Permits for work on the outside of the house

What are the two main routes?

Andalusia’s planning law, Ley 7/2021 de Impulso para la Sostenibilidad del Territorio de Andalucía (LISTA), sets out the framework. Its articles 137 and 138 deal with licences and with the declaración responsable. In simple terms:

• A declaración responsable is a sworn statement filed with the town hall, declaring that the works comply with the rules and that the required documents are held. Article 138 includes, among others, minor works that do not need the intervention of a technician.
• A licencia urbanística is a permit granted by the town hall after review, used for works of greater entity, including many that affect the structure or require a project.

Which route applies depends on the scope and on how each town hall has structured its procedures (exact requirements: to be verified in each municipality).

How do town halls classify façade, roof and window works?

As an illustration from Málaga province, Nerja’s municipal form for minor works without a project has a section for façades and roofs that includes, among others:

• stripping, rendering and painting façades;
• repairing balconies, ledges and projecting elements;
• replacing window frames, shutters and grilles without modifying openings;
• replacing them with modification of openings;
• roof-terrace flooring, waterproofing, replacing roof tiles, skylights or parapets;
• gutters, grilles and meters.

The same form marks some of these items as requiring a short technical report with current and proposed drawings signed by a competent technician — for example façade rendering and painting — and others as requiring an informative drawing signed by a technician — for example replacing frames with changes to the openings. Installations on roofs must also follow the local planning ordinance. Other town halls use different forms and criteria, so treat this as an example of how the system works, not a rule for your town.

Why does changing an opening make a difference?

Replacing a window or door within the same opening leaves the façade and the structure as they were. Enlarging an opening, creating a new one or closing one changes the appearance of the building and, in most houses, cuts into a load-bearing wall. That brings in a technician to design the support and, typically, more documentation for the town hall. If you are considering a wider terrace door or a new window, plan for this from the start. Our page on window replacement covers the practical side.

What about external insulation and colour changes?

External wall insulation changes the thickness and finish of the façade, and a change of colour or material changes the appearance of the house. Both can be subject to local rules, especially in historic centres and on urbanisations with design standards, and in communities they need the owners’ consent. Whether external insulation goes through a declaración responsable or needs further documentation depends on the town hall and the scope (to be verified case by case). See our page on external insulation.

Where does the community of owners come in?

For townhouses and properties within a comunidad de propietarios, the Horizontal Property Law (Ley 49/1960) allows each owner to alter their own unit provided the work does not, among other things, affect the building’s safety, structure, or its configuration or external appearance. Changes to the outside — window colours and styles, façade finishes, awnings, roof changes — therefore generally need the community’s agreement, often in a general meeting, in addition to any town hall paperwork. Check the statutes and ask the administrator before ordering anything.

Are there other permits to think about?

• Occupying the public road with scaffolding, a skip or materials often needs its own permit from the town hall.
• Protected buildings and historic centres may need additional reports or approvals.
• Rural properties raise questions about the building’s planning status, best checked with a lawyer or the town hall before buying.
• Sectoral reports may be required where works affect protected areas, heritage or other regulated matters.

(Application to your property and municipality: to be verified case by case.)

What do we do, and what do we not do?

We do not prepare technical projects or reports, and we do not apply for licences on your behalf. What we do is tell you, before work starts, what type of notification your scope usually involves, which items may need a technician’s signature, and which parts of the job touch the community’s rules. That way you or your technician can file the right paperwork, and the works start on a clear footing. If the town hall or the community asks for changes to the scope, we adjust the quote line by line before anything is built, rather than improvising on site. The scope in our itemised quote matches what has been notified, so there is no gap between what the town hall knows and what is built.

What happens if works are done without the right paperwork?

Works carried out without the required notification or licence can lead to the town hall ordering them to stop, opening disciplinary proceedings or requiring the situation to be regularised, and they can cause problems when the property is sold. The consequences depend on the type of work and the municipality (to be verified case by case). The safer route is to check before starting; the paperwork for most exterior repairs is modest compared with the cost of putting things right afterwards.

Official sources

• Ley 7/2021 (LISTA), arts. 137–138, citada en modelo municipal DR-EO obra menor
• Ayuntamiento de Nerja – declaración responsable, obras menores sin proyecto (Anexo I)
• Ley 49/1960, de 21 de julio, sobre propiedad horizontal (BOE, texto consolidado)