La Zarza

Can you build a house on rustic land?

Extremadura requires at least 1.5 ha for a new house on rustic land.

Ley 11/2018, art. 70. A town plan can be stricter.

Plan in force: Normas Subsidiarias (an older, simpler plan), from 1994. The region's planning viewer ↗

The national urban information system (SIU) maps the land class for 100% of the municipality.

Only the town hall can confirm it, in writing: ask for a certificado urbanístico.

Is there water?

IGME records 6 wells and boreholes in La Zarza. Half of the 6 with a depth found water at 30–68 m.

Ground: 42% practically impermeable; 27% porous aquifer, medium productivity; 21% low permeability, local groundwater only; 10% surface water body.

Choosing where to drill takes a hydrogeologist.

What to watch for

• 3 fires since 2016 reached the municipality: 96 ha in all, the latest in 2025.
• 6% of the municipality lies in the 100-year flood zone; 7.5% in the 500-year one.
• 5.2% of the municipality is preferential flow zone, where new building is generally banned.
• 21% of the municipality is Natura 2000: new works need the region's consent.
• 0.7% of the municipality is a protected natural area, whose plan limits what can be done.
• Radon zone I: new and restored homes need radon protection by law.

Living here

• 4G reaches 100% of homes; fibre 93%. Averages for the municipality.
• Rain: 408 mm a year (1971–2000), about 363 by 2041–2070.
• Summer highs: 32.7 °C, about 36.3 °C by 2041–2070.
• Frost days: 11 a year, about 3 by 2041–2070.

Around it

Don Álvaro · Villagonzalo · Alange · Torremejía · Oliva de Mérida · Mérida · Almendralejo