How does the system work in Spain

With 3 years experience InspectaHomeSpain are often surprised how little the buyer will know about the completion process and what rights the consumer has to get snagging defects rectified.

During this ‘honeymoon’ period, you can report defects to the developer, who then has 28 days to rectify them. Major alterations or omissions from the agreed specification can result in the buyer being able to withdraw from the contract and receive a refund and compensation (bear in mind that this sounds a lot easier than legal reclamation may be in real life!)

Consumer law in Spain is very strong and often you only need to understand the systems to get faults resolved

The most important advice that we give clients is to inspect the property BEFORE YOU COMPLETE and pay any money as getting defects rectified, especially queries on specifications, can be more difficult to resolve after you have completed

Legally, your developer is responsible for any major defect for the first 10 years after completion following an amendment to Spanish Building Standards legislation (Ley 38/1999 de 5 de noviembre sobre la Ordenación de la Edificación) on 6th May 2000.

The legal requirements for developers inSpain to deal with building defects are as follows:

First 15 days

First year: During the first year the developer is generally liable for all defects reported within this period. The debate with this is often what constitutes fair wear and tare

Second and third years: Over the next two years, the developer is still responsible for repairing major defects that would make the property inhabitable. This could be anything from a boiler malfunctioning (no heat or hot water is considered to make a property uninhabitable) to burst pipes (no water) or other factors affecting the proper enjoyment of the property such as defective roofs, ill-fitting doors and windows.

First ten years: The developer must take out seguro decenal insurance. This is a ten-year insurance policy that guarantees the costs of repair in the event of a structural failure in the building and this will be backed by an insurance company and should be attached to your deeds.

Although these conditions are common throughout Spain it can often be difficult to get the builder to rectify defects. InspectaHomeSpain have produced a series of free completion  guides including a a Questions and Answers documents which explain how to get disputes resolved without have to go to court.