What a comunicat diferit is
The comunicat diferit (deferred notification) is the regime that the ORPIMO, Barcelona's works ordinance, applies to type I minor works. These are bigger than an ordinary interior renovation but fall short of major works. The difference from the comunicat immediat is time: here you file the documents and the City Council has one month to review them. If it tells you nothing to the contrary in that month and you have paid the fee and the ICIO tax, you can start.
It goes through the same procedure as other works cases, online on the Oficina Virtual or in person at an OAC with an appointment. You can be the one who files it as owner, but most of the file is technical: a signed project, site management, a safety study and a technical suitability report from a collaborating entity. So it helps to be clear from the start which part is yours and which belongs to the technician.
Which works need a comunicat diferit
The ORPIMO puts into type I, among others: renovation or refurbishment that partly affects the building's structure without changing its main use; consolidation with partial structural work; installing a lift inside the building; interior renovation of two or more flats in the same building; dividing ground-floor premises; refitting premises for activities restricted by planning rules; canopies; construction cranes and hoists on the public road; and works on level D buildings or protected ensembles that are not major works.
An example: in an Eixample building, the owners' association wants to fit a lift in the stairwell. That is type I. Another: an investor renovates three flats in the same building at once; each one alone would be a comunicat immediat, but together they become deferred. On the other hand, if you only renovate your own flat and change the layout without touching the structure, a comunicat immediat is enough, and if the work is a global structural intervention or changes the building's use, you need a major works licence. For a house in Castelldefels or another town this classification does not apply: check that council's own ordinance.
What the technician prepares and what you sign
For structural works, demolition and an internal lift, annex 4 of the ORPIMO requires a technical project signed by a qualified technician with report, drawings and budget; a responsible declaration from the site director and the construction manager taking on the works; colour photos of the building; the health and safety study or basic study with the coordinator's appointment; an assessment of the volume and type of waste; and a report by the project author confirming that the works pose no risk to occupants or third parties. All of this is the architect's or building engineer's job, and they also obtain the technical suitability report from a collaborating entity (professional colleges or inspection bodies listed on the Oficina Virtual).
Your part is the property data, starting with the cadastral reference, the budget your technician gives you, and two declarations. The first states that you have notified the building's occupants and owners about the works. The second is the owner's declaration on temporary rehousing and return, with how the building is owned (single owner or divided into units) and the list of legal occupants and owners. If the owners' association is behind the works, the property manager usually prepares that list together with the minutes of the meeting. If there are trees on the plot, a prior report from Parcs i Jardins may also be needed.
How to file it, step by step
The first step is always the prior consultation on the Oficina Virtual. It is free, lasts six months and tells you which regime applies and which documents are needed; if the checklist asks for prior reports (heritage, housing, fire or parks), they have to be requested before the suitability report. Whoever makes the consultation must be the one who files the case, so decide beforehand whether you sign or your technician does as your representative.
Once the suitability report is issued, open the procedure "Tramitació d'expedients d'obres o d'instal·lacions de radiocomunicació (llicència, comunicat o actuació d'urgència)", log in with idCAT Mòbil, Cl@ve, an electronic DNI or a digital certificate, enter the consultation and report numbers, attach the documents as PDFs and sign. Keep the filing receipt: with the deferred regime you don't get the payment slip at that moment.
In person it works the same way, with an appointment at the OAC of the district, ideally the one where the works are. Owners' associations acting under their own tax ID, companies and professionals must file online. If the technician files on your behalf, they will need your authorisation as representative.
The one-month wait and afterwards
After filing, the City Council has one month to review. Two things can happen. If it finds essential defects, it issues a notice of ineffectiveness and you cannot start; sometimes these are notices to complete something specific, and the technician corrects and resubmits. If everything is in order, you receive the admission of the notification, sometimes with conditions, together with the payment slip for the fee and the ICIO. According to the City Council's procedure page (updated in 2026), the fee is 51 euros with a technical project or 43 euros with technical documentation, and the ICIO is 4% of the material execution budget. You pay online or at the banks listed on the payment slip, which expires after three months.
If the month passes without any notice to the contrary, the ORPIMO entitles you to start, as long as you have paid; for the deferred notification you don't need to claim administrative silence in writing. From the start date you stated you have six months to finish, which can be extended by half if you notify it before the deadline. Keep the admission, the payment receipt and the project on site, and tell the technician about any changes: a modification during the works requires a new notification with its own suitability report.
Common mistakes
The most common one is starting before the month is up "because it has been filed". With the deferred regime, filing alone does not entitle you to start: without the month having passed and without payment, the works have no permit behind them. Another frequent move is splitting a multi-flat renovation into separate immediate notifications to go faster; the ORPIMO expressly says that simultaneous or successive renovation of flats in the same development goes through a licence or type I, and an inspector spots it quickly.
Other problems: the prior consultation made in one person's name and the case filed by another; forgetting the prior reports the checklist asked for; not notifying the neighbours; or lacking the owners' association's agreement when common elements such as the staircase or light well are affected. Rules and forms change, so check the current procedure page before filing. If you would rather not handle it yourself, BCN YARD takes care of the paperwork together with the works.
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