Urban Planning and Land Use
Urban Planning and Land Use tests how Spanish land law and municipal planning constrain what can be built, where and with what intensity.
Legal framework
The Texto Refundido de la Ley de Suelo (TRLSRU, Ley 7/2015) sets basic state rules; autonomous communities and PGOU/planeamiento general set classification and calificación. Land is classified as suelo urbano, urbanizable or no urbanizable in traditional PGOU, while state law uses the situations of suelo rural and suelo urbanizado.
Key instruments
Licencia urbanística authorises the works. The estudio de detalle adjusts alignments or volumes. Reparcelación distributes benefits and charges; áreas de reparto fix aprovechamiento. Edificabilidad is expressed in m² construibles per m² of plot.
Worked example
A 1,000 m² plot in a sector with edificabilidad 0.8 m²/m² yields 800 m² of buildable area. If the PGOU requires a 10% cesión of aprovechamiento to the municipality, the private yield is 720 m². The perito must then check height, setbacks, occupancy and uses, not only the headline figure.
Traps
- Confusing clasificación (urbanistic class) with calificación (zoning use).
- Assuming a plot is buildable because it is flat and serviced.
- Using the regional law when the PGOU is stricter.
- Ignoring the need for licencia de primera ocupación.