Renovating a resale home in Spain: permits, costs and timings

What a renovation of a resale home on the Costa del Sol needs from the town hall, as it stands in October 2026, and how long each route takes. In Andalucía most work inside an existing home no longer waits for a licence. It is filed as a declaración responsable, a signed statement that the work meets the rules, and it can start the day it is filed. Bigger work still needs a licence. This guide sets out which is which, what four of the main town halls ask you to file, the community’s part, the construction tax and the VAT on the work, and where a renovation fits into the purchase. The law and each town’s own pages are linked where they apply. Whether a home was built legally in the first place is a separate question, covered in the first occupation licence and the AFO.

Obra menor and obra mayor, in plain words

Town halls still talk about obra menor, minor works, and obra mayor, major works. The words survive in everyday use and on many forms. The planning law Andalucía has applied since December 2021, Ley 7/2021, known as LISTA, sorts work by a different test: whether it needs a licence or a declaración responsable.

The dividing line comes from the national building law. Article 2.2 of Ley 38/1999 says a building project, drawn up by a qualified technician, is needed for:

• a new building
• work on an existing building that changes its architectural configuration, which means a total renovation, or partial work that substantially changes the exterior, the volume or the structure as a whole
• work that changes the building’s use
• work on a building protected for its heritage, where it touches the protected parts

Among the work that article 138 of LISTA puts under a declaración responsable, two matter for a renovation: minor works of little complexity that need no project, and work on an existing legal building on urban land that does not change how much of the plot it covers or its height, and adds no floor area and no homes. Article 137 keeps the licence for the rest: new buildings, extensions, additional homes and the division of land.

For a resale apartment, that usually leaves a new kitchen and bathrooms, new floors, new electrics and plumbing, and windows of the same size on the declaración responsable side. Enclosing a terrace, adding floor area, moving the structure or changing the facade sit on the other side, and most of them need the community as well.

What a declaración responsable means

Article 138 sets the rules. The declaration lets the work start from the day it is filed, provided the documents the town asks for go with it, and the town checks afterwards. Where the work needs one, the declaration carries a technical project or a written and drawn description of the work. Work done without a declaration that should have had one, or beyond what was declared, is treated as work without a licence, with the same enforcement and penalties. A separate notice, a comunicación previa, is filed for the start of work, a change of owner or an extension of time.

The practical point is that the speed is real but the responsibility moves to you. The town no longer approves the work before it starts. It relies on what you declared, and it can inspect.

What the main town halls ask for

The law is the same across Andalucía. Each town hall publishes its own forms and its own list of what to file, and these are four of them.

Málaga. The Gerencia Municipal de Urbanismo publishes, as an annex to its licensing ordinance, a table of which work needs which permission, by type of land and building. On ordinary urban land, a renovation that changes neither height, plot coverage, floor area nor the number of homes goes by declaración responsable, as do small works that need no project. The same renovation on a protected building needs a licence. New building and extensions always need a licence, as does any change of use to a home. The works listed in article 19 of the ordinance need no filing at all on ordinary urban land.

Marbella. The planning department’s guide to minor works treats them as a licence by notification, the actuación comunicada. It excludes work over €60,000 of building cost, a figure updated each year with the national statistics office’s construction cost index, changes to the layout beyond small ones that leave the use of each room as it was, extensions including the glazing of a terrace, demolition, restoration or facade and roof changes in the historic centre, and any work that needs a technician or a project. Work may start fifteen working days after the complete file is in, provided the technical and legal reports are favourable. It must start within three months and finish within six, with an extension of up to half of each available.

Estepona. The town’s electronic office lists separate routes: a declaración responsable for minor works without a technician, a declaración responsable for work on an existing building with a technician, and a licence for major works. For minor works it asks for:

• the construction tax and the planning fee, self-assessed and paid
• a budget broken down by item, with measurements and market prices, signed by the builder or a technician and by you
• the cadastral record or the last IBI receipt
• a waste estimate on the town’s form
• an up-to-date nota simple

Photographs and drawings are added where the work calls for them. With a technician, the town adds a project signed by a qualified technician and stamped by their professional body, and stamped documents showing that the two site managers and the health and safety coordinator have taken on the job.

Torremolinos. The declaración responsable for works asks for proof that the construction tax and fee are paid, the deed or tenancy contract, photographs of the present state, a description with an itemised budget for labour and materials and a scaled sketch where needed, and a deposit for the management of the building waste on budgets over €10,000. Where a technician is involved, it asks for a stamped certificate that the building’s structural safety is not put at risk. The page states that the work can start the day the declaration is filed, and that it does not cover skips, scaffolding or materials on the street, which need a separate permit.

Fuengirola, Mijas, Benalmádena, Nerja and the rest apply the same law with their own forms. Ask the technician, or the town’s planning office, which route the town expects for your particular job before you price it.

The community of owners

In an apartment the community has its say too. Article 7.1 of the law on communities of owners lets an owner change the layout, installations and services of their own flat, provided the work does not compromise the building’s safety, its structure or its exterior, and does not harm another owner’s rights. The owner must tell the community’s representative before the work starts. Nothing may be altered in the rest of the building.

So a new kitchen, bathrooms, floors and wiring inside the flat need only that notice to the community. Anything that touches the facade, the structure or the shared parts needs the community’s agreement, and enclosing a terrace changes the facade. The community’s accounts and the minutes of its meetings also tell you what the building itself needs, which is part of what community fees cover.

The tax on the work

The construction tax. Every town charges the ICIO on work that needs a licence or a declaración responsable. Articles 100 to 102 of the local finance law set it on the material cost of the work, leaving out VAT, fees, the professionals’ fees and the builder’s profit, at a rate each town fixes up to a maximum of 4%. The town’s planning fee comes on top. Estepona and Torremolinos both ask for the two to be paid by self-assessment before the declaration is filed.

The VAT. Renovation and repair work on a home is charged VAT at 21% in general. The Spanish tax agency applies 10% when three conditions are all met:

• the person paying is an individual who uses the home privately, not for letting or for a business, even in part
• the home was finished, or last rehabilitated, at least two years before the work starts
• the builder supplies no materials, or the materials cost no more than 40% of the price of the work

The tax agency’s own example is new flooring at €10,000. With €3,000 of materials from the builder, all of it is charged at 10%. With €5,000 of materials, all of it is charged at 21%. A home bought to let does not meet the first condition, so its renovation pays 21%. Keep every invoice. The cost of improvements counts when you come to sell, as selling as a non-resident explains.

The timings

• A declaración responsable: the day it is filed, under article 138 of LISTA and as Torremolinos states on its page. The time goes on preparing the file: the budget, any drawings, and a technician where the work needs one.
• Marbella’s minor-works route: fifteen working days from the complete file, with favourable reports.
• A licence: article 140.2 of LISTA gives the town three months from the complete file to decide. If it does not, the licence is treated as granted, except where national law says otherwise, and silence never grants anything against the planning rules.
• The work itself: that depends on the job and the builder, which is why the plan and the dates should be fixed before you commit to the purchase.

Where a renovation fits into the purchase

The renovation starts before the deposit, not after the keys. Three things belong before the arras contract is signed.

1. A survey. A technical architect’s report on the structure, damp, the roof and terraces, and the installations, and on whether what is built matches what is registered. Do you need a survey when buying in Spain sets out what it covers and when it is worth having.
2. The paper checks. The registry, the cadastre and the licences, so you know the home is legal and that the work you plan is possible on it. The legal checks before you buy lists each one.
3. A priced plan. A builder’s quote and timetable for the work you have in mind, so the price you offer reflects what the home will cost you finished.

The tax on the purchase helps here. A resale pays 7% transfer tax in Andalucía, against 10% VAT and 1.2% stamp duty on a new build, and new build or resale works the difference on one example. For a buyer who wants a modern home in an established street, part of that difference can go into the renovation. If you would rather buy a home that is already done, the higher-value homes on file include several renovated in the last few years.

Alex’s flat in Málaga

Alex wanted a new, modern home in the parts of Málaga he liked, and new move-in-ready homes in his price range did not exist there. I suggested looking instead for a home with good bones. We found a 1970s apartment in its original condition, with dated terrazzo-style floors, a closed-off kitchen and badly placed partitions, but with what cannot be renovated: a prime location, a generous floor area and sea views.

I negotiated a reduction in the price on the strength of the home’s condition, and that reduction funded the work. Before the sale was final, a contractor I have worked with for years had produced a full plan, a fixed six-week timetable and a detailed quote. The plan came to less than €30,000 and covered a new kitchen, all new appliances, new windows, new floors, air conditioning and the furniture.

Work began the day Alex signed at the notary. In six weeks the flat had new electrics and plumbing, levelled floors with porcelain tiles throughout, solid-core doors, double glazing, and a 2.5-metre sliding glass door opened into the living-room wall, which filled the flat with light and put the sea view at the centre of it. The whole story is on Alex’s page, with the other client stories.

How I handle it

My approach is the same at every price point: proper research on the property and its area, a straight assessment of what it is genuinely worth, and careful negotiation on your behalf. With a home to renovate, that means looking past dated finishes to the location, the space and the light, asking a technician which route the town will expect for the work you want, and bringing in a contractor I have worked with for years to price the plan and fix the timetable before you commit.

The price I negotiate then reflects the cost of the work, the survey and the lawyer’s checks come before the deposit, and the declaration or the licence is ready to file once the deed is signed. If you have a budget and a home in mind that do not yet agree, and want to see whether a renovation closes the gap, book a call. Renovation projects sets out how I work.

General guidance, not legal or tax advice. The rules are those of Ley 7/2021 of Andalucía, Ley 38/1999, the consolidated local finance law, the law on communities of owners and the tax agency’s guidance on VAT, with each town’s requirements as published on its own pages, all checked on 24 October 2026. A town’s route for a particular job should be confirmed with its planning office or your technician.

Common questions