Reform and Change of use

A change of use project serves to change the use to which a building or a part of a building is destined for a different one. It can be used to convert a premises into a home and obtain the Certificate of Habitability or to convert an office building into a hotel.

To carry it out, it will be necessary for the project to be compatible with urban legality and comply with all applicable building regulations. Except in exceptional cases, works will have to be carried out to adapt the building or premises. By changing the use of a building or premises, an increase in its heritage value is usually achieved, so this project is normally a very good investment also in economic terms.

The KAITEK ARQUITECTURA team has extensive experience drafting change of use projects. We offer you a project adapted to your needs, and an optimization of deadlines and costs

To convert a premises into a home it will be necessary:

• Comply with the conditions of habitability.
• Respect the urban regulations of the municipality.
• Comply with the technical building code.
• Follow the indications of the Regulation of thermal installations in buildings.

The applicable regulations define the viability of the change of use.

To find out if a change of use is viable, the first thing to do is to check that there is no urban incompatibility and that the allowable housing density has not been exhausted. These first verifications consult the urban planning approach and the cadastre via the Internet. The only thing we need to know to carry out these checks is the address of the premises whose use is to be changed.

Once the urban viability has been initially verified, it is necessary to start working with plans and measurements to physically verify that the project is technically viable. The habitability regulations establish a series of requirements such as the following:

• Minimum height of the house.
• Relationship between the usable area of the dwelling and the meters of façade.
• Minimum size of the different rooms and rooms that make up the house.
• Ventilation and lighting characteristics of the different rooms.
• Housing accessibility conditions.

To carry out these and other checks, it is necessary to draw up a plan of the current state of the premises, with all sizes. And work on a home distribution that meets all these requirements. In this first phase, of Preliminary Studies, is when we can clearly conclude if a change of use is viable or not. Once we consider that the project may be viable, then the Reform and Change of Use Project is carried out with which a building license is requested and finally the works are executed.

If the client and developer do not own the entire building, they must negotiate and request the permission of the neighbors to intervene in common elements.

This is the main design phase. We work on the project with the client, to adapt it to the objectives, tastes and needs, guaranteeing the safety and habitability conditions of the project by defining solutions in accordance with the regulations.

The project includes:

• Descriptive report of the general characteristics of the work and justifications of the solutions.
• General plans to scale, with dimensioned plans, elevations and sections.
• Diagram of the facilities at the pre-dimensioned level in plans.
• Measurement status.
• Budget obtained by applying unit prices of work.

With this project, the client can apply to the town hall for a building permit to convert the premises into a home and request offers from different builders to carry out the adaptation works.

The construction management serves to ensure that the work is carried out as defined in the project. KAITEK ARQUITECTURA directs the works of its projects rigorously to guarantee that everything goes well. To this end, during site visits, the necessary graphic and written orders will be issued.

Our work concludes by certifying the end of the work and processing the habitability certificate.