Frequently asked questions

No. All prices on the website are without VAT (21%). On the prices page you can see them with VAT.

Municipal fees, the construction tax (ICIO), notary and Land Registry costs, and work by other specialists such as the geotechnical study or the topographic survey, unless we say otherwise.

In stages: one part when you commission us, another when we deliver the design or document and, if there is building work, the rest during site supervision (dirección de obra).

Yes. 30 minutes by phone, video call or at your home if you are in the Poniente (western Almería).

It is fixed. We send it to you in writing within 24 hours, with what it includes, what it does not include, the timescales and the stage payments. The prices on the website are starting prices, and the figure that counts is the one in the quote you accept in writing.

Yes. The feasibility report costs from €250 + VAT and we deduct it from the price of the design if you commission it afterwards. In an AFO (asimilado a fuera de ordenación) the preliminary study is included and, if it is not viable, we tell you before charging the rest.

Andalusian law gives the town hall a maximum of three months from when the documentation is complete (article 140 of the LISTA, Andalusia's planning act, Ley 7/2021).

Refurbishments that do not change the floor area or the number of homes on urban land usually go through a responsible declaration (declaración responsable). New buildings, extensions, swimming pools and changes of use to housing need a licence. We explain this in the licences guide.

No. Its role is played by the occupancy licence (licencia de ocupación) or the responsible declaration of occupancy.

We correct the design and submit it again, or look for another route if what you want does not fit the local plan (PGOU). To reduce that risk, we study your municipality's rules before we draw anything. During the process we answer the town hall's requests for further information ourselves.

No. With a licence you have to wait until the town hall decides. If it does not reply within three months, the licence is approved by silence, unless what you asked for goes against the regulations (article 140 of the LISTA). Works that go through a responsible declaration can start as soon as it is submitted.

Six years from their full completion (article 153 of the LISTA), except on public land, rural land in the coastal influence zone, land at risk, listed properties, green areas and subdivisions into building plots (parcelaciones) on rural land.

No. It lets you use it, keep it, take out utility contracts and register it, but not extend it.

A maximum of six months. If it does not reply, the application is taken as refused (refusal by silence).

Yes. Applying for the AFO does not oblige you to leave the house. Until the decision, you cannot take out utility contracts or carry out works, except those the town hall orders for safety or health reasons (article 173.3 of the LISTA).

Yes, if they comply with the local plan. You apply for a legalisation licence with a technical design, from €1,200 + VAT, and you can do it at any time. If they do not comply, the town hall can order their demolition until the six years have passed.

Álvaro García, registered architect no. 19625 of the Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Madrid (COAM, the Madrid Official College of Architects).

Yes, across the whole province of Almería. Travel is included in the fixed quote we give you.

Yes. We work in English as well as in Spanish.

Yes. For housing projects we show you the house in 3D images before moving on to the technical drawings, from the street, the garden and the main interior. The 3D is included in the house design and in the extension design.

Yes. The first consultation is by phone or video call, in Spanish or in English, and the quote reaches you in writing within 24 hours. We submit the town hall paperwork ourselves, and for the site visit it is enough for someone to let us into the house.

Ask for the nota simple (the Land Registry extract), the cadastral reference and the building licence or AFO for everything that is built, including the pool and outbuildings. With that we compare the Land Registry, the Catastro (the property tax register) and reality, and check that the land is not of the kind that never becomes time-barred. The pre-purchase report costs from €250 + VAT and is ready in 3 to 5 working days, depending on the town hall's reply.

The title deed does not match the house, and the buyer's bank usually asks for the building work to be registered before granting the mortgage. It is best to regularise it before selling. Depending on the case, the route is a legalisation licence or, if the extension is more than six years old, an AFO with a certificate of age (certificado de antigüedad).

Yes. Real Decreto 390/2021 requires one to sell or let, and requires the rating to be shown in the advert. The energy performance certificate (EPC) costs from €65 + VAT, with registration with the Junta de Andalucía (the regional government) included. It is valid for ten years, or five if the rating is G.

With a new-build deed based on age (escritura de obra nueva por antigüedad) signed before a notary, which needs a technical certificate (article 28.4 of the Ley de Suelo, the national land act). The certificate of age costs from €250 + VAT and you have it in one or two weeks. It works once the time limit for the town hall to act has passed and the land is not of the kind that never becomes time-barred.

Yes, we work with the builder you choose and coordinate with them during the design. If you do not have one yet, the design includes quantity measurements so that you can compare quotes from several builders on equal terms.

Yes, when you hire us for site supervision (dirección de obra). We visit the site and sign the final certificate. Site supervision is quoted separately from the design.

A new house needs an architect, who signs the design (article 10 of Ley 38/1999, Spain's Building Act). The technical architect, or aparejador, supervises the execution of the works on site (article 13). For a simple refurbishment, the technical report (memoria técnica) can be signed by an architect or a technical architect.

No. Enclosing a porch increases the built floor area and needs a licence with a technical design (article 137 of the LISTA). Beforehand we check how much buildable floor area (edificabilidad) your plot has left, and the extension design costs from €1,800 + VAT.