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A first occupancy license (LPO) is an official document, issued by the public administration, after verifying that the building, dwelling or construction in general has been built and executed following the technical project of work that was previously presented to the competent public administration. It is also used to legalize small modifications made to the original work, provided that the current legal regulations allow them to be legalized.
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What is the first occupancy license for?
The official documentation of a first occupancy license also serves the owner to prove that the building constructed meets all the legal requirements to be used for residential use, as a dwelling. And conversely, if the required documentation is not available, or the checks carried out have not been passed, the construction may be closed and shut down by the administration that has the powers. In the vast majority of cases, the responsible administration is the local administration, the City Council, or the Autonomous Community.
Another requirement to obtain the LPO for the dwelling is to verify that the property built meets all the health and safety requirements that are required of all new construction. But you should not confuse a certificate of occupancy with an occupancy license. While the first occupancy license verifies that the use of the new construction conforms to the current Urban Plan, the certificate of occupancy certifies that the construction meets the minimum conditions to be used as a dwelling, and may be a dwelling that has already been built, old, and was previously occupied. In several autonomous communities, both administrative acts have been unified.
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What types of constructions need a first occupancy license?
The legislative framework of this administrative act is oriented to the first use of a new construction, or to the integral rehabilitation of a second-hand building. Yes, the first occupancy license also serves for old dwellings. This category also includes premises built inside buildings, which also change their previous configuration, alternate their uses or modify the intensity and frequency of those uses. That is, if we increase the number of dwellings on a previous construction, or transform several dwellings into commercial premises, requesting and obtaining the first occupancy license is an indispensable legal requirement.
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Why do I need a first occupancy license?
Without the accreditation granted by a first occupancy certificate, it is not possible to legalize the completed construction. In addition, without the legal certificate, you will not be able to register the basic supplies for the new dwelling, such as electricity, gas or water.
When you want to register the new dwelling in the property registry, it will also be essential to present the license report. The legal document is a guarantee for third parties who acquire a property. If a person were to buy a dwelling that did not have the first occupancy license, sooner or later they will have many problems, or even will not be able to legalize or register it. It is also a protection for potential buyers.
In the Spanish courts, in the case of possible litigation, all sales of properties that did not have a first occupancy license are declared null and void. The reason? A building that does not have its first occupancy license is due to the fact that it has been built in violation of the laws, so, in addition to a very probable high financial penalty, it is possible that, if it cannot be legalized in any way, it will be forced to be demolished, the cost of which must also be borne by the owner.
Another possibility, if the property does not have the license, may be because the construction is not safe, and does not meet the minimum conditions required to be used as a dwelling. In this last case, it is possible that, always complying with the law and with the relevant permits, it can be reformed enough to, a posteriori, opt for the first occupancy license.
In the event that the Court of Justice declares the nullity of the purchase agreement, the seller must return to the buyer the total amount of the purchase, plus the corresponding taxes, interest, possible commissions and court costs that the buyer had already paid at the time of issuing the judicial resolution. It may even occur the situation where, in addition, an indemnity for damages may be claimed, in favor of the buyer, against the seller, although it will always depend on the case to be judged and the interpretation of the law by the judge. Obviously, in all these situations, the buyer will return the property subject to the sale to the seller.
How long will it take to receive the first occupancy license after the application?
It depends a lot on each responsible Public Administration, and in what period you submit the application, because according to their circumstances they will be more or less agile in processing the documentation and carrying out the corresponding checks. Sometimes the procedure is unusually fast, and surprisingly it is resolved in several days, but we all know cases in which the delay has exceeded months of waiting. If we had to establish a general rule, although we insist that it depends a lot on each administration, we could establish more or less a month of waiting.
You must also take special care when filling out the application: it is essential to review several times the data of the property, the regulations that apply, the correction in the cadastral reference and that nothing has the slightest error. The slightest difference, for example, with the official name of the street, may be sufficient reason to receive a requirement for the correction and rectification of inaccurate data. It is not necessary to point out that this requirement will further delay the final resolution of the procedure.
In the event of needing the documentation urgently, it is our responsibility to have been foresighted and to have processed all the necessary legal documentation as soon as possible. In case of urgency to resolve the procedure, we can try to attach complementary documentation that facilitates the processing. But in all cases, for any procedure with the public administration, whatever it may be, what usually works best to unblock a procedure is to appear in situ and request an appointment to be attended by the corresponding official. For our part, we always recommend being assertive, while being polite and respectful, to get to speed up the whole bureaucratic process.
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