Construction guarantees in new build properties in Spain

It is common for all buyers of new build properties and off-plan porperties in Spain to consult us, as REAL ESTATE LAWYERS, regarding the issue of the guarantees offered by the developer and other parties involved in the construction.

In this article we will analyze the legal guarantees and how to proceed in case of construction defects.

The applicable Laws are 38/1999 of November 5 on Building Regulations (hereinafter, LOE) and our Civil Code.

What guarantees does my new build home have?

1 year warranty:

Once the home is delivered, it is common that sometimes small damages appear and require minimal and quick work by the developer or the builder of the property. This type of aesthetic or finish damage would be covered for the period of ONE YEAR as provided in the article 17 of the LOE.

For this 1-year period, we are talking, for example, about misalignment of doors, failures in carpentry, slight electrical failures or similar issues that do not prevent inhabiting the property, but require intervention by those who have participated during the construction of the house.

3 year warranty:

In the event of damage related to the habitability of the property, the most common damage being humidity, the guarantee provided by law is 3 YEARS.

*Any period to which we refer in this section of the article begins from the moment of delivery of the house in accordance with the provisions of article 6 of the Law itself and refers to the signing of the Certificate of Reception of the house that can does not coincide with the time of delivery of the property to the owner.

10-year warranty:

Finally, we are faced with a 10-year guarantee for the structure, foundation, beams and load-bearing walls, which will cover claims related to deficiencies in the structure of the property. We must point out that this guarantee will operate exclusively in cases of serious affectation to the structure and other elements mentioned in article 17.1 a) and must be strict with it.

It is important to highlight that the structure of all new construction property has a ten-year insurance policy called (SEGURO DECENAL), so at the time of receiving the property it is important that we make sure that we have the information and policy of that insurance to always have it located.

And what about the guarantees of the Civil Code? Article 1,101 CC

The text of the LOE refers to the guarantees of all building agents, leaving aside the contractual responsibility that the seller has with the buyer. This responsibility is provided for those cases in which the damage implies a breach of the terms of the purchase contract, for example:

– qualities,

– endings,

– Construction defects that are of a certain severity and can be understood as a breach of contract.

This contractual action that arises from the sales contract carries the advantage that its prescription period is 5 YEARS from the acquisition of the property, being a period longer than that granted by the LOE and without being subject to guarantee periods in which they must manifest the construction defects that are claimed.

What if my house has damage… What should I do?

We always recommend to file a claim to the developer and other parties involved in the work (Constructor, Architect and Technical Architect) and in case there is no solution from this claim, we recommend to initiate an extrajudicial claim always through law firm specializing in real estate law.

After this initial claim, if an amicable solution is not reached, it will be necessary to go to the Court.

A period of 2 years is foreseen for the filing of the claim in its article 18, a period that will begin from the moment the deficiency or constructive defect is known.