By the sea, municipal planning is not in charge in Ibiza: the Spanish Coastal Act is. Three strips govern everything on the waterfront: the maritime-terrestrial public domain, owned by the State, where only a concession gives title; the transit easement, a six-metre band that must remain free of obstacles; and the protection easement, one hundred metres as a general rule — reduced to twenty on land that was already urban when the 1988 Act came into force — where new dwellings are prohibited. And one fact changes everything: these easements never expire.
The three strips, from the water inland
The maritime-terrestrial public domain (beaches, cliffs, the tidal zone) is delimited by an official boundary procedure (deslinde) and admits no private ownership: whatever lies inside can only be occupied under a concession or authorisation, and the passage of time creates no rights. Next runs the transit easement, six metres along the shore that must stay clear for public passage and surveillance and rescue services. Over it lies the protection easement: private land, but with activities and works severely restricted.
One hundred metres or twenty: the decisive question
The width of the protection easement depends on how the land was classified in 1988: one hundred metres as a rule, twenty on land that was already urban then. On an island with historic coastal villages and developments from different eras, determining which strip affects a given plot requires examining the approved boundary and the planning of the time — the first serious check before buying or designing on the front line.
What can be done within the protection easement
The rule is harsh: buildings intended for residence are prohibited, as are non-permeable enclosures and, in general, uses that could be located elsewhere. Works that by their nature admit no other location, and certain installations, can be authorised. In the Balearic Islands, authorisation of works and uses within the protection easement rests with the island council — a competence nuance that surprises those arriving with mainland assumptions.
Houses that were already there: the transitional regime
Much of Ibiza’s front line was built before the Coastal Act, and those buildings fall under the transitional regime: they may be kept and undergo repair, improvement, consolidation and modernisation works, provided there is no increase in volume, height or surface area. In plain terms: you can preserve and update, not extend. Ignoring this turns a renovation into a coastal enforcement file — demolition of the extension included.
Buying on the front line: specific checks
Ordinary planning due diligence gains an extra layer here: obtaining the boundary plan and the Coastal Authority certificate on the plot’s position relative to the three strips; verifying whether the building predates 1988 and which works its permits cover; reviewing concessions and their terms if anything occupies public domain; and discounting from the price the real limits on renovation and extension. On the front line, the metres that make you fall in love are exactly the ones the State regulates.
Frequently asked questions
My plot reaches the beach — is the beach mine?
No. The beach and the tidal zone are State public domain delimited by the official boundary, whatever an old deed may say.
Can I extend a house located within the protection easement?
As a general rule, no: the transitional regime allows repairing, improving and modernising without increasing volume, height or surface.
Who processes authorisations for works in the protection strip?
In the Balearics, the island council; within the public domain, the State coastal administration, through concession or authorisation.
The hut has been there for forty years — has it prescribed?
No. Coastal easements never expire and time consolidates nothing on public domain: age does not legalise the occupation.