BUILDING AND RENOVATION IN MARBELLA

Many of our clients dream of building their own house or renovating a property on the Costa del Sol.

The key to success is knowledge and organisation, you have to know what you are doing and be well organised.

Spanish planning regulations, residential construction or refurbishments fall into 3 basic categories;

1. New Construction
2. Extensive Renovation
3. Renovation

According to Spanish law, the specialists responsible for the works are the architect and the technical architect, if there is one. They are also responsible for the necessary safety measures during construction, ie. their duties include the application of relevant regulations related to the safety and security of the building environment.
Once an architect has been selected and a project defined, it is worth obtaining several cost estimates from different contractors to compare prices. The architect should advise the client on this matter, but the final decision should be made by the client. Once the contractor has been selected and the relevant permits obtained, construction can begin.

The architect should regularly visit the construction site, especially if there are doubts or problems. The client is free to visit and observe the construction as often as he wishes, but the architect is the one who deals with the contractor and from whom instructions must be taken. The client should always deal through the architect. The contractor charges via monthly certifications, in other words, every month the contractor issues a certificate in which he presents and assesses all the work that has been carried out during that period, also stating the payment deadline. Before payment is made, however, the architect should review this certification and give his consent to the client.

Once the work is completed, it is necessary to obtain the certificate for habitability. This it is a certificate that issue by the autonomous communities of Spain and that certifies the construction fulfills the regulations of habitability in Spain. After the completion of the work, the City Council must ensure that the construction corresponds with the original project to which it has given license to. To attain this, the City Council will arrange a visit with the client and will verify various aspects of the work. When approved, the license of initial occupation will allow for requests of services for utilities such as electricity, water and gas.