How to Renovate a Property in Spain

Renovating property in Spain follows a clear sequence: understand the property, define the project, confirm the permit route with the town hall, appoint the right professionals (or one company to manage them), agree an itemised budget, sign a proper contract, then build and close the paperwork. Most of the difficulties owners run into come from doing those steps out of order, not from Spain being unusually complicated.

This guide is written for owners and buyers on the Costa Blanca and elsewhere in Spain, especially those who live abroad for part or all of the year. It focuses on the Valencian Community, where the Costa Blanca sits, but the principles apply widely. Throughout, treat legal and tax points as general guidance: rules vary between municipalities and change over time, so confirm specifics with the ayuntamiento, an architect, a lawyer or a tax adviser.

Before you start

Understand the property

Before thinking about finishes, it pays to know what you actually have. For a recent purchase, the survey and legal checks done during the sale are a good starting point. For a property you have owned for a while, a fresh look by a builder or arquitecto técnico is worthwhile. Useful questions include:

• Is the property’s registered and cadastral description consistent with what is built? Past extensions, enclosed terraces or pool houses that were never regularised can complicate a new licence.
• What is the condition of the structure, roof, waterproofing and retaining walls?
• How old are the electrics and plumbing, and are there certificates for them?
• Is there damp, and if so, where does it come from?
• Is the property within a community of owners, an urbanisation with its own rules, or close to the shoreline?

If you are still buying, our article on buying a villa in Spain that needs renovation covers what to check before you commit. Foreign buyers need an NIE (tax identification number) to buy property in Spain, and it is also needed for many of the contracts and payments that follow.

Define what you want to achieve

A renovation brief does not need to be technical. It needs to be honest about how you will use the house, which rooms matter most, what you would like to change and what you are prepared to spend. Typical aims include opening a layout towards the view, adding bathrooms, upgrading glazing and insulation, refurbishing a pool or creating better outdoor living.

It also helps to decide early whether the project is a cosmetic refresh, a full renovation or a reconfiguration. Those three categories differ greatly in cost, permits and time.

Set a realistic budget range

A first budget range, even a rough one, shapes every decision that follows. Our villa renovation cost guide in the Insights section explains the main cost drivers, and the section on budgets below gives indicative ranges.

Permits and licences

Permits are municipal

In Spain, works permits are issued by the ayuntamiento (town hall). Each one applies the regional planning law, which in the Valencian Community is the TRLOTUP (Decreto Legislativo 1/2021), together with its own local planning rules, the Plan General. The practical consequence is that the same works can need a different procedure in two neighbouring towns. What applied to a friend’s villa in one municipality may not apply to yours.

Minor works and major works

Most procedures fall into two broad groups.

	Minor works	Major works
Typical examples	Non-structural interior works, kitchens and bathrooms without structural changes, flooring, painting	Structural changes, extensions, changes to façade or volume, change of use, new pools in many municipalities
Usual procedure	Declaración responsable or comunicación previa	Licencia de obra mayor
Technical project	Not usually required	Normally required
Indicative timing	Can allow work to start within weeks	Commonly several months, often 2–6+, varying a lot by town hall

A declaración responsable is a formal statement, submitted to the town hall, that the works comply with the rules; it generally allows work to begin once filed, subject to later checks. A licencia de obra mayor is a full licence, granted after the town hall reviews a technical project.

The boundary between the two is not always obvious. Replacing windows with a different appearance, enclosing a terrace, adding a pergola or building a retaining wall can fall either side depending on the municipality. Confirm with the ayuntamiento, usually through your architect or builder, before you finalise the design.

Starting work without the right permit

Starting works under the wrong procedure, or without one, can lead to stoppages and fines, and it can cause problems later when you sell. It is one of the common renovation mistakes in Spain that is entirely avoidable.

Architects and technical professionals

When a technical project is needed

Spain’s Building Act, the LOE (Ley 38/1999), requires a technical project for works on existing buildings that alter the architectural configuration. In practice, that means works that change the exterior composition, the volume or the structural system, or that change the use of the building. Removing a load-bearing wall, adding a floor, extending the footprint or significantly changing the façade generally falls into this category.

Our article do you need an architect to renovate a house in Spain? looks at this question in more detail.

Who does what

Professional	Typical role
Arquitecto (architect)	Designs the project, prepares the technical project for the licence, and directs the works where required
Arquitecto técnico / aparejador	Typically handles site direction for execution, controls quality and measurements, and can sign certain non-structural projects
Health and safety coordinator	Required when more than one contractor or self-employed tradesperson works on site (RD 1627/1997)
Interior designer	Develops layout, lighting, materials and joinery specification
Installers and engineers	Design and certify electrical, plumbing, climate and solar installations

On a larger project, these roles work together. The architect sets the design and technical framework, the arquitecto técnico follows execution on site, and installers certify their own systems.

Why oversight on site helps

Even where it is not strictly required, a technician or project manager who checks progress and confirms stages before payment is valuable, especially if you are not on site. Their sign-off gives you confidence that what you are paying for has been done.

Choosing who will deliver the works

Ways to organise the project

On the Costa Blanca you will find general builders who coordinate trades, design-and-build firms with their own design capability, specialists such as pool companies, kitchen studios, window manufacturers, landscapers, climate and solar installers, and renovation companies that manage the whole project. A pool refurbishment or new glazing may be handled entirely by one specialist.

A full villa renovation usually involves a builder, several specialist trades, an architect and the town hall. If you organise it yourself, you become the person who links them together. With renovation project management, one company manages the complete renovation, from brief and budget to permits, works and handover, and you have a single point of contact. For owners abroad, that removes most of the coordination burden.

What to check

Whichever route you choose, ask for and verify:

• company details and tax registration;
• civil liability insurance, and its scope;
• examples of comparable work you can see, ideally with the chance to speak to previous clients;
• who will manage the site day to day, and in which languages;
• how they handle variations, delays and defects;
• their current workload and realistic start date.

Our article on how to choose a renovation company on the Costa Blanca goes through these points in more depth.

Comparing quotes

If you are tendering to several builders, quotes are only comparable if they are based on the same information. Ideally, every builder receives the same drawings, finishes schedule and specification, and returns a presupuesto broken down by chapters (demolition, structure, plumbing, electrics, carpentry, finishes and so on) with quantities. A short lump-sum quote without a breakdown makes it difficult to compare, and harder to price variations later.

Be wary of quotes that are much lower than others. They often exclude items the others have included, or rely on variations to recover margin.

Budgets, taxes and fees

Indicative costs

Costs vary enormously by scope, access, specification and finishes. As broad, indicative ranges for the Costa Blanca in 2026, excluding VAT, fees and taxes:

Type of work	Indicative range
Cosmetic refresh (paint, some floors, no layout change)	roughly €300–€600/m²
Full renovation, good mid-to-high specification	roughly €900–€1,500/m²
High-end / architect-led renovation with reconfiguration	roughly €1,500–€2,500+/m²
Kitchen	roughly €25,000–€80,000+
Bathroom	roughly €12,000–€35,000+ each
Pool refurbishment	roughly €15,000–€60,000+ depending on scope

A proper survey and an itemised budget are the only reliable numbers. Our article on where to spend your budget when renovating a villa looks at how to prioritise.

VAT (IVA)

The general VAT rate in Spain is 21%. A reduced 10% rate can apply to renovation and repair works on homes used privately by an individual, when the home was completed at least two years earlier and the materials supplied by the contractor do not exceed 40% of the taxable base. Conditions apply, and the contractor or a tax adviser confirms whether the reduced rate applies case by case. It is worth raising early, as it can affect how the contract is structured.

Municipal taxes and deposits

• ICIO (Impuesto sobre Construcciones, Instalaciones y Obras), the municipal construction tax, is set by each town hall up to a legal maximum of 4% of the execution budget.
• Licence fee (tasa), charged by the town hall for processing the application.
• Waste-management deposit (fianza de residuos), requested by many towns and generally returned once proper disposal is demonstrated.

Professional fees

Architect, arquitecto técnico, health and safety coordination, engineering and interior design fees are separate from the construction budget. Ask each professional to set out their fees and deliverables in writing.

Contingency

Older properties in particular can reveal surprises once walls and floors are opened. Holding a contingency in your budget, rather than spending to the limit on the quoted figure, allows you to deal with them calmly.

Contracts and payments

What a good contract includes

A written contract is good practice for any renovation, and essential for larger ones. It generally includes:

• a detailed budget (presupuesto by chapters or bill of quantities);
• specifications of materials, including brands or equivalents where relevant;
• a timeline with start and completion dates;
• a payment schedule tied to milestones;
• how variations are requested, priced and approved;
• a retention, often 5%, held until defects are resolved;
• who obtains which permits and pays which fees;
• insurance details, including the contractor’s civil liability insurance.

If you do not read Spanish fluently, ask for a bilingual version or an English translation, and agree which language prevails.

Paying in stages

Payments tied to completed milestones, such as demolition complete, first-fix installations complete, plastering complete, rather than to calendar dates, keep payment aligned with progress. Where possible, have each milestone confirmed by your technician before you pay. Avoid paying large sums in advance beyond a reasonable deposit for materials or mobilisation.

Variations

Most projects have some changes along the way. Agree in the contract that variations must be priced and approved in writing before the work is done, and keep a simple log. This is where budgets most often drift.

Liability periods

The LOE sets liability periods for building defects: one year for finishing defects, three years for defects affecting habitability, and ten years for structural defects. How these apply depends on the type of works and the parties involved, so ask your architect or lawyer how they relate to your project.

Planning and timelines

Indicative durations

Phase	Indicative duration
Design and specification	1–3 months
Detailed budgeting and scheduling	3–8 weeks
Declaración responsable	Can allow work to start within weeks
Licencia de obra mayor	Commonly several months, often 2–6+, varies by town hall
Kitchen or bathroom works	4–10 weeks
Full apartment renovation	3–5 months
Full villa renovation	6–12+ months

Our article on how long a villa renovation takes breaks these phases down further.

Seasonal factors

Two seasonal patterns shape most Costa Blanca projects. First, Spanish August holidays slow down suppliers, factories and town halls, so orders and applications made in late July can wait several weeks. Second, many tourist municipalities and urbanisations restrict noisy works in July and August. Planning the heaviest work for autumn, winter and spring, and finishing before summer, is common.

Autumn also brings the possibility of heavy rain episodes (DANA). Roofs, terraces and waterproofing are best closed before they arrive.

Ordering long-lead items

Made-to-measure windows, kitchens, stone worktops and some imported materials have their own lead times. Confirm them at contract stage and build them into the programme.

Managing a renovation from abroad

Many owners on the Costa Blanca live in the UK, Northern Europe or elsewhere. You do not need to be in Spain to renovate your home in Spain: it is common and entirely workable, but it rewards preparation. Our article on renovating a property in Spain from abroad covers this in detail; the essentials are below.

Decide before you leave

The more that is decided before works start, the less needs to be decided remotely under pressure. A full specification, with finishes chosen and samples approved, is the best protection against misunderstandings.

Reporting and communication

Agree how often you will receive updates and in what form: weekly photos and short videos, a written progress note, and site meetings by video call at key milestones. Agree a single point of contact who communicates in a language you are comfortable with and speaks for the whole project, not just one trade.

Eyes on site

A project manager or arquitecto técnico can visit regularly, check work against the contract and specification, confirm milestones before payments and flag problems early. For owners who are rarely on site, this is often the most valuable role in the project, and in a managed renovation it is part of the service.

Paperwork and power of attorney

Many owners grant a notarised power of attorney (poder notarial) to a lawyer for specific paperwork, such as dealing with utility contracts, registry matters or town hall procedures. Keep it limited to the tasks you need. Keep copies of every contract, licence, certificate and invoice in one shared place.

For more on how CostaVeyra manages renovations for owners who live abroad, see our page for international homeowners.

Communities of owners and urbanisations

Apartments

Apartment buildings have a comunidad de propietarios. Works within your own apartment do not usually need a community vote, but anything affecting common elements or the façade, such as windows with a different appearance, terrace enclosures, external units or structural walls, generally needs community approval, and the administrator may need to be informed. Read the community statutes and any internal rules before you design.

Buildings also have practical rules: working hours, lift protection, where skips and materials can go, and summer restrictions. A team used to apartment work will plan around them.

Urbanisations

Many villas on the Costa Blanca sit within urbanisations that also have a community of owners. Some have their own rules on boundary walls, colours, heights, pergolas or works periods. Check them alongside the municipal rules, as both can apply.

Coastal and planning constraints

The Ley de Costas

Properties close to the shoreline may fall within the protection easement of the Ley de Costas (Ley 22/1988). The easement generally extends 100 metres from the inner limit of the shore, or 20 metres in some urban land classified before 1989, and restricts what works are allowed. If your property is near the sea, check this before planning extensions or new structures.

Local planning rules

The Plan General and any detailed local plans set rules on plot occupation, heights, setbacks and permitted uses. They determine whether an extension, a new pool or a raised terrace is possible at all, and at what size. An architect can review these before you invest in design.

Topography and access

Much of the northern Costa Blanca, around Jávea, Moraira, Benissa and Altea, is hilly, and many villas sit on sloping plots with terraced gardens and retaining walls. Access for machinery, the condition of existing walls and drainage on the slope all affect cost and method. Each area of the coast has its own character, and local builders know these conditions well.

Climate

Strong sun and UV, salt air near the sea, summer heat and occasional heavy autumn rain all influence specification: shading, insulation and cooling; corrosion-resistant fixings and joinery; and careful drainage and waterproofing.

After completion

Final certificates and handover

At the end of works requiring a technical project, the director of works generally issues a final certificate of works (certificado final de obra). Installers issue certificates for electrical and other installations, which are needed for utility contracts. Ask for a complete handover file: certificates, warranties for equipment and materials, as-built drawings where relevant, and maintenance instructions.

Snagging and retention

Walk the property with the builder, list any defects, and agree a date by which they will be resolved. The retention held under the contract is released once they are.

Warranties under the LOE

Keep your contract, invoices and certificates. They are the basis for any claim under the liability periods set by the LOE: one year for finishing defects, three years for habitability defects and ten years for structural defects.

Updating the cadastre and registry

Where works change the built area, such as an extension or a new enclosed space, the description of the property in the cadastre (Catastro) and the land registry (Registro de la Propiedad) generally needs to be updated. Your architect, lawyer or notary can explain the steps. Keeping these records aligned with what is built avoids problems on sale or inheritance.

Energy certificate

An Energy Performance Certificate (certificado de eficiencia energética) is required to sell or rent a property. If your renovation included insulation, glazing, heat pumps or solar, a new certificate records the improvement. Our page on energy upgrades explains typical measures.

How CostaVeyra fits in

CostaVeyra is a renovation company that manages complete villa and home renovations on the Costa Blanca, from concept to completion. We survey the property, define the brief and budget, set the design direction, coordinate the architect and permits where needed, and plan and oversee the works delivered by our project team and our network of trusted professionals: builders, pool specialists, joiners, installers, interior designers and landscapers. We monitor the site, report to you with photos and video, and take care of snagging and handover. Technical projects are signed by the architect of record, and the contractual set-up is explained in writing during project definition, before any work starts. You can read how we work, see our approach to villa renovation on the Costa Blanca, or discuss your project with us.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules vary by municipality and change over time; confirm specifics with the ayuntamiento, an architect, a lawyer or a tax adviser. Last reviewed October 2026.