Mallorca real estate - permission from the town hall to change a light bulb?!
It is said to have happened like this:
One day, a foreign owner of a village house had the idea of painting the children's room on the second floor. To do this, he had to move the bunk bed away from the wall. Right in front of the window. A town hall employee who happened to be walking past on the street saw this and asked the house owner what he was going to do. „Painting the children's room“, he replied. „Do you have permission for that?" asked the local council representative. „No!“, replied the house owner. „Well, then stop it very quickly!“.
Antonio Monserrat Oliver could have laughed at this anecdote. Could, mind you, if it didn't so aptly describe the current permit mania in many town halls on Mallorca.
The approval regulations introduced by the island council in 2017 for buildings or conversions are in some cases completely absurd,
says the Mallorcan architect from Llucmajor. The basic rule is that permission must be obtained from the respective town hall for any kind of work on a plot of land or in a property. Depending on the „severity“ of the work, different applications must be submitted.
Comunicació Prèvia Simple
For example, if you want to renovate your yard, repair windows or doors, paint the rooms, replace a water heater, install air conditioning or - and we're not kidding - even replace a light bulb, you have to submit a Simple Notification (Comunicació Prèvia Simple) to your town hall. The good thing: „You can then start work immediately without waiting for a reply“, says architect Antonio Monserrat Oliver. The less good news is that the application fee to be paid at the town hall amounts to 1.35 percent of the cost estimate for the work. A further 3.5 percent tax is added to this. These interest rates can vary from municipality to municipality. However, they have one thing in common: „Pure money-grubbing“, says Antonio Monserrat.
Comunicació Prèvia complexa
For „more complex“ work such as the restoration of roof beams, the repair of masonry, minor cement work, the laying of tiles or the installation of photovoltaic systems, a „Comunicació Prèvia complexa“ must be submitted. It works just like its smaller sister. You can start immediately without waiting for an answer. And you pay the same interest rates for the application and taxes.
However, if a municipal building inspector actually manages to inspect the construction work within six months of the application being submitted and comes to the conclusion that it may not comply with the regulations, the applicant must cancel the work and pay a penalty on top of that.
Obra menor and Obra major
The same applies to „genuine“ building permits. They still have to be submitted to the respective town hall for „minor works“ (Obra menor) and „major works“ (Obra major), whereby the decision as to what is „minor“ or „major“ is not always clear to the property owner himself. Thank goodness that an architect or technical architect (aparejador) is always required to submit the relevant project plans together with the application.
The individual construction of a finca can pass as „Obra menor“. The same applies to the repair of roof tiles, facade cleaning or the uncovering of natural stone walls indoors and outdoors. An „obra major“ is usually defined as work in which load-bearing parts of the building are affected.
Validity for two years
Both small and large building permits are always valid for two years from the date of application. If the builder exceeds this period, it can be extended a maximum of two times (12 months and 6 months). Of course, this also costs money. In Llucmajor, these costs amount to 2.5 percent of the cost estimate for the entire project.
What you should bear in mind :Paint the room, change the light bulb, clean up the yard. Seriously: you don't really need to get permission from the Rathos to do this, do you?
- If conversion or renovation work is visible from the outside (roof, façade, etc.), caution is advised. You should at least ask at the town hall. Mallorcan municipal employees are often very accommodating. For smaller conversion and renovation work, it is advisable to first seek the advice of the respective craftsman or building contractor. They usually know which permits need to be applied for.
- For larger projects, the architect is usually responsible for the building permit.
