The Spanish government will toughen restrictions in flood-prone areas: new buildings will not be allowed to have a garage

BarcelonaThe Spanish government will toughen restrictions on building in flood-prone areas. The executive wants to approve new regulations to ensure that homes created in these areas cannot have garages or basements. The draft royal decree on flood risk management, which will be released for public information this Thursday, establishes that new homes built in flood-prone areas must be raised at least one meter above the water level. The new rule also prohibits these new constructions from having underground garages, basements, or any underground buildings.

In addition to toughening construction requirements, the text stipulates that buildings already constructed in flood-prone areas will have to undergo adaptation and defense processes. For this purpose, measures must be taken to reduce the consequences of floods, which is the most harmful natural phenomenon in Spain.

In flood-prone areas, when it comes to rural land, new essential facilities or services, covered sports centers, commercial areas, or campsites cannot be built. However, construction will be permitted on urbanized land in flood-prone areas, but at least one meter above the flood level and without any spaces that are below ground.

Regarding preferential flow zones – the strips of flood-prone areas where water flow concentrates during river floods – on rural land, actions can only be taken to prevent risks, with very limited exceptions. On urbanized land in these particularly dangerous areas, new residential uses are prohibited, and the special regime for municipalities affected by preferential flow zones is abolished. Nevertheless, the draft royal decree provides for a special regime for municipalities with more than one-third of their surface area in a flood-prone zone.

"It's no longer worth running away"

Currently, the civil protection plans of the municipalities are generally focused on evacuation, and from now on they will have to include a new plan for adaptation to flood risk. "Running away is no longer enough. Technology makes it possible for water not to enter buildings," indicated sources from the Ministry of Ecological Transition. This ministry is working with the Ministry of Housing on a model ordinance for municipalities, which they can then adapt to the particularities of their territory.

Among other measures, the text proposed by the executive requires that, when a property in a flood-prone area is bought or sold, the flood risk affecting that property must be stated in both the deeds and the registry, "so that the buyer is well informed". Minister Sara Aagesen referred to this point of the royal decree from Valencia, where she pointed out that "knowing the information does not mean that this dwelling cannot be inhabited, but rather that in a situation of risk, it must be known that this house is more vulnerable".