Urban Planning and Construction: Systems, Contracts, and Regulations

Actuation Systems in Urban Planning

  • Compensation System

    Run by the owners themselves, who also create cost estimates for planning. The Junta de Compensación (JC) has legal personality.

  • Cooperation System

    The council aims to acquire market territories.

  • Expropriation System

    Owners are deprived of ownership in exchange for compensation.

  • Forced Execution System

    Applied to owners who fail to comply with the Compensation System.

  • Developer Concession System

    Benefits and burdens are shared.

Property Registration

A legal institution that provides public notice of ownership and other real rights over immovable property. It includes:

  • Public office where the institution resides.
  • All books where entries are recorded.

Types of Employment Contracts

  • Work Contract

    Two parties agree on work for wages during the life of the contractual relationship.

  • Undefined Contract

    No time limits are established for the provision of services.

  • Fixed-Term Contract

    Establishes a specific or determinable period. Examples include:

    • Contract for a specific work or service
    • Temporary contract for production circumstances
    • Interim contract
  • Respite Contract

    Replaces a worker within the company.

  • Training Contract

    Aimed at acquiring technical training and practical experience.

  • Part-Time Contract

    Service is provided for a certain amount of time.

  • Internship Contract

    Allows individuals to apply their studies in a practical setting.

Execution of Public Endowments

Dotacionales (endowment) soils are designated in planning to meet collective needs.

  • General System

    Public funding affecting the general population of a municipality.

  • Local System

    Allocation for public sector service or execution unit. In urban land-bound areas, it will be obtained through land expropriation. In urban land-unconsolidated areas, local endowments and general systems will be obtained through free and compulsory land cession.

Orders for Completion

Mandates given to owners of estates, buildings, land, lots, and signs to maintain them appropriately by conducting specific works.

PERI (Special Interior Reform Plans)

Appropriate instruments for developing estimates of the PG (General Plan) in urban land. They can involve isolated actions aimed at reducing congestion, renewing urban land uses, creating endowment buildings, improving urban facilities and sanitation districts, and enhancing the environment.

Documentation: Includes memory, plans, drawings, catalogs, plan phases, and cost estimations.

Action Reports

Any natural or legal person may request enforcement of planning legislation, plans, policies, programs, and orders before administrative bodies and contentious-administrative courts.

Checking/Rethinking Act

Determines the project’s viability in the field where the building is to be constructed. It must be signed by the builder, developer, construction manager, director of material execution, and safety and health coordinator.

Major Works

Includes new construction of buildings and facilities, alteration of volume, projects affecting the foundation or exterior design, structure, or skill requirements.

Minor Works

Simple, minor technical, constructive, and economic projects, such as repairs and decoration, that do not require a project signed by qualified professionals.

Urban Law: Penalties and Infringements

Part of the law aimed at regulating various planning infringements and penalties. It covers actions or omissions classified and penalized by legislation.

Responsibilities for Offenses

Based on the material breach:

  • Urbanization, land use, and construction: Technical developer and builder
  • Plots: Original owners and promoter activity
  • Failure to comply with orders to cease and desist: Suppliers
  • Poor maintenance: Current owners

Action by the Administration for Unlicensed Buildings

For buildings under construction, the works are first halted. An administrative inquiry is opened. If the completed work complies with urban planning, the concerned party is required to legalize it within a certain period. If the work does not comply, the Administration may require demolition, provided that the period prescribed by law has elapsed.