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PROPERTY

Looking to buy a house in Spain? These historical casas are the stuff of dreams

Long before Spaniards moved into cramped apartment blocks in the cities, each region had its own charming house style. Want to see if any of them are your dream home in Spain?

Published: 1 November 2018 17:37 CET
Looking to buy a house in Spain? These historical casas are the stuff of dreams
Photos: José Luis Filpo Cabana/Wikimedia

A whopping two-thirds of Spaniards live in apartments – more so than anywhere else in Europe – but this wasn’t always the case.

Back when the population was more rurally based, the wealthier members of society lived in some pretty splendid houses, each cultural region developing its own particular design and idiosyncrasies for its staple home.

So if flat-dwelling in Spain isn’t for you and you’re willing to sacrifice some of the perks of living in the city, these historic casas may be what you didn’t know you were actually after.

Granted most of them don’t come cheap and others may be in desperate need of renovation, but as we said in the title, these casas are “the stuff of dreams”.

(We’ll include links to actual listings if available)

Galician Pazo

Spain’s lush, Celtic region of Galicia in the northwest of the country has more rain than Andalusia but these chateaux-like homes really make up for it.

Photo: Deposit Photos

Once the homes of Galician nobility, many pazos are on sale currently, the more stately going for just under €3 million and the more modest (but still magnificent) are on sale for around €200,000. Check Idealista's pazo listings here as well as Galician Country Homes, an English-language estate agency offering some good deals on pazo homes. 

Photo: Rodrigo Teijeira/Wikimedia

Valencian Barraca

These triangular, often elongated houses are still found across rural Valencia, Catalonia and some parts of Murcia. They’re cosier and quainter than Galician pazos but that is also reflected in the price.

Barracas were traditionally the homes of Valencian farmers so the houses often come with an orchard or plot of land.

If you’d rather live a simpler life an hour or so from Valencia or Alicante, here are some barracas on sale. 

Photo: Joan Banjo/Wikimedia

Catalan Masía

A masía is the name given to a country house in Catalonia. Traditionally they have a distinctive Romanesque design and are made of stone.

Masías are warm and full of character, but house prices in the region aren’t the cheapest in Spain, with most of these rustic homes going for a few million euros. 

Photo: Can Moriscot/Wikimedia

Basque Caserío

Spain’s Basque Country and Navarre regions have some of the country’s most pristine wilderness, a perfect setting if you want to live a rural life in Spain (although your elderly neighbours may only speak Basque to you).

Caseríos, the traditional farmhouses of the regions, are robust stone structures of usually three floors. Again, given Navarre and the Basque Country's higher rent per capita, caseríos don’t come that cheap.

Photo: Enrique Domingo/Flickr 

Andalusian Cortijo

The house pictured may look a bit rough around the edges but it still illustrates the grandieur and Moorish style of Andalusian architecture.

Cortijos, the traditional homes of landowners in sun-drenched Andalusia, often include larges plots of land, plenty of rooms and ornate inside patios.

Photo: Ventura Carmona/Flickr

Many have been revamped, so it’s up to you if you want to find a bargain cortijo and give it the ‘Grand Designs’ treatment.

These quintessentially southern Spanish homes (also found in Extremadura) are listed more often as “finca rústica” than cortijos, in case you want to find out more about them.

Andalusia offers much more competitive property prices than Catalonia, the Basque Country and Asturias. For the creme de la creme of cortijos, click here. For the bargains, check this site instead.

Photo: Lufragani/Wikimedia 
 

For members

LEGAL HELP

Noisy local fiestas: What to do when your Spanish town hall is responsible

Town and city fiestas are commonplace in Spain and they’re part of what made many of us fall in love with the country in the first place, but sometimes the town hall can overstep and the noise pollution just gets too much to bear for neighbours.

Published: 22 May 2024 09:35 CEST
Noisy local fiestas: What to do when your Spanish town hall is responsible

It’s bad enough in Spain when you have to deal with noisy neighbours or loud bars and clubs, but what about when the culprit is your ayuntamiento (town hall) or city council?

If you want to know what your rights are on noise from construction, find out here, what to do about noisy neighbours here and about bars and clubs here. 

During these local fiestas (every city, town and village has at least one a year), councils set up concert and performance venues form of open-air stages or tents called casetas or carpas.

In these cases, there’s often no sound insulation and the noise carries much further as everything happens outside.

Even though these festivals may only go one for a week or two, they can often disturb residents who aren’t in attendance and are trying to sleep.

You could be someone who needs extra sleep like a doctor, nurse or firefighter, you may be ill or have small children, there are many reasons why you might not be able or want to join in. Even if you are in the minority, your rights should still be respected.

In fact, in places such as Barcelona, when the local Gràcia festival takes place, there’s so much noise created by neighbourhood organisers that some people even decide to leave their apartments for the week as they know they won’t be able to sleep.

This option is of course not open to everyone, and in truth, you shouldn’t have to leave your home temporarily because of a celebration that is supposed to bring joy to the local population.

So, what can you legally do and what are your rights?

Even city and town councils must continue to comply with municipal by-laws during local fiestas. The Spanish Civil Code guarantees that you should have respect in your own home.

Law 40/2015, of October 1st, on the Legal Regime of the Public Sector, which came into force in October 2016, establishes that “Public Administrations objectively serve the general interests and act in accordance with the principles of effectiveness, hierarchy, decentralisation and coordination, with full submission to the Constitution and the Law”. 

This means that even the authorities must uphold the law and serve their people. They have a public responsibility to manage and to do it to the best of their abilities.

The first thing to keep in mind is that you stand a much better chance of getting your council to listen if you find other people who are affected too, so it’s not just you complaining on your own.

Make sure to talk to your neighbours or others living on the same street to find out if they’re also affected by the noise and form a group of people who share your grievances.

In theory, councils and ayuntamientos are in charge of enforcing celebration schedules, making sure the volume of music isn’t too loud, controlling the capacity at venues and enforcing alcohol laws so that people are not drinking on the street (if it’s not allowed in that region).

READ ALSO – FACT CHECK: No, Spain’s Balearics haven’t banned tourists from drinking alcohol

According to Law 7/2002 on protection against noise pollution, these are the maximum sound levels allowed for leisure venues:

Nightclubs: 104 decibels

Venues with musical entertainment: 90 decibels

Game rooms: 85 decibels

Bars and restaurants: 80 decibels

Find out if the festival events and activities infringe on any of these rules and regulations above and if they do then you have a case to take to your town hall.

Technically, the festivals should take place at a local fairground or somewhere away from the main residential area, but we know that this is not always the case. The concerts and events often happen in the very streets and squares where people live.

Firstly, you need to contact your ayuntamiento or local council or explain the problem. It’s best if you put it in writing so there’s a record of what you’ve said.

Try to include as much evidence as possible as to how the festivals are breaking the rules and include testimonials from as many neighbours as you can.

Organisers may not listen to you the first time, but if you keep contacting them, they will be forced to listen and have to respond.

If the situation is the same every year and they still don’t change anything, then you and your neighbours should contact a lawyer to represent you and take the matter to court.

This has actually been done several times by different communities throughout the country and in many instances, the law has sided with the people instead of the authorities.

In 2017, the Superior Court of Justice of Navarra, sided with a community of owners in Mutilva Baja when they complained about noise coming from an outdoor tent which had been erected for the festivities of the local patron saint. They claimed it was noise pollution above the legal levels and said the council had done nothing to try and reduce it.  

In another case in Getafe, thanks to a neighbourhood protest led by a lawyer specialising in noise pollution called Ricardo Ayala, the carnival celebrations were moved to the fairgrounds on the outskirts of the city.

Again in 2022, in Castilla-La Mancha, the Supreme Justice Tribunal imposed a sentence on the the Puerto Lápice City Council due to damages derived from noise pollution from musical events held in the town square.

The celebrations were not forced to be stopped completely but the council did have to agree with a limitation on hours and noise levels specifically for the concerts held in tents outside. It did not affect any other part of the festival.

Therefore, it is possible to take legal action against your ayuntamiento if they are breaking the law, but there’s no guarantee it will be a straightforward process.

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