SPANISH PROPERTY CLASSIFICATION – URBANIZADO – A VITAL TERM TO UNDERSTAND

‘Urbanizado’ is the term that describes land in Spain upon which it is legal to build – subject to obtaining planning permission and abiding by the relevant regulations. This land will normally (but not always) have a complete infrastructure of made up roads with pavements and street lighting, mains water supply, mains drainage, mains electricity and land line telephones (generally with an ADSL facility). Urbanizado areas are clearly designated on the plans held by town halls and their designation is ‘black or white’ – either an area of land in Spain is classified as urbanizado or not.

However, it is critically important to know that urbanizado areas are not always fully urbanizado (fully urbanised). This means that an urbanizado area may not have all of its proper infrastructure in place.

So, for example, an urbanizado area (particularly on some estates) may have electricity, mains water and some of the roads properly made up with street lighting and pavements. Any deficient elements of the infrastructure (such as, for example, where there are no pavements and street lighting) may at some stage be compulsorily rectified by the local authority. If this occurs then the owners of the Spanish property on the relevant part of the urbanizado estate (urbanización) will have to pay for completion of the remaining works i.e. the installation of mains drainage or the surfacing of the roads or the installation of proper pavements and street lighting.

Vitally, the safest property in Spain that you can buy is a Spanish property situated on land that is urbanizado and that is fully urbanised (urbanizado). If this is the case then you should face no further liabilities for infrastructure costs nor have any possibility of ‘land grab’. The signs that a property in Spain is urbanizado and also fully urbanizado (subject always to confirmation from your lawyer) are when the property has:
· Mains water.
· Mains electricity.
· Telephone land line.
· Mains drainage.
· A properly laid road.
· Pavements.
· Street lighting.

If your intended property in Spain lacks any of the above then it is highly unlikely that it is both urbanizado and fully urbanizado (with all the infrastructure works completed) – so be extremely wary of being assured otherwise!

Normally all cities, towns and villages are urbanizado as are some, but by no means all, housing estates (urbanizaciónes).

RELEVANT INFORMATION

HOW TO BUY SPANISH PROPERTY AND MOVE TO SPAIN – SAFELY
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