How can I get the plans of a house

Whether we buy or sell a home we have to collect certain necessary documentation to be able to carry out the operation in a safe and legal way. In addition to mandatory documents such as the energy efficiency certificate or the habitability certificate, there are other documents that are also important, although a priori they may seem more expendable, this is the case of the plans of a house, since they play a very important role in to be able to carry out any project of new construction or reform in the property.

However, it is quite common not to have the plans of a home, a situation can complicate the sale transaction, fortunately, there are some ways to obtain these documents depending on the purpose for which we need this documentation.

At Fincas La Clau we tell you how you can get the plans for a home.

The importance of home plans

The plans of a house or construction plans are the graphic representation of the work that is carried out and serve as a guide to carry out the construction work in a precise, specific and detailed way.

Through a construction plan you can visualize the concept of the project, as well as the distribution of the spaces. Information on materials, construction systems and finishes, as well as structural specifications, such as, for example: forms of connection, connections between foundations, hydraulic and electrical parts, etc. can appear on the house plans. The plans of a house are necessary to be able to request any building license or permit and to request a quote from any construction company. In addition, they are also necessary to obtain financing in the case of buying a home, since they are used to carry out the property appraisal and for the bank to estimate the financing percentage of the mortgage.

How to get the plans of a house

Given that until a few years ago it was not compulsory to keep the documentation on the construction of a property, it is much more complicated to obtain the plans of those houses that were built before the 1950s. From then on, there are some alternatives to be able to request and get the plans of a property.

In the Cadastre

The Cadastre contains all the existing cadastral parcels in our country in digital format, this information includes the perimeter of each parcel of individual properties, both local and residential, as well as the size of the legal buildings, and in some cases, the surface in square meters of each property.

At the College of Architects

The College of Architects has the obligation to keep a copy of any project that is submitted for approval, although it is important to know that this documentation is the property of the architect himself and therefore, he will be the one who has to authorize the consultation and reproduction of any document .

In the city Hall

To apply for the project at the City Council, you must make an application, which will take more or less time, depending on the age of the building, since currently the plans are also saved in digital format but there is a historical archive that is less accessible . The important thing is to know that documents cannot be photocopied or made copies.

Request a survey

The problem with these alternatives is that the original project tends to vary from what is finally carried out in the work, in addition to the fact that some new works and renovations may have been carried out in the house that have not been registered with the City Council or anywhere else. Therefore, if what we want is to obtain the current plans of our home, we will need to ask a technician to carry out a survey of plans, explaining what is the purpose for which we are going to need these documents, in order to have some plans with the necessary and precise data.