If you buy a house and shortly after they begin to show deficiencies, you have to get going right away to claim what corresponds to you. Your legal defense depends on the following aspects: whether the building is new or second-hand, the nature of the damage, its scope and its cause. Each case is different, therefore, you will need to carry out a preliminary study. The most important thing that you should not forget is that there are deadlines that are short and if you miss them, that can destroy the entire claim process.
The deadlines are as follows: if you have bought a second-hand house, you have 6 months to claim for the presence of hidden defects. For newly built homes, you as a buyer are protected by terms that are different depending on the type of defect in question.
In the case in which the damages are common to several houses in a neighborhood community or common areas of the same, the owners can file legal actions as a group of owners or as a community of owners.
In case they agree, suing as a community, they can save expenses of the judicial process (experts, lawyers, reports, etc).
How to prove the damage in the house?
Mainly since it is a newly built house, it is important to prove the origin and scope in order to quantify the compensation.
What are the deadlines for claiming compensation for damage to my home?
The Building Planning Law (LOE) establishes guarantee periods for the owners and purchasers of buildings, according to the type of damage that has been generated:
- Ten years for structural defects.
- Three years for defects that affect the habitability of the property.
- One year for finishing defects, for which the builder is responsible.
What are hidden vices?
It is necessary to know that also the status of the hidden vices in the house. If the used home presents some defects unknown to the buyer that do not make it uninhabitable but that detract from it, we are facing what in law are called hidden defects, I feel the deadline to claim the seller of only six months from the sale.
The solution is either the repair of the defect or the reduction of part of the price that covers those defects. For example: existence of humidity, pests, etc.
When do the deadlines for claiming construction defects begin?
They start from the date of the final work certificate, with which it is understood to have been delivered. It is not only used for new construction, completely as a home, but for smaller-scale works such as a room or a floor of a house that has been raised in height. Once a defect has been found, the claim must be made within two years. There are some peculiarities, for example: in damages that are continuous, such as leaks, the limitation period does not begin to count until its scope and cause is fully known.
If you want to know your possibilities to take action and obtain compensation, call Audacia Abogados, and we will help you.
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