Rural municipalities across Catalonia, including 191 in the Lleida region, will now be able to convert existing non-urban buildings such as barns or warehouses into residential homes. The Catalan government approved a decree yesterday to simplify urban planning procedures for towns with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants.
This new regulation allows local councils to designate buildings on non-urban land, including farms, warehouses, or other properties without heritage value, for housing. Officials said this measure could be used by up to 80% of Lleida's municipalities to address depopulation and difficulties in developing new housing projects.
Streamlining Approvals for Rural Housing
To implement this change, the decree establishes that each local council will approve an inventory of buildings on non-urban land. This list will be distinct from the existing catalogue of farmhouses and rural properties designated for preservation. The new inventory will instead include buildings suitable for recovery as permanent residences or for economic activities.
These conversions will only require a municipal licence, removing the need for a report from the Generalitat's Territorial Urban Planning Commission (CTU). The new rules also permit extensions of up to 150 m² of built surface, provided there is justification for landscape integration. The decree also introduces the concept of 'rural neighbourhoods' for population centres on non-urban land that are at least 100 years old.
New Urban Development Plans
The decree introduces two new urban development frameworks for villages: the Rural Municipal Urban Planning Plan (POUM rural) for moderate growth, and planning norms for areas with no expected growth. Existing POUMs require initial approval from the local council, provisional approval from the same council, and definitive approval from the CTU. They are also subject to ordinary environmental assessments and require extensive documentation.
The Rural POUM will follow a similar process but will be subject to simplified environmental assessments and require less documentation. Planning norms, on the other hand, can be approved directly by each local council after a mandatory and binding prior report from the CTU. This change means that planning processes that currently take between seven and ten years could be approved in just two years.
Joint Contracting and Affordable Housing
The decree, explained yesterday by Minister Sílvia Paneque, also includes measures related to contracting. Rural municipalities will now be able to jointly contract both the design and execution of works for public building and construction projects.
Jaume Gilabert, the mayor of Montgai and president of Eines de Repoblament Rural, a lobby representing 500 micro-towns in Catalonia, welcomed the regulatory change. He told reporters that it addresses housing issues and helps people settle in villages.
In a related development, the government yesterday launched the first call for tenders for public land plots capable of accommodating fewer than twenty homes. This includes eight public plots in Baix Pallars, Bellver de Cerdanya, Llavorsí, Rialp, Vielha, Balaguer, and Juneda, aiming to build a total of 142 affordable rental homes across these seven municipalities.
