Xabia AL DIA - Main new features introduced by the new Land Law

July 2007
The New State Land Law came into effect on July 1st 2007. It was created with the idea of controlling corruption in town planning. For the first time land is considered as a common resource for all the people, and not just as a basis of as right to urbanise on the part of the owner. Here is a summary of the main new features which the law introduces.

New system of Land Valuation:
The approach to land valuation has been changed. Before, valuation was based on classification and urban categorisation. That is to say, based on what the land value was destined to be, rather than its actual status. Now, it must be valued as it is, not as the plan says it will be in the future, because it cannot be valued based on expectations. It tries to value the real execution of the transformation of the land and not predict advantage or building potential that might materialise in the future

Distinction between rural and urbanised land:
It distinguishes between rural land (which functionally is not integrated into the urban plan) and urbanised (which has been transformed by urbanisation and is integrated into the network of resources and services of urban centres). It stopped using the technique of land classification and categorization which has to date been adopted by all the previous Land Laws (urban, urbanisable and non-urbanisable).

Right to re-appraisement:
A right to the re-appraisement of land is introduced when a modification in zoning increases the value of expropriated land. It thus protects, for example, the interests of owners of rustic land faced with the threat of expropriation created by the presentation of a PAI. The developer will no longer be able to expropriate the land at a rustic price to create urban land.

Statute of Citizenship:
It highlights regulation of the rights and responsibilities of the citizenship, which has its own statute, differentiated from that of the proprietor. The citizen also has rights and responsibilities concerning the land of his municipality; such as the right to participate in its planning, to enjoy the environment and historical heritage and the duty of protecting it, as well to respect and make rational use of the cultural heritage and urban infrastructures.

Promotion of protected housing (VPO):
The reservation of land destined for housing under some type of regime of public protection, will, as a minimum include land necessary to comprise 30% of the residential building anticipated by the Town Plan to be the land that is going to be including in urbanisation. In each new PAI, 30% of the building destined for residential use will have to be for VPOs.

Percentage of ceded land to be between 5% and 15%:
The duty of giving to the Administration land for public heritage, free of the burden of urbanisation. This to be a minimum of 5% and maximum of 15%. Before, the Administration had to pay for the urbanisation of that land. This duty also extends to urban land (before it was only done with urbanisable land).

Translated by Chris Betterton-Jones