Log Homes

[colm o'shea]

I am thinking of purchasing a suitable type of log home to be erected on land in the lower Ronda area. Does anyone have any experience of such a project ? the type of timber I am contemplating is kiln dried cedar which would be brought in from Canada. I would however consider purchasing from within Spain, anyone know of any manufacturers who also erect the house also ?

[Valencia_Paul]

It used to be the case that you could get away with a log cabin on some rustic plots i.e. those without proper planning permission for a permanent house to be built. It would have been classed as a mobile home in the same way as a caravan. The authorities are clamping down on these sorts of loopholes.

Sorry this doesn't answer your question but I would be very wary about the legal side of things.

[silver]

As noted by Valencia_Paul ...no advantages in a log built home anymore...but if you like them you can still find lots on sale here.

[Lorraine - Mijas]

Last year a friend of mine investigated the possibility of siting a log home on his plot of land in Cartama area, his lawyer advised it would be possible but on further investigation with the Town hall he was informed that as Log houses require foundations, they cannot be considered as mobile and therefore are subject to the same strict regulations and permissions as a traditional build.

[Sad K]

[quote="colm o'shea"]I am thinking of purchasing a suitable type of log home to be erected on land in the lower Ronda area. Does anyone have any experience of such a project ? the type of timber I am contemplating is kiln dried cedar which would be brought in from Canada. I would however consider purchasing from within Spain, anyone know of any manufacturers who also erect the house also ?[/quote

My family recently bought a house in Nueva Andalucia, within the plot and hidden from the road by a tall wall is a log cabin, approx 4x5 metres which is quite attractive and built by the previous owner as a drinking den for himself and his buddies as his wife did not allow drinking in the house.

The previous owner bought the house as a new build and apparently added the log cabin without permission, when we moved in we applied for permission to extend it and connect water and electricity, this is when we discovered the problem.
Our lawyer (one of the few left in Marbell) is currently negotiating with the town council, or whoever is responsible to allow us to keep it, our lawyer has told us to be prepared to dismantle it if we lose our appeal.
I know this has nothing whatsoever to do with you but it serves to highlight the potential problems of building/buying log houses, I have heard several stories of people in the campo suffering from bad or non existant planning permission for these structures, be aware!!

[spanish_lad]

not being funny sad k,. but why did you tell them anyways ? i mean, why not just get a plumber and spark to do it and not say anything ?

[El Cid]

I am thinking of purchasing a suitable type of log home to be erected on land in the lower Ronda area.

Short answer - don't even think about it.

Wooden houses are almost always illegal - whatever the seller may say.

You will never get planning permission to erect one. If you do it without a licence be prepared for a knock on the door, a large fine and a demolition order.

If you have any doubts about this go and ask at the Town Hall.

Sid

[Sad K]

not being funny sad k,. but why did you tell them anyways ? i mean, why not just get a plumber and spark to do it and not say anything ?

Because I wasn't aware at the time that (a) it was erected illegally and (b) I didn't find that out until I asked an architect to draw up plans to extend the log house, it was he who pointed out that I needed certain permits, this is when it came to light, unfortunately the lawyer who originally handled the sale is not dealing with the current issue and he missed this point!

At this juncture I'm sorely tempted to just rip the thing down and save any further expense, but we'll wait and see!

[Beachcomber]

As a follow up to this thread I thought this news item may be of interest.

[Bongtrees]

Wooden houses are almost always illegal - whatever the seller may say.
You will never get planning permission to erect one.Sid

It is perfectly possible to obtain planning permission to erect a log home on urban or rustic land of sufficient size in the Valencia area.

I have recently obtained permission to erect one on land I own. I have visited several suppliers and am curently considering a model with insulated cavity wall construction.

Given the boom in building in Valencia area, the lack of building skills and good practices I am seriously considering it.

Mike

[El Cid]

It is perfectly possible to obtain planning permission to erect a log home on urban or rustic land of sufficient size in the Valencia area. Mike

The key point is "urban land" or rustic land of "sufficient" size.

Very few people erect log houses on urban land - it is almost always on rustic land. Even with urban land there is no guarantee that you will get a licence, it depends on the local rules - suffice it to say that there are very few log houses built in urban areas.

The original post talked about erecting a log home on "land" - that usually implies rustic land. In Andalucia (which is what this forum is geared to) sufficient land is normally over 30000 m2 and licences will only be granted to bona fide "farmers".

Sid

[Beachcomber]

Is this any help:

http//www.artcraftshomes.com/acengels.htm

Not really as it doesn't appear to address the question of permission to erect them.

Just in case anyone missed the embedded link it my previous post this is a copy of the article published in Typically Spanish.

Prison sentence for building a wooden house
By m.p.
Sun, 25 Jun 2006, 20:50

The Málaga prosecutor’s decision last month to crack down on the illegal construction of wooden houses has resulted in a first prison sentence at the provincial courts.

A man identified as AAJ has been sentenced to six months imprisonment for building his house on agricultural land in Alhaurín de la Torre, in the area of Santa Amalia. The appeal ruling overturns a previous acquittal from Court No. 6 in Málaga.

He is said to have gone ahead with the construction in 2000 despite his application for planning permission being refused. The land is not classified as suitable for development.

The court agreed with the prosecutor’s argument that owners of land where illegal construction takes place can be found guilty of planning crimes, even when the actual construction is carried out by a third party. The ruling referred to a Supreme Court ruling whereby any person or company can be considered a developer in building projects they have invested in, either with their own funds or others, even if title is not theirs at the time.

© typicallyspanish.com

[malagaman2005]

Beachcomer,

You're right it doesn't address the permission to build question but the original post asked about suppliers and possibilities of them erecting them so I was just answering that.

[Beachcomber]

Oh, sorry, I didn't realise that.

It's just that the original post was in March and I had resurrected the thread because of the news item about someone having been sent to prison for building one without permission.

[malagaman2005]

No problemo