Expert tip Oliver Girharz Building on Mallorca - What you should look out for when building on Mallorca!
Building on Mallorca: Here’s how!
To build, renovate or extend a building, various regulations must be observed, although there are country-specific differences. What and who you need for a project depends on various factors. For example, it depends on whether it is new construction or renovation work, but also where the property is located. Furthermore, a distinction must be made as to whether the property is located in an urban or rural area. It also plays a not insignificant role for the project whether it is located near security-relevant facilities (airports, military facilities, etc.), nature or water conservation areas, and what the topography of the property is like.
When do I need whom? Basically, this depends on the type of work, the scope of the work and the respective needs of each client. If the work to be carried out is a new building, the client is required by law to have an architect, a structural engineer, a technical architect, a health and safety coordinator (SiGeKo) and, of course, the executing (building) contractor, whereby one person can also perform several functions. Depending on the requirements or complexity of the project, other specialists may be called in, such as project managers or client representatives, building services engineers, etc. If the work to be carried out is only minor interventions such as renovation, modernization or refurbishment work, in which no safety-relevant or structural work is carried out, in most cases only the executing contractor is required by law!
Which permits do I need and when? Until recently, a distinction was made between two different types of permits the „major building permit“ „(formerly „obra mayor) for e.g. The second was the „small building permit“ (früher „obra menor“), which was sufficient for all work that was not statically relevant. Due to a new legal situation, the small building permit was replaced by the „Communicación previa“, which is why today we only speak of building licenses, without officially distinguishing between large and small. How long does it take for a license to be issued? Unfortunately, there is no exact answer to this question for large building licenses and it depends on the type of building license and the municipality in which the property is located. Some municipalities are so overloaded that the processing sometimes takes months! A „small building permit“ (Comunicación previa) is normally granted immediately, whereas in the past with the „obra menor“ you often had to wait a few weeks for it to be granted!
Which authorities and offices are involved? If you want to modernize your bathroom, for example, a „comunicación previa“ is sufficient and only the building authority of the respective municipality needs to be informed. A document must be filled out, a cost estimate attached, as well as a plan or photo of where the work will take place. Basically, you don't need an architect for this; in principle, any builder could do it themselves. For new buildings, however, things are a little more complicated. In this case, the architect has to submit a project to the Chamber of Architects, which is then submitted to the relevant building authority after a positive review by the Chamber of Architects. At the building authority itself, the architect, the technical architect, the building authority's lawyer and the municipal administration are involved throughout the entire process. If it is a project in the rural area, the responsible authority is the island authority (Consell Insular).
In reality, there are considerably more things to consider, which sometimes make building on Mallorca a game of patience, not to mention the tax aspects and the legal uncertainty that sometimes prevails! Oliver Girharz
The author is managing director of the engineering and project management company Matrol Servicios y Peritajes SL Tel. 971 10 40 25 www.matrol.es
