Know Your Rights!
This document, that can be demanded since February 7th 2006 from every
developer, real estate agent and renter of houses within the Andalucian
Autonomous Community, must gather together thoroughly all the data of
the property and the financial conditions of the supply.
More precisely, it must include all the information about the broker,
the project technician or the building firm, the stage of the work
execution, the drafts of the property and its location, its total floor
area, the quality of the materials and the description of services,
together with the sale price and the method of payment.
It will also have information about the possible loans and
encumbrances and, depending on the kind of sale, it will also contain
some other legal data such as the Works License of the property or the
Registration Data in the Land Registry.
On the other hand, the consumer will be informed that he can ask for an
informative note about the method of payment with all the financial
conditions, including those regarding the mortgage offer that is being
proposed and the interest rates which is applicable in case of
postponement of the payment.
Once a sales agreement is reached, the firm will send to the
buyer, at least three working days before the signing of the contract,
all the documents mentioned in the DIA (Brief Informative Document), as
well as the insurances and licenses of the property.
When renting, the document will include the following data:
identification of renter and broker, description of the house and the
services included, total floor area, financial conditions and an
inventory of furniture and belongings.
The Decree also contains the requirements of information for
the sale of second-hand houses, an area that has been poorly regulated
until now. It is obligatory to give to the client an informative note
about the basic data among which it is necessary to mention: the
address of the property, the description both of the property and the
building, the year of construction, the price, the expenses involved
and the method of payment, together with the references to the Registry
Land informative note (owner, total floor area and loans).
In the same way, the seller needs to mention that he has a certificate
of being up-to-date with the IBI payments together with some other data
that also needs to be communicated to the prospective buyer. It must be
also mentioned in the note, with highlighted letters, if the buyer is
linked to the Sales Agent during a specific time whilst the sale is
being managed.
Finally, regarding publicity, the regulations state that the
data and conditions mentioned in supplies and promotions are binding,
so that the consumer can demand its observance even though they are not
explicitly expressed in the sales or renting contract. The publicity
must specify the location of the property, its description and its
total floor area., the stage of construction and the developer’s data,
it also needs to inform about the consumers right to be given a DIA.
If a sale or rental price is mentioned, the expenses involved will be
included (taxes or community) and in case some amounts are required in
advance, it will be indicated that they will be endorsed or guaranteed
by a Bank.
In the Fines chapter, and depending on the level of
seriousness, the Decree establishes fines between 200 euros and 400.000
euros for infringements against the provisions mentioned in the legal
text..
The lack of information in the area of sales and renting of
houses is the forth highest case of claiming of andalucian citizens
within the service sector. Between January and September 2005, the
Consumers Services of Junta de Andalucía (Andalucian Government)
registered a number of 998 claims, a 29% reduction than the year
before.
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