Know Your Rights!
You’ve completed on your property and now you begin to wonder if the
construction has been carried out properly and whether you have legal
basis for claims against building deffects in the future. The Answer is
yes, and its legal basis is in the following provision of the General
Building Act (Ley 38/1999, de 5 de noviembre, de Ordenación de la
Edificación ) Click here to view this law in Spanish
Ask your lawyer to claim for a good finish of your property, good power
supply connections and for any major deffects you can rely on having up
to ten years of legal guarantee.
The article in the General Building Act which specifies the legal action for different sorts of building defects is:
Article 17: Civil liability of the agents that intervene in the building process.
1. Despite their contractual liabilities, the individuals or companies
that intervene in the building process will answer to owners and third
purchasers for the entire building or for part of them, in case they
have been divided, of the following material damages happened in the
building within the established deadlines, counted from the reception
date without reservation or from the rectifying moment:
a) For 10 years, of material damages caused in the building due to
defects or vices that affect the foundations, supports, beams, floor
structure, charging wall or another structural elements, that directly
compromise the mechanic ressistance and the stability of the building.
b) For 3 years, of material damages caused in the building by defects
or vices of the building elements or the installations that produce the
breach of the habitability requirements of the provision 3,1,c.
The builder will also answer for the material damages by vices or
execution defects that affect the elements of finishing of the works
within a year deadline.
The habitability requirements set by this Act in artilce 3.1.c are as follow:
Article 3. Basic requirements of building.
In order to guarantee the safety of people, the welfare of
society and the protection of the enviroment, buildings must be
designed, built, maintained and conserved in such a way that will
fulfill these basic following requirements:
The article lists a series of requirments under three different
categories. We will cover those regarding habitability, as mentioned in
article 17, but I can answer your questions if you want to know more on
the other ones:
(a: regarding functionality)
(b: regarding safety)
(c: regarding habitability)
c.1) Higiene, health and protection of enviroment so that
acceptable conditions of healthiness and comfort in the internal
environment of the building and so that this won´t damage the close
enviroment, guaranteeing a proper management of all kind of refuse.
c.2) Protection against noise, so that the perceived noise
won´t put people´s helath at risk and will enable them to carry on
their activities properly.
c.3) Saving of energy and thermal insulation, so that a
rational use is made of the necessary energy for the adequate use of
the building.
c.4) Any other functional aspects of the building elements or the
installations that will enable a satisfying use of the building.
Written by
Maria de Castro
Lawyer
Maria de Castro is a Spanish Lawyer and the Director of the Law Firm www.costaluzlawyers.es.
She specializes in advising private foreigners in Spain and making the Spanish adventure a good dream. You can contact her at
mldecastro@costaluzlawyers.es