HAVE YOU HAD CONSTRUCTION PROBLEMS WITH YOUR PROPERTY?

THESE ARE YOUR RIGHTS IN SPAIN

Unfortunately, every day it is becoming more frequent that when a Property in Spain is acquired, that the Promoter or Seller hands it over with certain constructive defects, which, at the time of payment and moving into the home, may not appreciable at first glance, or even if are noted, but become more serious than was initially anticipated, and obviously generate a situation of stress and inconvenience.

To this end, there are different regulations in Spain to protect the buyer and consumer in this regard. It is very important to be able to claim against such flaws or defects as soon as possible against the Promoter / Seller, or even to the Construction Agents such as Builders, Architects, Technical Architects, etc. who intervened in the property construction process, and also involving their respective insurance companies; so that the statutory limitation period to claim does not expire, and also to ensure the collection of the corresponding compensation.

In general, you can turn to the Civil Code to claim for construction damage, with special attention to arts. 1124 and 1101, where you can claim against the Promoter directly. Likewise, the actions provided for in Art. 17 of the LOE (which would involve all Construction Agents), or the General Law of Consumers and Users can be exercised.

THESE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT REGULATIONS, THEIR SCOPE AND LEGAL DEADLINES:

1.- CIVIL CODE. Articles 1101 and 1124

The buyer of a home, as an integral part of a contract, is entitled to claim against the Promoter for breach of contract:

A) The “restitución in natura”(restitution in natura); In other words, the Promoter fixes all the defects that should not have existed, at their expense.
B) The “Indemnización por Equivalencia” (Compensation for Equivalence) that is, once the property buyer has lost trust in the Promoter, the Home Buyer will be entitled to claim the Amounts paid for the Repairs and Defects, as well as the corresponding legal interests, the Moral Damage and other expenses (Legal Fees, damages of another nature, etc.).

The deadline to the exercise of this action expires 5 years from the delivery of the property.

This claim is the most recommended of all, since the consumer can claim many more points and the limitation period is longer, although it can only be directed against the Promoter (which means making sure that they are solvent).

2.- CONSTRUCTION - LAW 38/99, 5th NOVEMBER, BUILDING ORDINANCE. CLAIM DEADLINES. CLAIMS FOR CONSTRUCTION DAMAGES

This Law regulates the guarantee regime in its articles 17 and 18, as well as the responsibilities of those involved in the construction process.

In this regulation, the differentiation of competencies and responsibilities of those who intervened in the construction process are clearly established.

The difference with respect to the claim based on arts. 1101 and 1124 of the Civil Code, is that only construction material damages can be claimed through this Law without any other type of damage, such as moral damages for the inconvenience suffered; however, the advantage is that it involves all Construction agents, Architects, Builders, etc. as well as their respective insurance companies.

Deadlines:

10 years (ten-year liability), for damages caused by defects related to the foundations, or other structural elements, which pose a risk to the strength and stability of the building.
3 years, for damages caused by flaws or defects in construction elements or facilities that fail to meet habitability requirements.
1 year, The Promoter / Builder will also be liable for damages in the execution that affect the completion or finalisation of the works within a period of one year.

It is important that the consumer report defects in the first year, in order to legally “win” another 2 to be able to claim, as provided under this Law, which is where the calculation of the warranty periods would begin.

3.- THE GENERAL LAW FOR THE DEFENCE OF CONSUMERS AND USERS, ROYAL LEGISLATIVE DECREE 1/2007, 16th NOVEMBER (ARTS. 147 TO 149)

In this case, it affects construction damage, and especially in arts. 147 to 149, where its provisions include that the responsibility for construction defects will be enforceable to the Marketing promoter, understanding that as the promoter that they are professionally engaged in this activity, as long as they are damages that are not compensated by other Laws.

It is treated as an objective responsibility to the builder and the developer for damages caused to users in the correct use of the home, which are not compensable by a specific legal regime. The liability of this article is limited to material and personal damages that are not covered by the LOE.

Deadlines: The same as in the previous section.

Ultimately, and depending on the circumstances, the buyer-consumer of a home has in principle 3 possibilities to claim their corresponding compensation, which the Law in Spain allows indistinctly, in order to exercise their rights, and obtain a very satisfactory result.

IN ACCORDANCE WITH SPANISH LAW, YOU CAN CLAIM FOR THE FOLLOWING:

CONSTRUCTION DAMAGES

MORAL DAMAGE FROM STRESS SUFFERED

LEGAL INTERESTS

LEGAL FEES

HAVE YOU BEEN IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS?

WE ACT ON BEHALF OF BOTH INDIVIDUAL CLIENTS AND COMMUNITY/OWNER’S ASSOCIATIONS AGAINST THE DEVELOPER

WE REPRESENT CLIENTS AGAINST THE FOLLOWING DEVELOPERS, WITH A SUCCESSFUL INCOME

THESE ARE THE REVIEWS ON GOOGLE REGARDING PROBLEMS SUFFERED WITH THE ABOVE SPANISH DEVELOPERS