Certificate of Habitation

Hi, we are buying a villa and it was supposed to be completed next week but have just been told that there is no certificate of habitation.  Anyone know how long it take to get that please?

Hi Pauline

It can take months or even years in some cases to get the LFO. Take care as you cannot connect to electricity or water without an LFO.

Where is your villa being built? Someone may be able to give you better advice if we know the location.

Jean

No 'Cerificate of Habitation'?    Why not?

I would be extremely worried to complete without this.   If the Villa is finished why cant the Certificate be issued prior to completion?

Utilities connections would be impossible without it, as ayrez says,  but i would also be worried that you would not be able to reasale the villa without it.

Good Luck.

Do not complete without it, it can cause all sorts of problems, normally they are issued within 6 months from application but it can be less or more.

Joan

Hi, our inlaws have had an apartment on the Costa Blanca for over eleven years, they have contracts for water, electric, gas, registered on the catastro, escrituara registered with the land registry, have a mortgage and pay suma, in fact they have everything the habitacion certificate is needed for !!  They never realized there was anything wrong until recently, the habitacion certificate was never issued and they cannot sale the property although over 50% of the community has changed hands over the past eleven years without any problems what so ever.

Eleven years ago the certificate by admission of the lawyers, townhall officials and tom dick and harry was not an issue, and in many cases not even heard of, however these days it is required. The only way out of this now is for all the owners to payout for new expensive projecto's, so beware especially those of you that have older properties.

Not so serious as suggested by previous poster you can obtain a second certificate of habitation by providing documents to the town hall I am going through this process now and my solicitor holds most off the required docs to obtain this certificate I am in no hurry as I do not intend to sell.

ASK AT TOWN HALL THEY KNOW THERE OWN RULES BEST.

Can anyone please tell me when will this certificate of habitation be issued? is it on the day of completion? I'm still waiting for my lawyer to tell me whether he got this cetrtificate as I certainly have not got it.

Actually bbbbreakfast it is serious if the developer didnt provide all of the necessary paperwork to the townhall in the first instance, it is easy enough to get renew the certificate if all the paperwork is in order and all the projecto's sumitted to the TH, however it can be a nightmare to resolve if something is missing. Orihuela Costa Town Hall are not the best at trying to rectify problems.

 One simple advise: Do not complete without First Occupation License. If you decide to wait for this before completing ( to which you have rights), you can ask for the corresponding price reduction as compensation.

You may find this article interesting reading:http://www.eyeonspain.com/spain-magazine/licence-first-occupation.aspx 

I agree with María.

NEVER complete the purchase of an off-plan property without the First Occupation Licence / Certificate of Habitation.

If you do complete the purchase without this vital document you may well leave yourself open to problems for years to come.

Remember, according to Article 4 of LEY 57/68, the legally required Bank Guarantee that you should have to cover ALL of your stage payments only expires when the property is complete and the First Occupation Licence is issued by the Town Hall and provided to you or your Lawyer by the developer.

Keith

Sorry Kabri did not intend to make light of the situation, I am aware of the stress involved but on a resale like mine which is 20 years old paperwork can and does go missing but with a bit of tenacity and a fair wind perhaps poster will be ok.

I would never buy off plan for all the reasons stated on this and other forums.

Wish them all the best of luck

bbb

I wish I had known this before I "completed". I'm told by the builder that my LFO is still with the town hall & I'm trying to chase them for it. My lawyer is hopeless & not helpful. He told me that I could not officially complete on that day when we were at the notary as he was waiting for the arrival of my NIE which I paid him 375 euros. I still have not seen mt NIE papers for 3 of us. He said he would officially complete on my behalf when the NIE arrived. So  all I got was an unofficial title deeds. This lawyer is a nightmare to me .

Hopefully I'll get the official title deeds & the LFO besides the NIEs. I'll keep cahsing him till I get these as I can't visit his office yet.

Forhotspot

Was your Lawyer recommended to you by the builder or agent?

The LFO is a vital document and a Lawyer acting in your best interests would NOT complete the purchase 'on your behalf' without having the LFO.

Be very careful, you could end up chasing the Town Hall for the LFO for years to come........

Kind regards

Keith

Hi Keith,

   The lawyer is the agent's lawyer. I wish I've not used him. I'm going back to the builder to chase for the LFO. I don't even know if my villa is officially completed  as the lawyer won't respose to me.  I've to chase for the LFPO from the builder first then later deal with the lawyer.  This lawyer is a nightmare to me.

Thanks.

The first thing to note is that all is not lost.

1. Once the construction is completed and before you occupy the property you should ask your local ayuntamiento for a Licencia de Primera Ocupacion.

2. In order to acquire the Licencia de Primera Ocupacion you will need Certificado de Fin de Obra (certificate of end of construction) from the architect in charge of the project. This must be stamped by the college of architects. A certificate from Hacienda (tax office) and a copy of the original Licencia de obras (building permit).

3. The technical inspectors will then visit and inspect the property to make sure it complies with the current building regulations.

4. When they are satisfied that everything is in order, and after you pay for the licence, they will issue you your Licencia De Primera Ocupacion.

That's the steps,

David