Technical Building Regulations
Introduction
The Technical Building Code (CTE) is the main set of regulations that regulate the construction of buildings in Spain since 2006. Transposed of European laws, the Energy Efficiency Directive in Buildings and the Energy Efficiency Directive of the European Union. It is the building code in force in the country. It establishes the basic requirements for safety and habitability of constructions, defined by the Building Planning Law (LOE).[1] Its requirements intervene in the design, construction, maintenance and conservation phases. It is a regulation based on benefits.
Although the CTE brings together most of the building regulations in Spain, there are others that, while in force, do not belong to the CTE, such as the Structural Code (approved by Royal Decree 470/2021, of June 29) that replaces the Spanish Structural Concrete Instruction (EHE-08) and the Structural Steel Instruction (EAE) or the Earthquake-Resistant Construction Standard (NCSE).
History
Until 1977, construction in Spain was regulated by standards from the Ministry of Housing, called MV Standards. On June 10, 1977, Royal Decree 1650/1977, on building regulations, was approved, which describes how all these types of regulations should be organized.[2] As a result of this Royal Decree, the Basic Building Standards (NBE) were developed, of a prescriptive nature, which were published gradually and separately in subsequent years.
In 1999, the Building Planning Law (LOE) was approved, which establishes the complete organization of buildings and their regulations. The incompatibility of the NBE with the application of this law forced the replacement of all of them with a new set of regulations. The LOE itself requires the drafting of a new Technical Building Code for its development.
On March 17, 2006, Royal Decree 314/2006 was approved, by which the Technical Building Code came into force and the previous NBE were repealed. A period of 6 or 12 months was established according to the norm in which both regulations could coexist. The DB-HR section, on protection against noise, was approved later than the rest in Royal Decree 1371/2007. The rest of the regulations applicable to building that were not included in the NBE were not replaced by the drafting of the CTE.
Royal Decree 732/2019, of December 20, which modifies the Technical Building Code, approved by Royal Decree 314/2006, of March 17, has been published in the Official State Gazette of December 27, 2019.