Habitation Licence Granted, But Apartment Not Ready.

I have received a phone call from my lawyers informing me that my developer has been granted the first habitation licence and that I must complete and pay the final 40% outstanding within 30 days.

However the apartment is far from finished and, acording to the developers representative, will not be finished for a couple of months at least.

I have sent my lawyer a snagging list which includes:- No toilets fitted, no granite worktops to kitchen fitted, no wardrobes fitted, marble floors not polished, not all electrical points fitted,etc.etc.

However my lawyer still says that unless I complete within 30 days I may lose 30% of the monies already paid and I may lose the apartment.

He has suggested that I commision a Notary to take photographs and to send a report to the developers lawyers stating that the apartment is not fit to occupy. This will cost about 400 Euros.

I live on site, the developers has put us up for two years as that is how late the development is, and I can keep an eye on things and know exactly what the state of progress is. I also know that when the council official came to inspect the development he did not actually enter any apartments, but merely looked around the exterior. Much to the amusement of the developers representative.

Can anyone offer any advice on what I should do to prevent either paying up before the property is habitable or extending the 30 completion deadline?

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Wow, this has got to be rare! There are so many other discussions going on about the delay in obtaining the First Occupation Licence after the property is finished, but I wonder if anybody has ever heard this scenario before? Willow, the only thing I can suggest, is that since your developer seems to be quite obliging (providing accomodation etc) can you maybe get them to agree to an extension (in writing of course)? The thing about getting a notary to take photos (or at least be present when photos are taken) so they can certified, I have heard this before. Taking photos yourself is no use - they would not be accepted as evidence in any court case, as there's no way of proving when they were taken (or where, for that matter). But whether you should have to take this action, and at your expense, is questionable, to say the least. I wonder if there's any mileage in speaking to the council planning dept., to find out why a more thorough inspection was not carried out? Sorry I can't be of any more help, hopefully someone else will join in here and shed some light on a very unusual situation.

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Blimey thats a new one on me too - LFO and the urb not complete. I dont understand how the Notary has signed off on the Final de Obra. Is it just that your apartment is not finished or are there other unfinished parts of the urbanisation (other than interiors). From a legal point of view I dont know where you stand but it seems to me there is huge risk involved in completing when the apartment is clearly not habitable. Your lawyer should be asserting your rights as clearly if it were your principal residence you could not move in on the grounds of lack of sanitation alone - not to mention any of the other points. I think your brief needs a kick up the arse to get him to insist on your rights. Might be worth sending a PM to one of the Spanish lawyers on this site to get their view

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You are not obliged to complete if there is a previous breach of contract ( delay, unfinished..) by the other party. Make a formal and irrefutable notice of that to developer. If you add a Notary set of pictures better than better.

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Thank you Maria, however we do want to complete, but not until the apartment is habitable.

Are you saying that we can legally delay completion until that time or that we can get out of the contract if we so wish, which we don't?

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Currently buying an apartment off-plan and paid 30% deposit.   Completion was due in December 2005, however Licence of lst Occupation has still not been granted due to legal proceedings against the authorities in Marbella council.   Some buyers have completed and living on development using builders water/electric.    Never ever seen a copy of the Bank Guaranty, so does this give us a right to cancel the contract without penalty (or can the Developer refute this because of the problems with the local authority not issuing the First Occupation Licence)??

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Killer,

What development are you talking about?

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