Legalisation

Better stay away, in the worst case the council can rule demolition. In any case a legalisation can cost you a fortune impossibel to predict but at least more than the amount due for anew construction.

Thanks for the advise

Excellent advice, thanks very much. I'll speak to my solicitor on Monday 

I’m not sure that is strictly true

I believe if the work is over 15 years old then it is classed as ‘antiquity’ and is not at risk

as you say, best to check with the lawyer as much work was done prior to changes in rules etc.

When we bought the pool was not on the deeds. The vendors sorted this during the sale process, believed it entailed an architect to inspect and a trip to notary.

The old adage 'Buyer Beware' comes to mind. 

Thanks for your response.

This was effectively the case when we sold my mother’s property. The house had been extended many years ago without the relevant permissions, although she had originally constructed the property legally. The remedy was not too onerous, just time consuming. We had an arquitecto survey and draw plans, they were submitted to the relevant authorities and in the fullness of time a revised escritura, registered with the Land Registry was issued. It took just under a year in total for the documents to grind their way through the systems and cost in total around 3K if I remember correctly. We as the owners/vendors were responsible for the costs and implementation.

Hi Nick,

If the extensions are capable of being legalised - and you could check this with the municipal Ayuntamiento (town hall) - you could proceed with the purchase on the basis of the vendor regularising the position before completion.  This is what we did, although in our case, the extension had been built with planning permission from our Ayuntamiento, but the change had not been updated at the Cadastre (Land Registry).  However, as others have said, the wheels of Spanish bureaucracy grind slowly, so it depends whether you have any time pressures.  Whatever you decide, don't take responsibility for legalising the additions yourself as, even if possible, it will be expensive.

Kind regards,

Kim

Hi Kim, this is very helpful. Luckily we are not under any time pressure so we will allow the legal processes to be completed before going any further. 

Thanks for your reply.

Nick