Plans & permits

Buying land and property In and around Tarifa

Land is being re-zoned outside the town centre for construction in Valdevaqueros, and from the Rio Jara to Codorniz, in the Cádiz direction. Inside the town centre, the areas of El Olivar and El Albaceral will be re-zoned. There will be no construction on the beaches, because they are all protected spaces, natural park. The idea is that Tarifa should be one of the few regions on the southern coastline where there is no concrete on the beaches.

You can't build in the town centre, but there is no problem in buying the old houses there and restoring them. You can restore almost anything, as long as you conform to existing urban law. It gets more complicated when you wish to carry out building work in areas that have not been zoned for this, or on what they call 'suelos rusticos' - rustic ground.

There would be no point in taking a chance and buying without a planning permit in the countryside outside the town. Residential use is prohibited in all 'parajes naturales', which means natural areas, and that is just about all the open space around Tarifa. The entire coast is considered a natural park, from Punta Cañero, in the municipality of Algeciras, to Cabo Plata. The other part is the Los Alcornocales Nature Park. It is clear that buying to build in one of these areas would be quite rash. Unless, of course, there is an existing residential property on the land, registered as such.

While it may seem that there is plenty of open space out there for new housing, new legislation allows for the development of primary resources only in these areas, which means cattle grazing, and that has to be done within the established plan.

You can't do exactly do as you please with a house in ruins in the town centre. It depends on what condition the house is already in, where it is, and what particular category it happens to fall under. Enlarging it is difficult, because these houses are invariably surrounded by others, so there is no space for enlargement. The law now, in most cases, allows for a height of 'bajo mas dos', which means the ground floor plus two more floors. In some areas, you have 'bajo mas una', a floor less. And you can't change the façade. You always have to check before you buy, naturally.

Many foreigners are buying properties in the old town and refurbishing them in sympathy with the existing structures that have been there for centuries. The Town Hall generally supports this: a person buys an old house, improves it and converts it back into what it used to be, thus bringing life back into the old town. People are also buying these old houses to turn into small hotels, which helps the local economy as well.

What a peculiar twist, the Spanish are moving out to new developments with marble floors, air conditioning and all the mod cons whilst the foreigners prefer the old buildings that they are leaving behind!

Information courtesy of Antonio Guerrero, GMR Tarifa.