A new layout: what can move, and what cannot

Which walls can you remove?

Internal walls fall into two groups. Partitions divide rooms and carry nothing but their own weight; in most cases they can be removed or moved. Load-bearing walls, along with pillars and beams, support the floors above; removing or opening them without proper design and support can endanger the building.

In many blocks from the second half of the 20th century, the structure is a reinforced-concrete frame of pillars and beams, and internal brick walls are partitions. But that is a general pattern, not a rule, and some older buildings rely on load-bearing walls. Thickness alone is not a reliable guide. The original drawings, if available, help; otherwise, anything doubtful needs an architect or building engineer to assess it before work starts. That assessment, and any structural design, is not part of our work.

How do kitchens and bathrooms limit a layout?

Water can be routed almost anywhere, but waste needs a continuous fall to the vertical stack, and a WC needs a large-diameter pipe. The further a bathroom or kitchen moves from the stack, the more height is needed under the floor to achieve the fall. Options are:

• keeping wet rooms close to the existing stack;
• raising the floor in the new wet area, which may create a step;
• using a WC connected to a pumped waste system, which some owners accept for a second toilet, with its own maintenance needs.

Waste pipes cannot be run through the slab into the flat below without the community’s involvement. We check levels and routes on site before agreeing to any move. See our plumbing page for more.

What are the most common layout changes?

• Opening the kitchen to the living area, fully or with a wide opening and a breakfast bar.
• Removing or shortening a corridor to enlarge rooms.
• Merging two small bedrooms into one larger room, or one bedroom into the living area.
• Adding a second bathroom or an en-suite, if the waste allows.
• Creating storage with built-in wardrobes and niches.

Each change affects light, ventilation and services. An open kitchen needs proper extraction; a bedroom must keep a window; a new bathroom needs ventilation to the outside or a mechanical extract.

Do you need the community’s permission?

Spain’s horizontal property law allows an owner to modify the architectural elements, installations or services of their flat as long as the work does not compromise the building’s safety, its general structure, its exterior configuration or appearance, or other owners’ rights. The owner must inform the community’s representative beforehand. Where the change affects shared elements — the structure, the façade, the stack — the community’s agreement is needed.

So moving partitions inside your flat generally requires notice, not approval; touching structure or the exterior requires more. If in doubt, ask the administrator early.

What paperwork does the town hall require?

In Andalusia, the regional planning law (LISTA) allows many works to proceed after filing a declaración responsable, including minor works that do not need a technical project. A layout change that affects structure, or alters the number of dwellings, will normally need a technical project and a different procedure. Each ayuntamiento publishes its own forms and requirements; exact requirements are to be verified case by case.

We explain what is usually needed for your scope, but we do not prepare technical projects or process licences.

Brick or plasterboard for the new walls?

Both are used in apartments. Brick partitions are robust and familiar to Spanish trades; plasterboard on metal frames is lighter, quicker to build and makes running services easier. Acoustic performance, fixing heavy items and humidity in wet rooms all influence the choice. Our article plasterboard or brick for a new layout compares them in more detail.

In what order should a layout change be planned?

1. Decide what you want each room to do, and how you move between them.
2. Confirm which walls are partitions and which are structural.
3. Check the waste routes for any moved kitchen or bathroom.
4. Check light and ventilation for every room in the new layout.
5. Fix the kitchen design and the lighting plan, because services depend on them.
6. Only then plan the electrics, plumbing, ceilings and finishes.

Skipping steps two to four is how layouts end up being redesigned halfway through a job. Our full renovation page shows how the layout fits into the whole sequence.

What do owners overlook when changing a layout?

The obvious questions — which wall, which room — get plenty of attention. These are the ones that tend to be missed:

• Floor levels. Removing a partition often reveals that the floors on either side are at different heights or made of different materials. A continuous new floor solves it, but must be planned.
• Ceiling marks. Where a wall met the ceiling there is usually a scar to repair, and sometimes a beam that was hidden by the wall.
• Radiators and sockets that were on the wall you removed, and now need a new home.
• Doors. A new layout changes how doors swing and where light switches belong.
• Furniture. An open-plan space looks generous empty; draw the sofa, the table and the kitchen island before deciding.

Each is easy to solve on paper and annoying to discover on site, which is why we walk through the new layout room by room with you before the first wall comes down.

Official sources

• Ley 49/1960 de Propiedad Horizontal (BOE, consolidated text)
• Ley 7/2021 (LISTA), arts. 137–138, as cited in a municipal minor-works declaración responsable form