Mérida

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: Plan General (a full town plan), from 2000. 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 80 wells and boreholes in Mérida. Half of the 79 with a depth found water at 8–12 m.

Ground: 53% low permeability, local groundwater only; 34% practically impermeable; 12% porous aquifer, medium productivity.

Choosing where to drill takes a hydrogeologist.

What to watch for

• 21 fires since 2016 reached the municipality: 1,660 ha in all, the latest in 2026.
• 7.4% of the municipality lies in the 100-year flood zone; 9.8% in the 500-year one.
• 4.9% of the municipality is preferential flow zone, where new building is generally banned.
• 15% of the municipality is Natura 2000: new works need the region's consent.
• 9% of the municipality is a protected natural area, whose plan limits what can be done.
• Radon zone II: new and restored homes need radon protection by law.

Living here

• 4G reaches 100% of homes; fibre 97%. Averages for the municipality.
• Rain: 449 mm a year (1971–2000), about 403 by 2041–2070.
• Summer highs: 33.3 °C, about 36.9 °C by 2041–2070.
• Frost days: 10 a year, about 2 by 2041–2070.

Around it

Esparragalejo · El Carrascalejo · Trujillanos · Calamonte · Mirandilla · Aljucén · Don Álvaro · Valverde de Mérida