Why the age of the works matters so much
In our area it is very common to find homes on non-urban land that were built without a municipal licence or beyond what the licence allowed. There are also houses that had a licence but later gained an extra floor, a swimming pool or a porch without permission.
In these cases the owner runs the risk that the town council (Ayuntamiento) opens disciplinary proceedings and separate proceedings to restore planning legality, which can end in a demolition order. Andalusia’s planning law, the Ley 7/2021, de impulso para la sostenibilidad del territorio de Andalucía (LISTA), sets a deadline for taking those measures. As a general rule it is six years from the date the works were fully completed. Once that period has passed, the town council can no longer order demolition.
There are two important caveats:
- Not all land has a deadline. On specially protected land, in the public domain or in certain risk areas, the authorities can act at any time.
- The deadline passing does not make the works legal. The home is still irregular, even though it can no longer be demolished. To get out of that situation you need to take a further step.
What AFO is and what it is for
When a building cannot be legalised but the deadline for action against it has passed, the town council can recognise it as asimilado a fuera de ordenación (AFO), roughly “treated as non-conforming”. This is a decision that accepts the existence of the home as it stands, provided it meets minimum safety and habitability conditions that must be certified by a technical expert.
With AFO status you can carry out maintenance works, register the building at the Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad) and, as a rule, contract utilities. It does not allow you to extend the home and it does not make it legal. If the building is compatible with the planning rules, the best route is legalisation with a licence, which leaves the home fully regular.
What you lose with an irregular home
Even if the town council does nothing, owning a home that has not been regularised has drawbacks:
- Holiday lets. The Registro de Turismo de Andalucía requires the home to comply with planning law, which usually closes the door to homes without proper paperwork.
- Utilities. Companies may refuse to connect water or electricity if you do not have an occupation licence (licencia de ocupación) or an equivalent document.
- Works. It is hard to get permission to repair or renovate a building that the town council does not recognise.
- Market value. Notaries and land registrars must record the irregularity in the documents, and many banks will not lend on these homes. A fine house with a pool and sea views can be worth far less if its paperwork is not in order.
If you are going to buy, sell or let
Nobody buying a home wants to buy a problem. If you are a buyer, it is worth studying the planning status before you pay the deposit; I explain this on the buying and selling page. If you are an owner and want to sell or let for the best return, regularising first usually pays off. In many cases the situation can be resolved within a reasonable time. The first step is to know where your home stands, and for that you can start with a face-to-face consultation in Torrox Costa or Nerja.
