What renovations do not need permit

The best advice is to contact the people that can actually answer your questions, starting at the town hall. You can ask here or on Facebook or in a bar and various people will tell you various things, none of which you can rely on. There have been and I'm sure will continue to be many instances of illegal builds and renovations and numerous people will tell you that they did this or that and it was fine. It may be but crucially it may not be. Go to the people that matter and ask them. Or at the very least ask your lawyer. To a large degree that's what they are there for, not just conveyancing. Good luck!

Hi there,

I can only echo what AndyP has said, go to the ayuntemiento. In Torrox, it all depends whereabouts you live, as the council has recently clamped down on works being done in the old town. It seems there are regulations that people have been ignoring so, in order to preserve the historic area, those regulations are being strictly enforced and anyone (past or present) is risking their renovations being torn down. Yes, it is tedious, yes it is lengthy, yes it can be a pain but, it is unavoidable. However, even if you live elsewhere in the pueblo, you will still need permissions to do most works.

You only need a permit for structural works involving alterations or extensions to the fabric of the building. Renovating, installing air con, replacing old for new like-for-like as in fitted kitchen, bathroom, redecorating etc do not need permits unless they require structural alterations. Check with the council office in the Square. 

You will require a License De Obra which can be obtained from the town hall but have a look at this website: http://www.spanishsolutions.net/property-in-spain/building-licences/