AFO in Andalusia step by step: requirements, timescales and cost

An AFO (asimilado a fuera de ordenación) is the town hall decision recognising that a house built without a licence can no longer be demolished, because the time limit for acting against it has passed. In Andalusia that limit is six years from the date the house was finished. It does not legalise the house, but it lets you live in it, connect electricity and water and register it. The town hall has six months to decide, and the technical documentation costs between €800 and €5,450 in Almería, with an average close to €2,100.

What the law says

Andalusia's planning act, Ley 7/2021, de impulso para la sostenibilidad del territorio de Andalucía (LISTA), regulates the AFO in articles 173 and 174. It applies to finished irregular buildings, on any class of land and for any use, when measures to restore planning legality can no longer be taken because the time limit has passed.

That time limit is set in article 153: six years from the full completion of the works or, if later, from the appearance of external signs that allow them to be known.

Houses that cannot apply for an AFO

Article 153.2 lists the cases in which the town hall can act at any time, so the works never become time-barred and there is no AFO:

• Works on public domain land or its protection easements (watercourses, the coast, roads).
• Rural land (suelo rústico) with definite risks of flooding, landslides or similar, for as long as those risks exist.
• Rural land in the coastal influence zone.
• Properties listed in Andalusia's heritage catalogue, the Catálogo General del Patrimonio Histórico de Andalucía.
• Green areas and open spaces.
• Urban-style plot divisions (parcelaciones urbanísticas) on rural land, except for the specific plot that has a building on it which is already time-barred.

An AFO is also ruled out if the house does not meet minimum safety and health conditions, unless the works ordered by the town hall are carried out first (article 173.4).

Step by step

1. Feasibility. We check the type of land, the completion date and whether the plot falls into any of the cases above.
2. Proof of age. Historical aerial photographs, records from the Catastro (the property tax register), utility or IBI (council property tax) bills, title deeds and dated photos.
3. Technical documentation. Drawings of what has been built, a written report, photographs and a certificate of safety, health conditions and age.
4. Application. It is submitted to the town hall with the corresponding fees.
5. Decision. The town hall decides within a maximum of six months, after any sectoral reports that apply. If it does not reply, the application is deemed refused.
6. Afterwards. With the decision you can contract utilities and register the building at the Land Registry.

What it allows and what it does not

Before the decision you cannot contract basic services or carry out works, except those the town hall orders for safety or health reasons (article 173.3).

What it costs in Almería

Published prices for the technical documentation of an AFO in Almería range from €800 to €5,450, with an average close to €2,100. At Poniente Arquitectura we start from €1,500 + VAT, and a house with a storage building or a pool usually comes to between €2,000 and €3,200. On top of that come the municipal fees, which differ in each town hall, and, if they are required, the safety or health works.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Ley 7/2021 on promoting territorial sustainability in Andalusia (LISTA), consolidated text in the BOE

This guide is for information; every case needs a check of the local rules.