Low-rise Mallorcan apartment block with the same balcony repeating across the whole facade

Renovation in Palmanova

Most of the stock here is apartments in low-rise blocks, which means a share of every decision belongs to people you may never have met. Inside your own front door you decide; beyond it, the community does.

Mallorcan apartment block with scaffolding across the whole facade and render cut back in patches

Two budgets, and only one of them is yours

A block like this has your project and the building project, and they are decided in completely different ways. Yours moves when you decide it does. The building one moves when enough owners agree, which happens at a meeting, on a schedule nobody sets for your convenience, and often not on the first attempt.

That matters because so much of what makes an apartment better is not inside it. The facade, the roof, the lift, the risers, the common areas and anything on the outside of a terrace are shared, and improving them is a proposal rather than a purchase. Owners who understand this early stop being frustrated by it and start raising things a year ahead.

It also affects timing in a way worth using. Where the building is planning work anyway, doing your own at the same time can share scaffolding, share access and share disruption. Asking the administrator what is already scheduled is a free question and occasionally saves a great deal.

What usually needs the community rather than you

  • The facade, and anything fixed to the outside of it
  • The roof, and roof terraces where they are common property
  • Structural elements, including many internal walls
  • Risers, stacks and the drainage everybody shares
  • The lift, the entrance and the stairs
  • Enclosing or glazing a balcony or terrace
  • Air conditioning units placed anywhere visible outside
  • Working hours, and which days work is allowed at all
  • Protection of the common areas the work passes through
  • Anything that changes how the building looks from the street

Most asked for here

Apartment renovation

Flats and penthouses, and what the building allows.

Property managers

For owners whose property is looked after by somebody else.

General builders

Mixed work inside a flat, across several trades.

Nearby areas

Costa d’en Blanes

Every level a retaining decision, taken before anything else is decided.

Santa Ponsa

Coastal villas and apartments built quickly in the seventies and eighties.

Portals Nous

Terraced plots above the marina, where the crane decides the programme.

How your request reaches a company

Mallorca Renovation is a comparison service. A request for a renovation in a shared building goes to the renovation and building companies on our list; they quote the work and carry it out, and any agreement is between you and the company you pick.

  1. 01

    Describe the job

    Tell us the property, roughly what you want and where it is. Photographs and a rough plan help, though neither is required.

  2. 02

    We match it

    The request goes to companies that work in your area and take on this kind of job at this size.

  3. 03

    They quote you

    Each company contacts you directly with its own price, timing and approach. We do not set any of it.

  4. 04

    You compare and choose

    Put the quotes side by side and take the one you want, or none of them. Using the site costs you nothing.

How far ahead should I raise something with the community?

Further than feels necessary. A proposal has to reach a meeting, be agreed and then be arranged, and each of those steps runs on its own timetable. A year ahead is not unusual for anything involving the outside of the building.

Can I enclose my terrace?

It depends on the building and on what has been agreed there before, and it is a community question rather than a building one. Ask before designing anything, because the answer varies between blocks on the same street.

What can I do without asking anybody?

Generally what is inside your own walls and does not touch the structure, the risers or the outside. Even then the building usually sets hours and access rules, and those are worth knowing before a start date is agreed.

Get quotes for an apartment renovation

Describe the flat and what the building allows, and let several companies price the same scope.

Mallorca Renovation