Ley de Costas and a Villa by the Sea: What to Check Before an Offer

Before an offer on a villa by the sea, three things are checked: the status of the deslinde (the line drawn by the State), the width of the servidumbre de protección on the specific plot, and the entries in the property register. Servidumbre de protección (the protection easement) is a statutory restriction on private land near the shore: 100 metres from the inner edge of the ribera del mar (the shore zone), where residential buildings are prohibited (arts. 23 and 25 of the Ley de Costas, Spain's coastal law). A mistake here is expensive: for unauthorised works in the zone, the law provides a fine from 25% of the cost of the works (50% in some zones) and an obligation to restore everything to its previous state. The rules were checked on 13 October 2026 against the consolidated BOE text.

What zones lie along the shore and how wide are they?

Source of the figures: arts. 23, 27, 30 and the third transitional provision. Basic widths and the Sitges plots are covered in the article on land in Sitges and Sant Pere de Ribes. This one is about how to check a specific house.

Which three documents are checked before an offer?

1. Status of the deslinde. The deslinde fixes where the public domain ends. An approved deslinde gives the State title, and register entries cannot be set against it (art. 13.1). A procedure that has begun suspends the granting of permits and concessions in the zone and in the servidumbre de protección (art. 12.5), and the decision period is 24 months (art. 12.1). Information is requested from the Demarcación de Costas (the State coastal office): whether the line is approved on this plot and whether a review is under way.

1. Width of the servidumbre on the plot. It depends on the class of land when the law came into force, 29 July 1988. For suelo urbano (urban land) the width is 20 m; for urbanizable no programado and no urbanizable (non-programmed developable and non-developable land) it is 100 m; and for urbanizable programado the approved plan parcial (detailed plan) is consulted (third transitional provision, paras. 1–3). The certificate of the land class and of the plan in force is issued by the ayuntamiento (town council), and an arquitecto ties the boundaries to the line using a topographic survey. A map in a listing does not replace it.

1. Nota simple with entries. When a deslinde starts, the registrar enters a nota marginal (marginal note) on the property's folio (art. 12.4), and it should be visible in the extract. But the nota simple itself, in the registrars' words, is «puramente informativa» (purely informative), and the servidumbre applies by law and may not appear in the register. The absence of an entry does not prove the plot is outside the zone. More on the document: nota simple.

What can be done with a house in the servidumbre zone?

For a house built under a licence before the law came into force (29 July 1988), the fourth transitional provision applies: repair, improvement, consolidation and modernisation are allowed if they do not increase volume, height or floor area. The works must improve energy efficiency (by two grades or up to class B), and the declaration is filed before the works are authorised. On full or partial demolition, the new building must comply with the law in full.

This means an extension, an extra storey or a pool that was not in the documents falls under the restriction. If, after a review of the deslinde, the plot or part of it falls into the public domain, the owner is entitled to a 75-year concession without canon (art. 13 bis). If it is the house that falls into the servidumbre, renovation is possible only within the same provision. Legalising what has already been built is covered in the article on a pool or extension without a licence.

What does a mistake cost?

Building without authorisation in the servidumbre zone is a serious infracción (art. 90.2.g). The fine under art. 97.1.c is 50% of the cost of the works in the public domain, in the servidumbre de tránsito and in the sea-access zone, and 25% in the rest of the servidumbre de protección, with a minimum of 300 €. On top of the fine, the offender must restore everything to its previous state and compensate the damage; this obligation lapses 15 years after the administration imposed it (art. 95.1).

Worked example, not a forecast: works worth 200 000 € in the servidumbre de protección. The 25% fine is 50 000 €; for works in the servidumbre de tránsito, 50% gives 100 000 €. This excludes the cost of demolition and legal fees. Under art. 93 the client, the contractor and the technical director are liable. How this falls on a new owner depends on the circumstances and is a question for an abogado (lawyer).

When this check will not help

It does not replace the arquitecto's report or the abogado's opinion on the specific villa. It is not needed for plots clearly far from the shore, although the zona de influencia applies from 500 m. And it does not answer the price question: what a sea view is worth with a restriction is set by a valuation, not by the law. Next step: add the servidumbre check to the due diligence checklist and discuss the plot at a consultation. By area: Maresme and Garraf coast, Castelldefels and Gavà.