Land surveyor in Altea

Designing on the Altea hillside

The best views in Altea are where the ground is most difficult. In the hillside urbanisations, a 1,500 m² plot can have retaining walls at several levels, a curving street above and another below, and rocks nobody wants to move. The project depends on where the natural ground lies, because heights and volumes are measured from there.

We carry out the survey with a total station and GNSS and, if the plot is large or very steep, we complete it with a drone flight to obtain a point cloud and a 3D model of the terrain. We deliver DWG files with contour lines, spot heights and every feature, in ETRS89 coordinates.

The old town: narrow houses between party walls

In the old village the work is different. Narrow terraced houses, with floor plans that do not correspond to the façade, patios that were gradually enclosed and caves dug into the rock of the hill. To restore one of them, the architect needs a survey of what is there, with heights, party walls and the level differences between streets.

It is common for the Cadastre (Catastro, Spain's land and property register for tax purposes) to assign these houses an area that does not match any of their floors. Once the survey is done, correcting it is straightforward.

Ravines, the Algar and the Mascarat

Several ravines (barrancos) cross the municipality on their way to the sea, and the Algar river reaches the coast within it. A plot that borders a watercourse has an easement strip and a control zone (zona de policía) in which any work needs authorisation from the river basin authority, the Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar. To the north, the Mascarat ravine marks the boundary with Calp (Calpe). We draw the watercourse and its strips on the survey so the project knows from the start what it is working with.

Boundary surveys and the Cadastre in Altea

If you are going to sell, the notary will check whether the description of your property matches the Cadastre. If it does not, a georeferenced graphic representation in GML format will have to be provided, and sometimes an alternative graphic validation report (IVGA). We prepare it from our own survey, with the neighbouring properties identified, so that the Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad) can register it.

If the problem is with your neighbour, the same plan serves as the basis for a boundary demarcation (deslinde) by mutual agreement or, if there is no agreement, for an expert surveying report.

In the hillside urbanisations there are also private roads that were never handed over to the town hall, and it is not always clear which strip of the street belongs to each plot. We resolve it on the plan before it turns into a problem.

Typical cases in Altea

An architect designing a house on a plot with four levels of terraces who needs the terrain in 3D. A family restoring a house in the old town who discover that the Cadastre gives them 40 m² less than they actually have. An owner whose plot borders a ravine and who wants to build a swimming pool.