In today’s post we are going to play Guess Who?, the classic children’s game in which the characters’ profiles are revealed one by one as you go along, but applied to building your own home. As we have explained in earlier posts, to bring a building project safely to completion you need to go through a series of milestones, and at each one different professionals – the building agents, or agentes de la edificación – come in, each with a very specific role. Today, as an architecture practice in Málaga, we are going to explain who these agents are and make clear how far each one’s responsibilities extend.
The developer (promotor – in this case a self-builder, or autopromotor)
The person who takes on the job of getting the house built. As they will be the one living in it, the house has to suit their lifestyle, their needs and, obviously, their budget.
To count as a self-builder and benefit from the tax advantages that come with it, the aim must not be to let or sell the house. A self-builder pays 10% VAT (IVA) on the contractor’s quote (presupuesto de contrata), compared with the 21% paid by a conventional developer.
The architect (designer)
Designs the house to meet the client’s requirements, taking into account the constraints of the chosen plot and the regulations in force, and making sure it is viable to build. The architect will normally handle the preliminary design (anteproyecto), the basic design (proyecto básico), the construction project (proyecto de ejecución) and site management (dirección de obra), concepts we will look at in depth in a future post.
Fees for these services range from 6 to 10% of the net construction cost of the works (presupuesto de ejecución material, or PEM). And we should remind you that investing in design means guaranteeing comfort for as long as the house is lived in.
The architect as site director (director de obra)
As mentioned above, this role is often taken on by the architect who designed the house, although that does not necessarily have to be the case. According to the relevant legislation, the role consists of “forming part of the site supervision team (Dirección Facultativa) and directing the progress of the works in their technical, aesthetic, planning and environmental aspects, in accordance with the project that defines them, the building permit and other mandatory authorisations and the terms of the contract, with the aim of ensuring that they are fit for their intended purpose”.
The terminology often causes confusion here, as it suggests that the role is to direct the construction work and the workers and to take charge of the works being carried out properly. It is not: the site director is a general supervisor who makes sure that everything proceeds according to the project and that no mistakes are made by whoever is building the works.
The works execution director (director de ejecución, the aparejador)
According to the relevant legislation, “the works execution director is the agent who, as part of the site supervision team, directs the execution of the works in their technical, aesthetic, planning and environmental aspects, in accordance with the project that defines them, the building permit and other mandatory authorisations and the terms of the contract, with the aim of ensuring that they are fit for their intended purpose.”
In other words, this building engineer keeps meticulous control of the works, continuously monitoring both the site and the materials that arrive, and checking on the client’s behalf that the contractor is doing the job properly.
Their fees range from 2 to 4% of the PEM.
The building contractor
The agent who undertakes to carry out the works – in other words, who provides the labour and materials needed to build the house in accordance with the project – and who also hires the site manager (jefe de obra): the person in charge of the workers.
The health and safety coordinator
Coordinates the application of the general principles of prevention and safety. Put simply, they make sure that everything that happens on site is done in accordance with safety and control regulations, so that incidents are avoided. The site director and the works execution director may take on this role between them. Together, these three roles make up the site supervision team (Dirección Facultativa).
The land surveyor (topógrafo)
The technician responsible for producing the exact survey of the plot, using specialist instruments that guarantee every point on the ground is accurately referenced. This is essential so that, when the house is designed on paper, everything matches the physical reality of the plot.
The geologist
Provides the geotechnical report (informe geotécnico), an essential document for understanding the physical make-up of the ground the house will be built on, and therefore what type of foundations and structure it will need.
Technical control body (OCT)
These are bodies that check the quality of the structure. Their involvement is required in order to take out ten-year structural insurance, and a developer is obliged to appoint one. For a self-builder it is optional, as we will see next.
The insurance company, for the ten-year structural insurance (seguro decenal)
Ten-year structural insurance is an obligation of the developer, so that if the building has any structural problems, the buyer is covered. For a self-builder, who is their own client, this obligation can be waived. However, the deeds will then carry a note stating that the ten-year liability is not insured, and if you decide to sell before those 10 years are up, this will make the property harder to sell.
The bank
If you are going to finance the build with a development loan (crédito promotor), the bank and the valuer will effectively be one more agent in the building process. The bank will release the funds as its valuer or the site director certifies the progress of the works.
The valuer (tasador)
For some banks, the supervision team’s progress certificates are not enough on their own: they send a valuer to confirm the state of the works month by month before releasing the next instalment of the development loan.
The town hall
Issues the building permit (licencia de obra) you need before you can build, and is also where you will have to pay a series of planning taxes and fees (tasas) relating to use of the land during construction, waste management, occupation of the public highway, utility connections and so on. It is also where you apply for the first occupancy licence (licencia de primera ocupación), which you need in order to execute the deeds.
The notary
Draws up the deeds for the house once it is finished.
The land registrar (registrador de la propiedad)
Records the deeds at the Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad).
The tax office (Hacienda)
Throughout the whole process, several taxes are settled with the tax office, such as stamp duty on documented legal acts (Actos Jurídicos Documentados) and VAT itself.
And that is the full list of agents. Its length should not put you off choosing to build your own home, as this model has many advantages over buying a house that has already been built or developed by someone else.
Having someone you trust alongside you throughout the process will make it quicker and more manageable, and at our architecture studio in Málaga we have a team of specialists ready to make things easy for you. And remember, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch. 🙂
