The Consell de Ibiza still has no date to authorize in plenary session the application of the law of administrative simplification that includes the urban amnesty among its articles. There is no deadline to pass this procedure yet. What is certain is that it will not go to the February plenary session. It is also certain that the Government will not appeal the law to the Constitutional Court.
While the PSOE has been thwarted in its attempt to suspend the measure by the courts, the Consell de Ibiza is working with town councils and the College of Architects to define the mandatory corrective criteria to be applied in the rule in each legalization project.
These are environmental measures to improve energy or water efficiency that must be implemented in each home that enjoys this exceptional period to legalize irregularities.
In the meantime, the process remains in suspenseAs of today, the additional advantages introduced during the parliamentary process of validation of the decree are not applicable until the aforementioned plenary resolution has been adopted.
Questions
The Consell de Ibiza had already approved the application of the urban amnesty in June 2024, based on the regional decree of administrative simplification. The repeal of this decree last December and its replacement by a new law obliges the island institutions to ratify the procedure again.
The three-year term starts again
The extraordinary legalization of buildings has an application period of three years, but when a new approval is required, the period will start again. In practice, this means that owners will have more time than expected to take advantage of the regularization.
The process involves a progressive cost, with significant deductions depending on the income of each owner:
- 10% of the execution budget if processed in the first year.
- 12.5% in the second year.
- 15% in the third.
Municipalities and architects, awaiting clear criteria
According to data from the Architects Association of Ibiza and Formentera provided to La Voz de Ibiza, up to February 4 they have received 65 extraordinary legalization files: 39 of them between May and December (after the approval of the decree) and 26 from December to February, already with the approval of the Balearic Law. The files are paralyzed, waiting for the Consell to resolve the situation.
Mallorca has already given the green light
While in Ibiza the process is still blocked, the Consell de Mallorca has advanced in the application of the urban amnesty. In an extraordinary plenary session held last week, the procedure for the legalization of buildings on rural land whose infringement is time-barred was once again approved. This measure is framed in the seventh provision of the Law of urgent measures of administrative simplification of the Balearic Islands.
The island’s Councilor for Territorial Planning, Fernando Rubio, explained that the modification of this provision requires the application of a new legal regime to benefit Mallorca.
The conditions include the presentation of technical projects for legalization, light pollution reduction, increased energy efficiency and the installation of water purification systems. In addition, owners must pay fees and an economic benefit for the sustainable management of natural resources and municipal heritage.
New facilities to regularize illegal works in Ibiza
Among the most noteworthy amendments of Law 7/2024, are:
- Relaxation of the prescription criteria: It is now easier to prove the prescription of illegal works, which increases the number of buildings that can benefit from the legalization process.
- Possibility of making alterations to out-of-order buildings: Owners are allowed to make improvements to their properties, as long as they comply with current environmental and safety regulations.
- Change in the meaning of administrative silence: Previously, the lack of response from the administration was interpreted as negative. With the new law, administrative silence becomes positive, providing greater legal certainty to applicants.
- Specific regulation for protected rural land: Partial regularizations are contemplated under strict environmental conditions, allowing the legalization of certain constructions in protected areas provided that environmental mitigation measures are adopted.
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Urban planning amnesty: the changes that make it easier to regularize illegal works for thousands of Ibiza property owners
