Construction Guarantees and Safeguards
The process of building is governed by the Spanish legal system. Such a system creates a set of guarantees that the agents intervening in the process must observe, the fulfilment of which you can demand to safeguard your rights.
The 'Ley de Ordenacion de la construction' or Building Regulations Act (LOE) describes (chapter 4) the people who are responsible for any faults and deficiencies that may be present in your property and the people who must answer for them. Leaving the possible contractual responsibility aside, the LOE establishes that, if there is material damage to the building, the agents who took part in construction - according to chapter 3 of LOE, developers, designers, suppliers, works directors, & the entities controlling the quality of the construction - are responsible for faults for 10 years. The guarantee set out by the LOE in this case consists of the obligation of the developer of contracting insurance for physical faults that must cover damages for 10 years.
The same agents are responsible for 3 years for damages affecting the living conditions, such as hygiene and health, noise protection, energy saving and insulation. The developers must also have insurance to assure such damages for 3 years.
To comply with the set of guarantees provided by the LOE, article 20 stipulates that no notary will certify a new work declaration nor such declaration will be registered at the Land Registry unless the guarantees have been regarded and met.
Responsibility for construction faults
Article 1.591 of the Civil Code and statute 38/1.999 of November 5.
Consumer protection laws in Spain give buyers of newly built properties certain rights with respect to construction faults in the property they purchase. These laws apply when buying newly built property from a developer. The law specifies different timeframes in which a developer is obliged to intervene at no cost to the buyer to correct faults or indemnify the buyer for any damages caused. The type of construction fault determines the timeframe.
10 YEARS
Serious structural faults that affect construction elements such as the foundations or retaining walls.
3 YEARS
Less serious structural faults that nevertheless render the property or parts of the property uninhabitable, for instance leaking roofs.
1 YEAR
Minor problems with the fixtures and finishings such as cracks in plaster or badly fitted windows.
Any buyer of newly built property who encounters construction faults that fall into one or other of these categories within the time frame specified should immediately report the fault to the administrator of the community of owners to which their property belongs. They should then ensure that the administrator documents the faults and takes the appropriate action to have the faults corrected by the developer.
Buyers of resale properties from private individuals are almost entirely responsible for checking the physical status of the property before they buy.
Defects Insurance
For information about the Spanish compulsory Defects Insurance scheme, click here.
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Specification Guarantees
A new law is to be implemented which will prevent property companies from changing or altering the specification originally shown on their "Quality specification" itinerary. This new regulation is a massive confidence boost for the client looking to purchase a property in the process of being constructed.
Prior to the new law the client has been largely left at the whim of the developer, who in theory could change the specification and make a considerable saving on the cost of providing each home. It is fair to say though that this practice has been more evident in connection with properties provided for the Spanish market rather than those aimed at the foreign buyer, the latter of which is crucial to the continued success of the Spanish economy.
