SPANISH PROPERTY – CASITAS AND VILLAS IN SPAIN

CASITA IN SPAIN

Understandably, few Britons know the difference between a casita and a villa when looking at Spanish property.  Indeed, these terms are frequently misunderstood and can lead to real disappointment.  The terms are certainly not interchangeable so, if you are looking at villas in Spain (particularly on the internet), it is important to know why and how a casita and a villa are different.  This may save you considerable time and possibly money – wasted on an unnecessary journey to see a property in Spain that was never going to be what you wanted!

Casita

A casita is a detached (normally single storey) Spanish property found in rural areas.  Usually, but not always, a casita is well over ten years old and (unless it has been substantially reformed) it is likely to be in poor condition.  Even if a casita has been reformed, it may still have an internal distribution of rooms that is poor (to the point of being almost unworkable) – together with a sub-standard overall build quality.

Many casitas were originally constructed (illegally) by the Spanish as ‘summer houses’ on patches of their family agricultural land outside villages and towns.  Most were never designed, intended (nor built) for permanent living and were used for weekends and during the summer months.  This is a vital point – because casitas usually do not have damp proof courses, insulation, central heating or reasonable sized kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms. 

Furthermore, because casitas were intended only for short stays (and because they were often illegally built) they often lack all, or some, basic services – such as mains electricity, mains water, mains sewage, a landline telephone connection or ADSL.  Often, the road to a casita is little more than a dirt track.

Casitas can vary enormously in layout but commonly they comprise a small kitchen, three modest bedrooms and a single bathroom.  The sitting room is often quite large, has an open fireplace and is accessed straight from the front door.  Around the front door there is normally an open sided (and often arched) naya with a ‘summer kitchen’ or barbeque area to the side (or independent of) the house.  Frequently, a casita has a reasonable sized plot (anything from 1,000 m2 to 4,000 m2 or over).  This almost invariably comprises agricultural land such as orchards.

Some casitas have swimming pools, although sometimes these ‘swimming pools’ were originally water deposits that have been converted (not always legally).

Of course, there are many variations to the above.  Some casitas have been redesignated as Urbaizado (at great cost to the owners) which means that they are likely to have smaller plots and all the services expected of a ‘normal’ Spanish property – including a properly surfaced access road with lighting and pavements.  Equally, some casitas have two floors.  However, almost all share a poor overall design and build quality

Casitas can be worth buying – however great care needs to be exercised in doing so.  As a generality, this is one of the most difficult types of Spanish property to purchase safely and you should never, ever stint on an excellent conveyancing lawyer (because of legality issues and potential very high future liabilities). 

Equally, if ever property in Spain needed a very careful survey then this is true of casitas.  So, always be sure to use a first class (independent), fully qualified and insured building surveyor capable of checking everthing from the structural integrity of the construction – to the validity of any building (and swimming pool!) licences!

In particular, beware of potentially major restrictions on the extending or changing of any casita that you may wish to buy.  At the same time, be extremely dubious of any assertions made by anyone that any absent services (electricity, telephone, mains water etc.) will soon appear!  This is highly unlikely – or if they do then you may have to pay heavily for them.

 Of course, when you are searching for villas in Spain you may find that some casitas are (rather dubiously) called ‘villas’ and in photographs you may find yourself believing that what you are looking at is a villa.  The test (albeit rather crude) is to ask yourself whether the Spanish property concerned looks as though it was built for all-year, permanent living.  Does it look properly and professionally designed and constructed?  If it does not – then regardless of how pretty it is – it is likely to be a casita…