Can you remove a wall or make a structural opening in a València flat?

An open kitchen or larger living room often begins with a question about a wall. Its thickness, sound when tapped or appearance on an estate-agent plan is not enough to establish its structural role. The assessment must consider the building and the proposed work together.

Identify the construction and its role

Gather available drawings and information about earlier alterations. The appointed professional inspects the relevant construction and identifies what further investigation is needed. That may include controlled opening-up where it is justified and authorised. A neighbour’s completed opening does not prove the same solution is appropriate in your flat.

Check for services as well as structure. Pipes, cables, ventilation routes or shared elements may be concealed in a wall that appears to be a simple partition. Suspected hazardous material should be assessed before disturbance. Before demolition or maintenance, employers must identify materials that may contain asbestos, using information from the owner where appropriate. Suspected material requires assessment before disturbance; covered asbestos work is subject to specialist controls, an approved work plan and company registration as applicable.^[6]

Define the proposed intervention

Removing a non-load-bearing partition, forming a new opening and replacing principal structural elements are not interchangeable scopes. UR.LC.140 includes certain structural modifications that do not replace or reinstate principal structural elements. A competent technician must establish the intervention, documentation and correct permission route before demolition; a structural change is not automatically covered by a simple interior-works declaration.^{[1, 2]} The responsible technician establishes the project requirements and the appropriate municipal procedure for the actual proposal. LOE article 2 requires a project for existing-building works that alter architectural configuration, including specified substantial changes to exterior composition, volume or the overall structural system, and changes of characteristic use. It also covers interventions affecting protected elements of listed buildings; not every interior refit meets these tests.^[3]

Avoid a blanket assumption that every structural alteration is covered by a declaration, or that every one automatically requires the same licence route. The type of work, any required certification and the building’s protection status matter. The permits guide provides the broader route explanation.

Appoint the design and construction roles

For residential building work within the LOE’s project requirements, the law assigns the architectural project and works direction to an architect, and material execution direction to a technical architect. Specialist designers and other technicians act within their legal competence and the agreed project team.^[3] The appointment should identify who assesses the existing structure, who designs the intervention, who provides any required technical direction and who performs the construction work.

Ask how the design addresses temporary support, load transfer, connections and the sequence of work. Those are project-specific engineering decisions; they should not be replaced by a contractor’s customary detail or an online sketch. We coordinate the agreed professionals and trades as part of our structural alterations service.

Resolve the community and municipal requirements

An owner must notify the community’s representative before works inside a flat. Article 7.1 allows those alterations only if they do not impair the building’s safety, general structure or exterior configuration, or prejudice another owner’s rights; notice alone does not authorise changes to common elements.^[4] Where the work affects structure or common elements, the relevant community decision must be addressed before the affected work starts. ^[4] The community’s decision does not replace the municipal procedure, and a municipal filing does not by itself settle private ownership or community requirements.

Give the administrator a clear description and the information the technical team considers necessary. Allow time for questions rather than scheduling demolition on the assumption that consent is automatic. Protection and heritage requirements must be checked separately where applicable.

Plan safety, inspection and records

The promoter must appoint a safety and health coordinator during construction when more than one company, a company with self-employed workers, or several self-employed workers take part. Appointing a coordinator does not remove the promoter’s own responsibilities.^[5] The work sequence and safe access arrangements must be established by the responsible team. Occupation of the flat during the intervention should be assessed as part of that plan, including the effect on the building and neighbours.

Agree the inspection points before structural work is concealed. Keep the approved design, relevant calculations, inspection records and any approved changes in the project file. Photographs are useful supporting records, but they do not replace required technical checks or completion documents.

Before authorising the work

• Is the wall’s role established, with investigation limitations recorded?
• Is there a defined design for both the permanent work and its construction sequence?
• Are the professional appointments and responsibilities clear?
• Are the community and municipal requirements resolved for this particular intervention?
• Are inspection points, documentation and making good included in the quote?

Resolve these questions before the opening becomes part of a promised room layout. If the original idea is unsuitable, a designer can help compare a smaller opening or a different arrangement before you commit to the rest of the renovation.