriculture department report. The holding must need at least one person's full-time work over a year (one unidad de trabajo agrario), or its holder must qualify legally as an agricultor profesional. The need for the house and its site must be justified; a seller's promise to start cultivating is no substitute (TRLOTUP, article 211.1.b).
You need a municipal building licence, but no prior declaración de interés comunitario (regional declaration of community interest). Other authorities' reports may still be needed, including one from the Generalitat's planning department on protected land (TRLOTUP, article 215). The licence requires the minimum area tied to the house to be registered in the Land Registry as indivisible: check which land this covers (TRLOTUP, article 214.4). If the town hall has not notified the licence within the legal deadline (ask what it is), treat it as refused (TRLOTUP, article 214.5).
In Murcia, Catalonia and Galicia, a new house on rustic land generally needs a qualifying link to farming or another permitted rural activity, and in the Canaries a designated settlement.
Other regions: Murcia, Catalonia, Galicia and the Canaries
| Region | What to check for your home | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Murcia | On irrigated land the plan marks as unsuitable for development (suelo inadecuado), the house must serve the farm's production. Minimum holding: 10,000 m², or 5,000 m² if created by public deed before 17 June 2001; 20,000 m² on land the plan protects. The holding may include several plots. | LOTURM, article 95.1 |
| Catalonia | A new family home needs a direct, justified link to an activity under article 47.6.a: farming, livestock, forestry, natural resources or another rural activity. Reusing a listed masía (traditional farmhouse) or casa rural is a separate route. | TRLU, articles 47.3, 47.3 bis, 47.6 and 47.6 bis |
| Galicia | A new home needs a link to an agricultural or livestock holding and prior regional authorisation. Reusing a traditional building has its own route. | LSG, articles 35.1.n, 36.3 and 40 |
| Canaries | Ordinary residential use requires an asentamiento rural or agrícola (designated settlement); the latter needs a working farm. The plot is legally tied to the house. | LSENPC, article 60.1 |
Catalonia: the farming link is presumed only in a rural municipality under 5,000 inhabitants, for a descendant of the holder of a family-run holding there. The holder must live on the holding, the applicant must work on or earn from the farm, and the presumption can be used only once per holding. It presumes the link, not building permission (TRLU, article 47.6 bis).
Galicia: a traditional building, one that existed before Ley 19/1975 came into force, whatever its style, can become a home with municipal approval, subject to other applicable laws and keeping the essential character of the building, its setting and type (LSG, article 40). Get evidence of its age before paying a deposit.
The Catastro says urban: can I build?
The Catastro's classification is for tax and may differ from the plan. It can also include urbanizable land with detailed planning, settlements and serviced or built-up land, so it does not tell you whether your home is allowed (Cadastre Act, TRLCI, article 7).
Use the cadastral reference guide to identify the exact portion you are buying. If there is a building, read the guide to houses without a licence on rustic land.
What if the seller offers only part of a larger property?
Check that the part can lawfully be split off. Each new plot must comply with the law and the town plan, also when you buy a share of the whole with the right to use one part, and notaries and registrars require administrative consent (TRLSRU, article 26.2). If you buy a share, the other co-owners can take it over by paying what you paid (retracto de comuneros; Civil Code, article 1522).
The unidad mínima de cultivo is the minimum agricultural plot size the region sets for each municipality. Division below it is void unless a statutory exception applies (Ley 19/1995, LMEA, articles 23.2 and 24). Meeting it is not enough to split off the portion lawfully, and it does not allow a home.
Exceptions to the agricultural minimum
If the seller relies on the exception for a permanent non-agricultural building, your lawyer must check the licence, actual use within a year and completion within the licence deadline; it grants no residential permission (LMEA, article 25.b). Other exceptions concern adjoining owners, rural tenancies and compulsory purchase (LMEA, article 25.a, c and d).
Retracto: can a neighbour take your place as buyer?
Under the LMEA, an adjoining owner with a priority agricultural holding can take your place as buyer when rustic land smaller than twice the agricultural minimum is sold. The deadline is sixty days from formal notice of the sale if given before registration, otherwise one year from registration (LMEA, articles 27.1 and 27.4).
In most of Spain, where the national Civil Code applies, adjoining owners can also take your place when rustic land of up to and including 1 ha is sold, with no priority holding needed; note that 1 ha is exactly the Valencian minimum for a house. A plot over 1 ha that is also at least twice the agricultural minimum is outside both national rules. Ask your lawyer which retracto and deadline could apply.
Civil Code retracto: exclusions and deadline
It excludes adjoining land separated by streams, irrigation channels, ravines, roads or other visible easements benefiting other properties. The deadline is nine days from registration or, failing that, knowledge of the sale (Civil Code, articles 1523 and 1524).
Catalonia and other regions with their own civil law
In Catalonia, only an adjoining owner who farms the land personally (cultivador directo y personal) can use retracto, and only when the plot sold is smaller than the agricultural minimum. It does not apply if another adjoining owner buys or if lawful buildings are worth more than two thirds of the property. The deadline is two months from learning of the sale or its registration (Catalan Civil Code, articles 568-17 to 568-19). Other regions with their own civil law may differ.
What must be clear before paying the purchase deposit?
Outstanding planning obligations pass to the buyer (ask about them in the report): the deed must say whether the land cannot be built on, whether any buildings are fuera de ordenación (not conforming to the plan) and whether development works remain to be paid for (TRLSRU, articles 27.1 and 27.2).
Choose the type of arras with your lawyer:
- Arras penitenciales (Civil Code, article 1454): either side can walk away without a reason. If you do, you lose the deposit; if the seller does, they return twice the deposit. The seller can withdraw even after you have paid an architect, so agree who bears those costs. The contract must state this right clearly.
- Confirmatory arras (arras confirmatorias), the usual reading if the contract is unclear: the deposit is part of the price, and if you do not complete, the seller can hold you to the purchase or claim damages, not just keep the deposit.
Either way, add the refund condition below as a separate clause. Need a mortgage? Before signing, check whether the bank will finance both the land and the build, and discuss a finance condition with your lawyer. A reservation fee needs the same refund condition, signed by whoever receives the money, with any agency fee refunded too; get in writing whether it counts towards the price.
| Risk | Evidence to ask for | Do not pay if… | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access crosses another property | The deed creating the right of way and a plan of its route | It does not reach the part you buy or cannot serve the building works | Civil Code, article 564 |
| A well or mains network nearby | Well: your lawyer confirms the right to take and use the water for the house. Mains: written supply conditions and connection cost | Nobody confirms a lawful supply | Utility company and architect |
Costs and timing before paying the deposit
- Planning reportTown hall · municipal fee; in Andalusia, one month at most
- Nota simple, title, charges, boundaries and any divisionYour lawyer, with a surveyor · written quote and timescale; agree in writing what you pay if the purchase does not go ahead
- Initial study of the house, water, power and wastewaterYour architect and utilities · written quotes and timescales; agree in writing what you pay if the purchase does not go ahead
- Proyecto de Actuación, for Andalusian prior authorisation before buyingYour architect · written quote and preparation time