Thread: Builder’s obligations/snagging a new property in Tenerife

Here are the builder’s obligations under Spanish Law:

For The First 15 days: During this ‘honeymoon’ period, you can report defects to the builder, who then has 28 days to rectify them. Major alterations or omissions from the agreed specification can result in the buyer being able to withdraw from the contract and receive a refund and compensation (bear in mind that this sounds a lot easier than legal reclamation may be in real life!). Ideally, snagging should be done before you pay your money and sign for the property – in reality, this is usually not an option.
For residents, rectifying problems within a 28 day period is inconvenient – whilst for those purchasing a holiday home, it is usually impossible to be here for that length of time. Persuasion to rectify problems asap must be your first consideration otherwise you will need a reliable friend or neighbour to act as a key holder.

First year: During the first year the builder is liable for all defects reported within this period. The only debate is often if the problems have related to fair wear and tare

Second and third years: Over the next two years, the builder is still responsible for repairing major defects that would make the property uninhabitable. This could be anything from a boiler malfunctioning (no heat or hot water is considered to make a property uninhabitable) to burst pipes (no water) or other factors affecting the proper enjoyment of the property such as defective roofs, ill-fitting doors and windows.
First ten years: The builder must take out seguro decenal insurance. This is a ten-year insurance policy that guarantees the costs of repair in the event of a structural failure in the building. This is law.


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Once a property has been built, an official from the planning department of the municipal authority must inspect the property to ensure that it complies with regulations for newly-built residential properties. If the property conforms to regulations it will be granted the appropriate residential-use licence by the local government Certificate of Habitation (Cédula de habitabilidad or licencia de primera ocupación). You cannot get services connected by the recognised water & electricity suppliers (and in theory you cannot take out a residential mortgage.) This is the period when you would be on “Builders Supply”

It is common practice to complete on the property prior to the certificate being issued, but buyers should be aware that there are no guarantees that the certificate will be issued and that builders supplies will be maintained to the properties.

A lot of properties that are on builders supply have supply problems such as low pressure water, power surges and low voltage supply, especially at times of peak use.
I am always amazed that property owners do not pay sufficient attention to ‘snagging’ their new properties. Perhaps it’s the excitement of the new home, but snagging checks that the building is fit for habitation and that it matches the specification agreed in the contract, being as near to perfect as practically possible.

I’ll start with the most common faults:

Tiling; Look carefully for broken tiles, poor grouting (don’t forget to look behind sinks, wc’s and areas not easily accessible), excess grout and cement on floors and the roof tiles. Look for tiles not matching in colour and for poor levels on floors and patios that may mean that water may not flow into the drains.

Communal areas; Yes – if your property is on a community, you own part of it. If the community facilities are not complete or are not satisfactory, put it on you snagging list. On new developments open drains and exposed wiring are a common problem – and extremely dangerous.

Surprisingly enough, one of the most common faults in newly built property is that of damp. Look out for damp patches and salt damage to internal and external walls – this could be due to lack of ventilation, but could also be caused by poorly insulated walls.

Another common fault relates to painted and decorative finishes. Look for patchy, damaged or cracked walls. Do the doors close properly, the windows fit and the locks work.

Check all the plumbing and electrical installations. Do not assume that electrical sockets and light switches work – check that this is the case. Are the sockets, switches etc installed in accordance with the plans? Check the kitchen units for poor fitting, damage and badly hung doors and also the sanitary fittings for loose fittings, toilets leaking etc etc. Make sure that the hot water supply is connected to the hot water tap and visa versa – it sounds silly, but you would be amazed at how often they don’t.

There are other things that you will want to check. Remember, the idea of snagging is that your new property will be as close to perfect as possible.

One last thing – cleaning. Probably one of the first things that you will do is to give your property a thorough clean, but the builders should have already done a ‘clean’. In reality, this won’t be done to your satisfaction, but do check for debris in the drains, behind and or underneath kitchen units etc.