Property Completed. Hab Cert granted BUT still waiting.

Our property was apparently completed on Nov 09 and Hab Cert apparently granted but according to the builder he is waiting on it to be sent out to him.  Does anyone know how long this normally takes.  We are in the Murcia region.

Hum!  Are you on builder´s supplies?

I think we are but not too sure as I am not going to complete without the HC.  I will try to find out from the other residents.

I had mortgage and wouldn't complete without HC. HC was emailed and sent within about a week.

Hi Friendly - have you checked to see if there is a thread here for your development?  Others in the same boat might have more information.

It is easy to know if you are on builders supply becuase thew pipes run down the edge of the pavement if you are lucky dont part with a penny till you have the LFH they cant make you complete Maria will put me right if that is not so

Hi Friendly,

you can easily check by going down to Murcia Council - Urbanismo and asking whether the Licencia de Primera Ocupacion has been granted for your urbanisation.  They are usually very helpful, you may even be able to get a copy (although strictly speaking these have to be paid for by the builder upon collection normally).

After the nightmare we had on our urbanisation I would advise you not to take the builder's word for anything.  I found myself sorting out our urbanisation's problems last year around this time, so can steer you in the right direction. 

If you can speak spanish you could simply call through on 968 278950 and ask for Licencias, if you know the application reference number (expidiente) for the builder quote it, if not try and find out their CIF number and they should be able to trace him and give you a status report.

Once you have your habitation licence, you will also need Boletin de Installation for water & electricity, these should be given to you by the builder.  Without these documents you will not be able to get your utilities connected, these are proof that the installations have been signed of as compliant with building regs. 

I know it all sounds a bit daunting but it should be quite straightfordward if everything is in order.  Take it from someone who was faced with an urbanisation of 98 owners and being the only spanish speaker, but we managed to get everyone sorted, although I have had to start dying my hair since then!

Good luck, pm if you need any further help.

Thanks for the replys to this post.  We were meant to be on Builders Suppies until Dec 09 although I dont know if this has changed or not as I am still trying to find that out.   I have not seen the development since Sep 09.  I do not have a CIF or reference number to phone the council and I dont speak spanish.  There is a community forum on this website and I know that HC have been given to some people that have completed within the last 3 months.  Others have completed recently without a HC.  Like myself others will not complete without the HC and the builder knows that. 

Friendly,

I think you are wise not to complete without it, we did and it was a mistake which cost us dearly!  I think it's encouraging that other owners have had their HC, it's a positive sign, but perhaps your solicitor can chase up the builder & council for you.

Good luck.

Hi Mariposa07

I will ask the solicitor to find out from the council if it has been granted or not.  Hopefully I will get the truth.  My solicitor has also advised me not to complete without it.  I just dont understand why some people have got the HC and others dont when completions have been done practically at the same time.  I will let you know if I find out.  Thanks.   

Please keep us posted.

Best,

Maria

I will do.

Thanks

Eventually I have received a reply from my solicitor.  I do not think that the property has been completed as we were meant to complete on Sep 09.  This is the reply that I received.

Sorry for the delay in replying to you.

The certificate of habitation of your property has not been granted yet by the Town Hall. In my opinion it could take some months to be in place.

Taking in to account this fact,  we have negotiated with the builder a option consisting in that you could complete the property provided that  the amount of 5.000 Euros is retained from the price by us (your solicitors) until the certificate of occupancy is issued.

The amount retained will not be paid to the builder until he gives  the certificate of occupancy.

Please, let me have your comments about this matter.

Regards,

Hi there,

I'm astonished by this reply, what guarantee does your solicitor have that the council will actually grant a certificate?  What if for some reason the site does not comply with the council's building regs and the builder does not complete and is not granted a certificate?  The builder has your money, the solicitor has your money & is making interest on it!   And more importantly you'll not be able to get utilities connected without your habitation licence or sell your property!

Cash is king - don't part with it until you have the certificate is my best advice.  We did more or less what your solicitor is advising only to find that the council had no intention of passing our site.  We had a bill for 32,000e for builders electric for our site, and no way of getting the council to grant the certificate until the site was completed to their satisfaction, the builder refused to finish it claiming lack of funds, so between all the owners we clubbed together and spent a small fortune to get the site finished and the licence granted in time to avoid having the electricity cut off and paying the builder's electricity bill!

It was a hard lesson, but we're all a lot wiser for it now, so all I can do is share our experince with others.

Hi Mariposa07

Like you I was astonished that a solicitor would even consider this option.  There is no way that I will agree to this. 

Eventually I have found out the truth about the HC.  Apparently our apt is completed although work has still to be done on some of the community areas.  Pavements outside and access areas are not completed so the HC has NOT been granted.  The development is still on builders suppy.  According to our solicitor the builder has fullfilled his obligations as our apt is complete even although we were meant to move in on Sept 09.  I have been told that the HC could take some months to be issued.

Do not complete without  Habitation License and once you complete use your rights for compensation and price reduction.

Best wishes,

Maria

Yoy may find this article interesting reading:

http://www.eyeonspain.com/spain-magazine/licence-first-occupation.aspx

Thank you Maria for the information.

Confirm what all are saying. DO NOT COMPLETE WITHOUT LICENCIA DE PRIMERA OCUPACION. Even if your apartment is ready, if all the rest of the common areas have not been completed you could be living/holidaying in a building site for years. And then have the 'option' of paying a share for the completion of these works, which you've paid for already. They legally cannot force you to buy without the LPO. Also, if there is continuing delay you may be due compensation and/or the right to have all your money back and walk away. make sure that you have a strong lawyer not connected with the developer/contractor/administrator/bank that's given the developer the construction money in the first place. You could do a lot worse than asking Maria (and i don't have any connection with her, but have been impressed by her exceptional persisitance and help to others in the past.

I know that if I decide to cancel this contract my first priority is to appoint another solicitor because as I said before, my solicitor at present has told me that I cannot cancel because the apt is completed.  There is a clause in my contract which reads,

 (The seller will make his best to finish the construction of the apartment described in this present contract by September of 2009.  Nevertheless the parties expressly accept that there is no legal cause to not complete the present contract, due to possible delays suffered in the completion of the apartment because of unforeseeable circumstances which could affect the starting or the course of the building, derived from the paperwork, climatologic forces, availability of workers, suppliers or some other things.)

As there is no specific date and no mention of the development, only the apartment has been mentioned in this clause.  I do not know if this makes a difference as I have been told that some buyers have been issued with a HC.