Terrace fee for occupying public space (Ayuntamiento)

What you need to have at hand

1. Cl@ve or certificado digital to access the ayuntamiento sede.
2. Actual measurements of your pavement and the area where you want the terraza (use a tape, don’t guess).
3. Municipal terrace ordenanza of your city (that’s where the golden rules live: clear widths, hours, allowed furniture and tariffs).

Documentation

1. Licencia o declaración responsable de hostelería of your premises (without this, forget it).
2. Plano acotado with measurements, distances to façade and kerb, and layout of tables/chairs. If your ordenanza asks for it, signed by a technician.
3. Photos of the façade and immediate surroundings and a clear croquis of the occupation.
4. Seguro de responsabilidad civil with the paid receipt and the minimum cover your ordenanza requires.
5. Fichas of the furniture (mesas, sillas, parasoles, paravientos) with colours and materials allowed.
6. Previous expediente number if you are renewing.
7. If you put toldos/anclajes en fachada, the specific authorisation your municipio requests.

Step by step

1. Read the ordenanza and confirm you comply: clear pedestrian width, access routes, pram crossings, emergency exits, etc.
2. Draw your plano (better with clear cotas) and prepare photos and the furniture fichas. Don’t improvise — they will look closely.
3. Enter the sede electrónica of your ayuntamiento with Cl@ve and search for the trámite “Terrazas de hostelería” / “Ocupación de vía pública con mesas y sillas”.
4. Fill the application: m² requested, season (annual/seasonal), opening hours, number of tables/chairs, auxiliary elements.
5. Attach the documents: plano, photos, insurance, fichas, and whatever your ordenanza requires (some ask for declaración de estar al corriente de tributos locales).
6. Register and save the presentation receipt. Sometimes an inspection checks measures and compatibilities (mobility, trees, heritage).
7. Wait for the resolución and the liquidación. Don’t pay anything without a liquidación number.
8. Pay the fee on the municipal payment gateway or at a collaborating bank using the liquidación number. If the sede doesn’t auto-register it, upload the payment receipt.
9. Install the terraza only after authorisation and following the conditions (alignment, number of tables, hours). Put the placa/QR if issued.

Tricks that save you time

1. Measure with margin: if you request exact millimetres, an inspection can reject you over a manhole or a tree.
2. Standard, neutral furniture: the more standard and ordenanza-friendly, the fewer objections.
3. Insurance up to date: an expired receipt is the classic weeks-long delay.
4. High season = backlog: apply early (January–February for annual; before spring for seasonal).
5. Track renewals: many cities set annual windows. Mark the calendar and avoid starting from zero.

Common mistakes that can derail your application

1. Setting up without permission: fine, removal and bad standing with inspectors.
2. Paying without a liquidación: refunds are slow and messy.
3. Confusing planos: no cotas or no distances to kerb/façade = requerimiento and wasted weeks.
4. Requesting more than viable: if you don’t leave the minimum pedestrian width they will cut or deny your space.
5. Changing furniture on a whim: disallowed colour or material = fine or suspension.