Rustic farms, the conditions to build or rehabilitate rural accommodation.
Rural properties constitute a particularly stable segment of the real estate market in terms of value.
Its relative distance from the large urban centers and the strong restrictions on building explain, in part, a solidity that attracts multiple investors. But, if it is so difficult to build anything on these plots, how can we build a tourist accommodation on a rustic farm?
Indeed, Spanish legislation is very strict regarding building on rustic estates.
However, since it is a competence transferred mostly to the autonomous communities, we can find important differences depending on the region in which we want to invest in tourist accommodation.
For example, Galicia approved a few years ago a modification of the norm that does allow the construction of small buildings (always in proportion to the size of the farm) for agricultural, livestock or tourist purposes. In other words, it is possible to build rural houses on certain Galician farms.
What other requirements do we find to raise new constructions on rustic farms?
Conditions vary significantly by community, but one of the most common restrictions is that the housing or tourism business in question harmonizes in some way with the environment in which it is located.
From there, each autonomy expands or restricts the possibilities for the investor.
In the Valencian Community, the owner of a rustic property can only build on an area equivalent to 2% of the entire plot.
In all cases, it is advisable to request the relevant permits even if the requirements are met.
However, all the above conditions only apply when it comes to building rural houses ex novo.
But, what happens when the farms already have some property?
In these cases, investors have much more freedom to rehabilitate the properties, on the basis that the total built area cannot be expanded.
It is also possible that the regional regulations force the preservation of certain elements of the original construction.
The great advantage for rural houses over rehabilitated buildings is that they tend to be larger than the newly created ones, given that in the pre-existing constructions on the rustic farm there are no restrictions regarding the percentage of the constructed area.