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EXPLAINED: How foreigners in Spain can get grants for home improvements

If your home in Spain is in need of some renovation but you fear the costs will mount up, you could apply for a grant from the Spanish government. Here’s what you need to know.

Published: 20 October 2020 18:36 CEST
Updated: 11 March 2021 08:32 CET
EXPLAINED: How foreigners in Spain can get grants for home improvements
Photo: Euskalherrian/Flickr

In March 2018 the Spanish Government launched a four-year Housing Plan to address some of the issues the country’s 47 million inhabitants face when it comes to their homes.

The ten-point plan covers a wide range of housing support, from help to those who can’t afford their rent to allowing young people to access the housing market. 

But this Royal Decree also includes financial aid for people in Spain in need of some home improvements. 

Spain’s government has allocated between €350 to €370 million of its annual budget to this project, which due to the coronavirus pandemic has been extended from the end of 2021 until December 31st 2022.

What kind of home improvements can I get a grant for?

There are three clauses in Spain’s 2018 Housing Plan which deal with the renovation of properties: 

For energy efficiency reasons (Programa 5: Fomento de la mejora de la eficiencia energética y sostenibilidad en viviendas)

For conservation, safety and access reasons (Programa 6: Fomento de la conservación, de la mejora de la seguridad de utilización y de las accesibilidad en viviendas)

For urban/rural renovation or renewal reasons (Programa 7: Fomento de la regeneración y renovación urbana y rural)

In terms of energy efficiency grants, these include covering the cost of heating and air conditioning, new windows, home insulation, electrical installations and sound proofing.

For conservation, safety and access reasons, the Spanish government doesn’t provide any specific information but according to their website it can be understood as being grants for renovation needed to improve the standards of living for residents of a dwelling ie a lift or wheelchair ramp in a building where there are elderly residents.

For urban/rural renovation or renewal reasons, the Spanish government states that it includes financing for “rehabilitation work of residential buildings and individual dwellings, as well as works for the urbanisation of adjacent public spaces and construction of buildings and dwellings that replace others that have previously been demolished in the same area”. 

This means that whoever buys a derelict building in Spain can get a grant for its renovation.

It’s also worth noting that the housing improvements which you can apply for can be for either exterior or interior.

Photo: kum111/Flickr

Can foreigners in Spain get a grant?

According to the 2018 Housing Plan, foreign nationals can apply for a grant if they “are legally resident in Spain”.

This means that non-resident second home owners in Spain cannot apply. 

What other requirements are there? 

Home owners in Spain with or without a mortgage can apply, as can renters (although this should only be done if the landlord agrees). 

Most property types are eligible, from detached to terraced houses and also houses in residential communities.

If you live in a building with other flats, it’s worth noting that housing communities can make joint requests for grants for blocks of flats or apartments. 

For an entire building to be eligible, at least 50 percent of the properties must be first homes and not short-term holiday lets. 

The same applies to individual grant applications – the property must be your primary residence for at least one year before applying. 

Another requirement is that the property has to have been built and finished before 1996.

Home improvements on individual properties can’t take longer than 12 months once your municipality has issued the licence.

For blocks of flat the deadline is extended to 16 months or 18 months if they’re made up of more than 40 properties.

The company or builder must supply a legal invoice for the project to be eligible for a grant. 

How much money can the grant be worth?

If it’s a house, the highest grant amount is €12,000, or 40 percent of the cost. For flats or apartments, the grant limit is €8,000. 

If the grant is for a blocks of flats the amount is usually determined by the number of flats but still generally can’t surpass 40 percent of the total cost.

Up to €1,000 extra can be requested for improvements to properties that are registered as being of “cultural interest”.

Some regions also offer grants of up to 25 percent of the total renovation price for those under 35, especially in municipalities with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants that are looking for young residents.

However, the grant can cover 75 percent of the cost for applicants with very low incomes (lower than 3 times the IPREM indicator) or when the project is to improve access for disabled or elderly people (65 years old and over).

How do I apply for a grant?

As with many official matters in Spain, each region decides the process for applying for home improvement grants, so your first port of call should be their regional website. Look for information on “convocatorias” (grant application announcements) and their deadlines. 

Andalusia

Aragon

Asturias

Balearic Islands

Canary Islands

Cantabria

Castilla and la Mancha

Castile and Leon

Catalonia

Valencian Region

Extremadura

Galicia

The Rioja

Madrid

Murcia

Navarre

Basque Country

Ceuta

Melilla

As a general rule you will need to provide proof that the property was built and completed before 1996, which you can get from Spain’s land registry (registro catastral).

You will also generally need to attach a technical report to your application which is dated prior to your grant request and where it is clearly stated that the renovations works to be carried out were to improve energy efficiency, access, safety, building conservation etc and tangible proof that these improvements have been carried out. 

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PROPERTY

BBQs, nudity and plants: What are the balcony rules in Spain?

Though many people hang laundry, plants, and flags from their balcony, in Spain the rules on what you can and can't do on 'el balcón' are not well-known.

Published: 8 May 2024 17:13 CEST
Updated: 11 May 2024 08:31 CEST
BBQs, nudity and plants: What are the balcony rules in Spain?

Imagine the scene: you’ve just bought or signed the lease on your dream apartment. It’s bright and airy, with plenty of space, and even has a nice-sized balcony to get some fresh air on. You can do whatever you want there, right? 

Not exactly. In Spain the rules on what you can and can’t do on a balcony (even if it’s private) depend on a few factors, namely the regional and local rules, as well as getting the approval of the building’s homeowner’s association – known in Spain as la comunidad.

Some of them might just surprise you.

READ ALSO: ‘La comunidad’: What property owners in Spain need to know about homeowners’ associations

There are four main things or activities on balconies that could potentially put you on the wrong side of the local rules and even get you fined: barbecues, plants, laundry, and flags.

In all cases (even if you don’t think you’re breaking any rules) you’ll generally need to consider two things: firstly, does this affect or change the building’s façade? And secondly: will la comunidad allow it?

Barbecues

In Spain there is no national law prohibiting barbecues on private property, so in principle it is legal as long as the barbecue is lit in a private space such as your own balcony, garden or terrace, and not a shared space.

Often in Spain, the roof (usually referred to as la terrazza) is a shared space people use for storage and hanging their laundry, so be sure to check with the comunidad.

In terms of your own balcony, however, although there’s no law saying outright you can’t have a barbecue, you’ll need to take into account the rules and regulations in force in each locality or region. There may also be specific rules within the building that long-term homeowners have developed over the years.

As we will see, many of these low-level regulations are delegated to local governments and town halls in Spain, so the answer to these sorts of questions is usually: it depends where you are.

However, according to Article 7 of Spain’s Horizontal Property Law, “the owner and the occupant of the flat or premises are not allowed to carry out in it or in the rest of the property activities prohibited in bylaws, which are harmful to the property or which contravene the general provisions on annoying, unhealthy, harmful, dangerous or illegal activities.”

This basically gives your neighbours the right to complain about noise, smells, smoke and any possible fire risk in or around their building, which barbecues could plausibly fall under.

As with co-living anywhere in the world, regardless of the regional or local rules, employ some common sense: be reasonable, listen to neighbour’s concerns and take up any disputes with the President of la comunidad.

READ ALSO: What you need to know before having a barbecue in Spain

Plants

Again, with plants the responsibility falls on each local authority to set the rules. In Spain, most regions and town halls state that, as long as the architectural or structural elements of the building are not changed or weakened in any way, putting plants on your balcony is permitted.

However, note that many terraces and balconies do have maximum weight regulations that must be respected in order to guarantee their safety, which is 200kg per square metre. If this figure is exceeded (and it can be proved) you could theoretically be fined.

Laundry

Laundry lines criss-crossing the streets might be one of the more picturesque images of Spanish life, but the people doing it might actually be breaking the rules.

How do you know? You guessed it, it depends where you. You’ll need to check with your local authority on this one, though municipal regulations in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia all regulate hanging laundry from your balcony, which is again outlined in the Horizontal Property Law.

This principally seems to be because it affects the façade of the building (a common theme when it comes to balcony rules in Spain).

In places with rules about hanging laundry from balconies, you could be fined up to 750 euros if you don’t comply with the rules.

However, according to Foto Casa, even if you live in an area where there are no bans or penalties against hanging laundry on the balcony, you’ll still likely need the permission of la comunidad.

READ MORE: Spain’s weirdest laws that foreigners should know about

What about flags?

Whether it be the Spanish flag, the Catalan, Valencian or Andalusian flags, or LGBT, trade union or football team flags, flags proudly hanging from balconies is another mainstay of Spanish life.

It’s also one of the more controversial ones too, especially within comunidad meetings. Hanging flags on the balcony, as well as allegedly altering the aesthetics and security of the building (the same concern as with laundry) often has ideological connotations that can cause conflict.

Again, as with laundry, hanging flags on the balcony will require the approval of all the owners within the community, something that must be agreed at a meeting, as per the Horizontal Property Law.

However, if the flag is placed inside the property, as it is a private property, fellow homeowners cannot oppose it, even if it is visible from the street, according to Foto Casa.

Nudity 

Article of 185 of Spain’s Penal Code only considers being naked at home to be obscene exhibitionism and sexual provocation if it affects minors, in which case it is punishable with a fine or up to a year in prison.

Therefore, you could technically sunbathe shirtless or naked on your balcony in most cases without getting into trouble, although it won’t necessarily go down well with your neighbours and/or flatmates and you be reprimanded for it.

READ ALSO: Can you go shirtless or wear a bikini in the street in Spain?

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