Investment approach
Buying a house near Barcelona: a separate buyer's checklist
A house has no community to share the roof and facade. What to check on the plot, in the papers and in the systems, what a nearby forest requires, and what owning a house costs per year.
A house near Barcelona is checked more widely than a flat: the plot, all the structures, the utilities and the surroundings are entirely the owner's. Two Catalan rules set the frame for the check. Restoration of the previous state after works done without a licence can be demanded for six years after they are finished, and on some categories of land with no time limit (art. 207 TRLU, the consolidated Catalan planning law). A house in a forest or within 500 metres of one must have a cleared strip at least 25 metres wide (Ley 5/2003).
In this checklist a detached house means a casa aislada (detached house), a chalet or an adosada (townhouse) with its own plot, with no comunidad de propietarios (owners' association) sharing the costs of roof, facade and utilities.
How checking a house differs from checking a flat
The difference lies in who is responsible for each part of the property and how many documents have to be reconciled with one another.
| What | Flat | House |
|---|---|---|
| Roof, facade, risers | The community, costs by share | The owner entirely |
| Documents to reconcile | Plan, nota simple (land registry extract), cadastre | Plus plot boundaries, each structure, the pool |
| Lawfulness | Layout changes inside the flat | Extensions, floors, garage, pool, guest house |
| Surroundings | Street, noise, neighbours | Plus forest, rieras (seasonal watercourses), the road, the urbanización |
| Utilities | The building's shared networks | Own sewage, water, electricity, heating |
How to check the plot and the structures
Start with paper, and only then go to the plot.
- Boundaries and area. Compare the plot area in the listing, the cadastre and the nota simple. The fence is not always where the boundary is according to the documents. Discrepancies are examined by an abogado (lawyer).
- Easements. Whether someone else's road, pipe or power line crosses the plot: the types of servidumbres (easements) are covered in the article on easements.
- Every structure. Which of the extensions, enclosed terraces, garage and pool appear in the cadastre and the registry, and whether licences exist. If the works were finished less than six years ago, or the land falls in categories where the period does not expire, the demolition risk passes to the new owner. How to assess this and reflect it in the price is described in the article on a pool and an extension without a licence.
- Cédula de habitabilidad. Whether the description in it matches the house in its present state.
- Builder's guarantees. If the house is recently built, the LOE (Ley de Ordenación de la Edificación, the building-quality law) sets periods: one year for finishes, three years for defects affecting habitability, ten years for the structure (art. 19 LOE). Ask for the developer's documents and the insurance.
What to check in the structure and utilities
Here houses differ from one another most, and hidden defects cost more than in a flat.
- Roof: covering, gutters, signs of leaks on the top floor.
- Walls and foundations: diagonal cracks by windows and doors, damp at the base, retaining walls on a slope.
- Sewage: the mains network or an own system.
- Water: where it comes from, pressure on the upper floor, a pump or a tank.
- Electricity: capacity, age of the fuse board and wiring.
- Heating: mains gas, bottled gas, diesel, heat pump. Winter bills depend on it.
- Internet: whether there is fibre on the street.
For a detached house an independent technical survey is almost always justified. Ask the seller for a year of bills for electricity, water, gas, pool and garden: it is the most honest way to understand the cost of living in the house.
What obligations a forest next to the house brings
If the house stands in a forest or within a 500-metre belt around it, Catalonia's Ley 5/2003 requires fire-prevention measures (art. 1 and 3): a protection strip at least 25 metres wide without dry vegetation and with thinned trees, the same condition for all plots inside the strip, hydrants, cleared private roads. In an urbanización these duties are borne by the community or the entidad urbanística colaboradora (a collaborating urban-planning body), and where there are none, the owners are jointly liable; for a stand-alone house its owner is responsible (art. 4). If the work is not done, the municipality may carry it out and charge a fee.
How forest fires and storm-fed rieras affect insurance and price is covered in the article on rieras and forest fires. Dues and votes in a gated estate are described in the article on gated urbanizaciones.
What owning a house costs: a worked example
Worked example, not a forecast. A house for 1.2 M€ with a garden and pool. All amounts are assumptions, to be replaced by the seller's bills and quotes.
| Item per year | Amount |
|---|---|
| Garden and pool | 4,800 € |
| Heating and electricity above a flat's | 2,400 € |
| Insurance | 1,200 € |
| Property tax and charges | 2,000 € |
| Urbanización dues and upkeep of the protection strip | 1,800 € |
| Reserve for major works, 1% of value | 12,000 € |
| Total | 24,200 € |
The biggest line here is the reserve: the roof, facade, windows, boiler and pool do not break every year, but their replacement has to be saved for in advance. Compare the total with the costs of a flat on the same budget: the difference often decides the choice between a house and a flat better than the price per metre.
When buying a house does not fit
A house does not suit those who are not ready to run it or pay for that, those who live without a car, and those who buy remotely with no technical specialist on the spot. It also does not suit a buyer who needs a quick resale: houses differ greatly from one another, and the pool of buyers for each is narrower. DNPI Capital gives an independent figure for a specific house before an offer through its property valuation.
Questions and answers
What should I check when buying a house in Catalonia?
The plot's boundaries and area, the lawfulness of every structure and the pool, the roof, walls and foundations, the house's own utilities, fire-prevention duties if a forest is near, and the annual cost of upkeep.
After how many years will an extension without a licence no longer be demolished?
In Catalonia restoration can be demanded for six years after the works are finished. On land that the plan classes as public green areas, roads or protected non-developable land (no urbanizable), the period does not expire. The conclusion for a specific house is given by an abogado urbanista (planning lawyer).
What duties does the owner of a house next to a forest have?
A protection strip of at least 25 metres without dry vegetation, a cleared plot and cleared private roads. For a stand-alone house these duties are borne by the owner.
Is a technical survey of the house needed before buying?
Almost always yes. The roof, damp, sewage and retaining walls of a house are entirely the owner's, and their condition is better known before the arras are signed.
How much should I budget per year to run a house?
It depends on the plot, the pool and the heating, and the exact figure comes from the seller's bills. The reserve for major works is set aside separately and often turns out to be the largest line.
