Of the literally thousands of apartments and houses on the Costa del Sol many are owned by foreigners and people from other parts of Spain that only come here to use them as holiday homes. In winter more often than not its the foreigners looking to escape the cold and in summer Spaniards trying to avoid the relentless summer heat, either way people come and go.

 

However summer time as well as a relaxing holiday for some, is also a good time to undertake necessary maintenance or home improvements for others.

 

Unfortunately this can cause a conflict, one wants to lay around quietly and take it easy, the other wants to dig things up, knock-down others and generally make noise. So it is quite clear a building code of conduct and some basic rules are needed.

 

Generally speaking on an urbanization or in an apartment block, only two entities have jurisdiction. The president or the representative of the committee of the community of owners, and the local town hall.

 

Basically to undertake any building work, reform, maintenance or renovation, a licence or permit is needed from the local town hall. This is usually a straight forward affair, the owner or the builder etc tells the town hall what is intended and the town hall, if all is in order, approves the work, charges their fee and issues the licence.

 

In addition; if any planned work or renovation etc affects the general ascetics of the community especially the façade of an apartment block or undermines the general safety and integral structure of a building or prejudices the rights of another owner, then prior permission must be obtained from the community of owners.

 

This is best done through the president or the community administrator however in some cases permission may require approval at a general meeting of owners. So it pays to plan ahead and have all the paperwork and licences in order before starting work. This is fundamentally compulsory and if owners don’t do it they can be fined or their work stopped.

 

In the interest of peaceful cohabitation, the community may approve the work but only under certain conditions and according to a fixed time table. In addition the local town hall municipal by-laws regarding working hours etc will also apply. The community cannot override the by-laws and by-laws vary from town hall to town hall so to be safe and a good neighbour it is advisable to check. Either check on the town hall website, when the licence is requested or ask the community administrator.

 

In situations where permission from the community – with a timetable of work etc – is not required, then applying the municipal by-laws, with a phone call to the local police if needed, is the only effective means of controlling any anti-social building behaviour of other owners or their workers during certain what is normally considered to be the peaceful hours. Hopefully this is not necessary, however it pays to know what can be done if it is.

 

Generally the conditions for building work and maintenance etc are a matter of common sense and being reasonable. Hammering and drilling holes at a quarter to six in the morning or noisily machine mixing cement in the community courtyard at two thirty on a Sunday afternoon will be seen by some as being very unreasonable and could well invite a visit from the community president or the local police force.

 

When in doubt, we advise our readers as usual to ask, in cases like this, either at the town hall, the local police or the community administrator.

 

This article has been published in Euroweekly News ( Community Corner), written by José Luis Navarro.