Assess a development project as well as a future home
An off-plan buyer commits money before the finished asset can be inspected. The review therefore covers the developer, land, permissions, finance, contract and safeguards for advance payments as well as the home’s design. A polished showroom and a recognised agent are useful sales information, but they do not establish that the development can be completed or that the buyer’s money is properly protected.
Identify the legal entity that will sell the property and receive each payment. Check its authority, the landowner, the developer’s rights over the site and material registered charges. If different companies own the land, build the project and sign the contract, understand how those roles fit together. The buyer should know who is responsible for delivery and against whom contractual and statutory rights can be exercised, rather than relying on the trading name printed on a brochure.
Legal framework and sources: BOE · Ley 38/1999, Ordenación de la Edificación ↗BOE · Real Decreto 515/1989, información sobre viviendas ↗BOE · Ley Hipotecaria ↗
Verify the land, licence and phase being sold
Obtain current Registry information, the relevant building licence and approved plans. Confirm that the advertised unit belongs to the licensed phase and that essential infrastructure or common facilities are included in the authorised scheme. A licence for another phase, a preliminary planning indication or a submitted application is not the same as permission for the property you are buying.
Ask about outstanding urbanisation works, access, services and any conditions affecting construction or occupation. Where facilities will be delivered later, identify the timing and whether the buyer’s use of the home depends on them. If the purchase is being marketed before the necessary licence, analyse the contract and the position of any proposed payment particularly carefully. The national advance-payment guarantee framework refers to protection from obtaining the building licence; money requested at an earlier stage should not be assumed to enjoy identical protection without a specific legal and documentary analysis.
Legal framework and sources: BOE · Ley 38/1999, Ordenación de la Edificación ↗BOE · Texto refundido de la Ley de Suelo y Rehabilitación Urbana ↗BOE · Ley Hipotecaria ↗
Require effective protection for every advance payment
The first additional provision of the Building Act regulates developers receiving payments towards homes under construction. Within its scope, the framework requires a qualifying insurance guarantee or bank guarantee and a special account for advances. The protection extends to the qualifying amounts paid, including applicable taxes, together with statutory interest on the terms established by law. These are central safeguards, not optional marketing extras.
Obtain the individual documentation identifying the buyer, property, guarantor and protected amounts. Verify the issuer and check that the coverage corresponds to the actual payment schedule, including later instalments and amendments. A general statement that the developer works with a bank, or a copy of an unrelated guarantee, is insufficient. Pay through traceable channels to the properly identified account and retain receipts. Before a material further payment, confirm that the documentary protection remains aligned with the money you will have advanced.
Legal framework and sources: BOE · Ley 38/1999, Ordenación de la Edificación ↗
Make specifications and plans part of the bargain
Preserve the advertising, floor plans, specification schedule and communications on which the purchase decision is based. Consumer information rules give legal significance to information supplied in professional housing sales. The contract should clearly describe the unit, private and common areas, annexes, finishes, installations and facilities. Avoid a broad substitution clause that appears to let the developer materially change what is being sold without a defined standard or remedy.
Areas deserve particular care. Establish whether the quoted figure is useful internal area, built area or built area including common elements, and how terraces are treated. Identify the unit and parking space precisely and state how material deviations will be handled. For buyer-requested upgrades, record price, tax treatment, drawings, installation responsibility and whether the change affects delivery or the guarantee documentation. A showroom sample or verbal assurance is much less useful in a dispute than a coherent specification signed with the contract.
Legal framework and sources: BOE · Ley 38/1999, Ordenación de la Edificación ↗BOE · Real Decreto 515/1989, información sobre viviendas ↗
Agree a meaningful delivery obligation and a delay mechanism
The contract should identify the delivery date or an objectively determinable period and explain what counts as delivery. Physical completion, availability of the required occupancy documentation, functioning essential services and the ability to execute the transfer may not occur simultaneously. A clause referring only to “completion of construction” can leave the buyer uncertain about when the home can actually be occupied.
Review extension provisions and the consequences of delay, distinguishing defined external events from an unrestricted right to postpone. Statutory and contractual remedies require analysis of the specific circumstances; a delay should not automatically be described as entitling every buyer to double the deposit. If an extension is agreed, document the new date, preservation or adjustment of rights and continuation of guarantees. Consider the real cost of delay, including accommodation, loan arrangements and relocation, before accepting a revised timetable.
Legal framework and sources: BOE · Ley 38/1999, Ordenación de la Edificación ↗BOE · Real Decreto 515/1989, información sobre viviendas ↗
Keep developer finance separate from your purchase finance
A development mortgage can legitimately finance construction, but the buyer needs a clear arrangement for release of the purchased unit or an informed decision about any proposed subrogation. Obtain the relevant information early, including allocation of mortgage liability where applicable and the lender’s requirements for cancellation. Do not assume that the unit will be released merely because the developer says the sale proceeds will repay the loan.
If you need your own mortgage, establish when valuation, underwriting and final approval can occur and what happens if the amount offered is insufficient. The developer’s relationship with a bank is not a guarantee that the buyer will obtain financing. Ensure the payment schedule is affordable independently of an unconfirmed loan and review any financing condition before signing. The total budget should include purchase taxes, transaction costs, upgrades and the cash needed at delivery, with guaranteed advances and final-price payments clearly distinguished.
Legal framework and sources: BOE · Ley 38/1999, Ordenación de la Edificación ↗BOE · Real Decreto 515/1989, información sobre viviendas ↗BOE · Ley Hipotecaria ↗
Inspect and collect the completion evidence before handover
Arrange a pre-completion inspection with a competent professional where appropriate. Compare the finished home with the agreed plans and specifications, test accessible installations and record defects in a dated schedule. Distinguish minor snagging from issues affecting safety, essential services, lawful occupation or material conformity. The appropriate response depends on significance and the contract; neither signing everything without review nor refusing completion for every cosmetic mark is a reliable universal approach.
Obtain completion and occupancy documentation, energy certification, relevant insurance, building-book information and operating or maintenance instructions. Check the Registry position and the agreed mortgage release. Record who will remedy outstanding items, to what standard and by when, with a follow-up mechanism. Do not let a general acceptance clause inadvertently contradict a written list of unresolved defects or an assurance that important documents will be delivered later.
Legal framework and sources: BOE · Ley 38/1999, Ordenación de la Edificación ↗BOE · Texto refundido de la Ley de Suelo y Rehabilitación Urbana ↗BOE · Real Decreto 390/2021, certificación energética, texto vigente ↗
Understand the guarantee’s trigger and preserve evidence
Advance-payment protection and building-defect liability are different. The former addresses the circumstances covered by the statutory and guarantee framework where construction does not start or reach the agreed completion outcome; the latter concerns specified defects after the building process. Having one does not remove the need to understand the other. Read the individual guarantee, applicable legal requirements and claim procedure before assuming that every contractual disappointment is covered.
If a serious delay or failure occurs, preserve the contract, amendments, guarantee documents, payment records and communications. Obtain advice promptly on the appropriate demand, recipient and timing. Continuing to make payments or agreeing new terms can affect the factual and legal position, so decisions should be deliberate and documented. Likewise, do not surrender guarantee documents merely because the developer requests them before the statutory and contractual conditions for their cancellation have actually been satisfied.
Legal framework and sources: BOE · Ley 38/1999, Ordenación de la Edificación ↗
An example: the second instalment exceeded the documented cover
In this fictional purchase, the buyer receives an individual guarantee corresponding to the first instalment. Months later, the developer requests a larger second payment and says the existing paperwork is sufficient. Before paying, the buyer checks the guarantee wording, payment schedule and issuer’s confirmation. The documents do not clearly demonstrate protection for the full amount that would then be advanced, including the relevant taxes.
The buyer requests properly aligned guarantee documentation and confirmation of the designated payment account. The issue is resolved before transferring the next instalment, without assuming that a bank logo or the existence of a first guarantee protects every subsequent payment automatically. The same discipline is applied to a later contract amendment extending delivery. Off-plan protection works best as a continuing process of matching money, promises and evidence, rather than a check performed once when the reservation is signed.
Legal framework and sources: BOE · Ley 38/1999, Ordenación de la Edificación ↗BOE · Real Decreto 515/1989, información sobre viviendas ↗
Sources & further reading
BOE · Ley 38/1999, Ordenación de la Edificación ↗BOE · Real Decreto 515/1989, información sobre viviendas ↗BOE · Texto refundido de la Ley de Suelo y Rehabilitación Urbana ↗BOE · Ley Hipotecaria ↗BOE · Real Decreto 390/2021, certificación energética, texto vigente ↗Editorial preview: professional legal review is pending. This guide provides general information and does not determine the legal position of a particular property.
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