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.