Periodic inspection 50year plus houses

Hello all

In the process purchasing house in malaga that was built in 1936.

Question like to ask if anyone has knowledge on periodic building inspections (5year intervals in my understanding).

Been lead to believe that house owners don't carry out these inspections and vendor of property I'm purchasing won't have have undertaken these periodic inspections and these periodic inspections nothing to concern yourself with.

Question I would like to ask, should I be concerned?

For a house that old I would have a professional survey the place. It might even save you money as you can haggle on the price if serious issues are found.


In Spain, you buy a house as seen i.e. after the purchase the original owner has no liability unless it´s a new build.

Concerning periodic building inspections, I have lived here for 20-odd years, never heard of them :-)

Thanks for your advice on professional survey, will definitely take onboard.

Periodic building inspection on buildings over 50years, was told by estate agent was legal requirement but not many have them.

My understanding is that was originally brought in so residents could report buildings in thier neighborhood been lived in that looked structurally unsafe.

Inspeccion Tecnica de Edificios (ITE)

If anyone has knowledge on ITE, is it common when purchasing a property to ask for current Certificado ITE?

Thanks for any reply.

@gyoung5718 Reading you previous post about irregularities on the building work plus this issue is to think very carefully about the purchase.

As you have already been informed the   Inspección Técnica de Edificios is needed to comply with the laws of Spain. There are limitations on which urban zones this can be an obligation. You need to ascertain exactly the zone(s) in Málaga.

They have just finished a campaign relating to buildings being inspected in the city. https://coamalaga.es/agenda/noticias/ac … de-malaga/ There are links to the City's website in the article.

If you do not obtain one then there is a possibility of a fine. That could be as much as 60,000€.

If the building has had work undertaken without permissions there are more fines that you will be liable for. Plus extensions should be added to the property details (catastral) so that the IBI tax can be adjusted. The city hall can ask for back payment.

The consequences on not having building permissions read this https://terrenos.es/blog/construir-sin-licencia and this https://www.certicalia.com/legalizar-obras-sin-licencia

IMHO this is a troublesome house.

You have seek very good legal advice.

Thank you very much for your information reply.

The vendor has begrudgingly informed my solicitor they have agreed to move forward with property purchase that the house additions will be registered with Castastro and Registro de la Propiedad.

I would also presume when registering with these governing bodies they would require a current ITE certificate for the original house.

This process can take many many months. Ask any perito/aparejador- this is the profession which deals with changes to property details if they are not correctly registered.

Even after a long wait there is no guarantee that the changes will be accepted.

I hope that you have a awful lot of patience to see this through.

@gyoung5718

My advice would be to hire an architect to inspect the structure of the building, it might cost 200+€ but well worth the peace of mind.

@gyoung5718
My advice would be to hire an architect to inspect the structure of the building, it might cost 200+€ but well worth the peace of mind.
-@Lmflmf1

What will that do? It will not formalise/legalise the present issues with the house.

@gyoung5718 the ITE is required on certain old buildings within urban areas with a population over 25,000 people which would include Malaga. If you or your solicitor check with the local town hall they will tell you if this building needs an ITE. It's nothing to be worried about just another piece of Spanish bureaucracy but of course there will be a cost attached to carry out the test.