Lardero creates an urban planning fee of up to 0.50% of the construction budget

The Plenary of the Lardero City Council, in an ordinary session held on October 14, 2026, definitively approved the imposition of the fee for the processing of licenses and authorizations, control and inspection of responsible declarations and prior communications required by urban planning regulations, along with the tax ordinance that regulates it. The agreement and the full text of the ordinance are published in the Official Gazette of La Rioja no. 201, of Monday, October 19, 2026, with official reference BOR-A-20261019-III–3940 and file number 202610150125024.

The publication is carried out in compliance with article 17.4 of Royal Legislative Decree 2/2004, of March 5, which approves the Revised Text of the Law Regulating Local Treasuries. The agreement was signed in Lardero on October 15, 2026, by the Mayor-President, Isabel Barceló Martínez.

Allegations from the construction employers’ association

The definitive approval comes after resolving the claims submitted during the public information period. The Plenary partially upheld the allegations of the Association of Construction, Promotion and Related Entrepreneurs of La Rioja, regarding the tax quota in cases of transfer, extension or suspension of licenses, as well as withdrawal or waiver of the same, cases which are removed from the fee quota.

The remaining allegations were dismissed, according to the reasons set out in the report of the Municipal Architect of October 1, 2026, and in the report of the Municipal Treasury of October 2, 2026. The City Council maintains that the fee, all its elements, and the approval procedure comply with the legal system and respect the tax and local treasury principles, a fact evidenced in the economic-financial report and in the rest of the documents in the file.

Rates from 0.40% to 0.50% of the execution cost

The taxable base is the material execution cost of the work or action. For minor works, fencing and enclosures, the material execution budget signed by the party executing them is taken; when a technical project is required, the budget contained therein, endorsed by the corresponding professional college if mandatory. The City Council reserves the right to review that budget and, if the municipal technical services detect a disparity with the documentation provided, it will apply its own costs.

The tax rates are as follows:

• Execution budget less than or equal to 30,000 euros: 0.40%, with a minimum fixed amount of 35 euros.
• Budget greater than 30,000 euros and less than or equal to 300,000 euros: 0.45%.
• Budget greater than 300,000 euros: 0.50%.

Taxable persons are natural or legal persons, national or foreign, and the entities referred to in Article 35.4 of Law 58/2003, of December 17, General Tax Law, who request or are benefited or affected by the administrative activity. Builders and works contractors shall have the status of taxpayer substitutes.

Self-assessment and final settlement based on actual cost

Management is carried out under a self-assessment regime by the taxable person. Self-assessments based on the submitted budget are always provisional, and settlements become final once the work or action is completed, taking into account its actual and effective cost, with modification of the taxable base and the demand or refund of the corresponding amount. If the modification of the work causes a jump in the tax bracket, the taxable person must regularize it through a complementary self-assessment.

The ordinance does not provide for any tax benefits other than those provided for in regulations with the rank of Law and in international treaties. The notification of the expiration of a license requires requesting and obtaining a new one, using the same calculation rule. The holder must also pay for damages and defects caused on public roads or to municipal services. The fee is required without prejudice to the Tax on Constructions, Installations, and Works.

Validity and appeal

The ordinance repeals the previous fee for the processing of urban planning licenses, approved by the Plenary on November 26, 2008, and published in the Official Gazette of La Rioja no. 26, of February 25, 2009. It enters into force the day following its publication, that is, on October 20, 2026, and will remain in force until its modification or repeal.

An administrative-law appeal may be filed against the final approval agreement within a period of two months starting from the day following its publication.

The change fully affects developers, builders, and individuals processing works in the municipality, who from now on must self-assess the fee when submitting the application, responsible declaration, or prior communication, and face a final settlement adjusted to the actual cost of the executed work.

Source: Official Gazette of La Rioja, no. 201, of October 19, 2026, section III (Other provisions and acts), pp. 17558-17561 (official reference: BOR-A-20261019-III–3940).