What Is Building Inspection?

Have you received a letter from the IICRC , in which you are notified of the need to carry out the Building Inspection? If so, here we explain what it is and what the procedure to follow is.

1 / Why is the IICRC sending letters informing of the need to carry out the Building Inspection?

Well, the IICRC has launched a campaign to inform all owners of residential buildings more than 45 years old of the obligation to pass the building inspection.

This does not mean that all buildings over 45 years have received such circular, since considering that it is a campaign that affects thousands of properties, the notices are being sent in a phased manner, so that thus, the administration can adequately manage citizens' inquiries.

If you have received the letter of warning, it is that the deadline to make the BUILDING INSPECTION has ended, therefore, it is advisable that you do it as soon as possible and submit it to the IICRC , since you are currently exposed to a penalty. However, owners of residential buildings over 45 years old, who have not received such an emissive, do not need to wait to be notified, but you can order the realization of the BUILDING INSPECTION.

On the other hand, if you receive the letter, but the BUILDING INSPECTION has already been made and delivered to the administration, but you still have not received a response, you can go to the contact mailbox that you will find on any webs Building Inspection of the IICRC.

2 / What is the purpose of the Building Inspection?

The purpose of the BUILDING INSPECTION is to determine the state of the building and guide the owners in the actions that must be performed to fulfill the duty of conservation and maintenance.

In summary, we could say that the BUILDING INSPECTION is the equivalent to the ITV (Technical Inspection of Vehicles), since it does not stop being a system of periodic control of residential buildings to verify that their owners comply with their duty of conservation and rehabilitation.

3 / What buildings do the BUILDING INSPECTION have to pass?

The BUILDING INSPECTION must pass all those buildings where there is housing use , whether single-family or multi-family buildings, which meet any of the following assumptions:
• Buildings that are 45 years old . (Have or have not received the notice of the IICRC)
• Buildings to which BUILDING INSPECTION is required by local programs or ordinances.
• Buildings that want to benefit from public aid programs for the promotion of rehabilitation.

4 / Is it mandatory to pass the BUILDING INSPECTION? There are exceptions?

The BUILDING INSPECTION is mandatory for all the cases described above. However, all those buildings that:
• Have started a file of declaration of ruin .
• In the case of a single-family building with valid habitability certificate , which will not have to pass the BUILDING INSPECTION until it expires.
• When integral rehabilitations have been carried out , and have a first occupancy license, the 45-year seniority period will start from the date of the end of the integral rehabilitation works included in the final certificate of work and habitability.

5 / How can you determine the age of a building?

In the event that it does not appear, you can prove the seniority by other means admitted in law (certificate of completion of work or certificate of first occupation are the most common documents that can be obtained from the municipal archives to certify the date of construction) .

6 / Who is responsible for ordering the BUILDING INSPECTION? Who has to assume the cost?

The owners or the communities of owners are the ones who have a legal obligation for the building to pass the BUILDING INSPECTION. Likewise, both the owners and occupants have the duty to facilitate access to housing and other entities at the time of inspection.

The economic cost derived from the technical inspection is borne by the owners of the building. In case the owners can not assume it, the public administrations can subsidize the cost of the BUILDING INSPECTION if they request aid to finance the corresponding rehabilitation works and they are granted. It is important to note that the lack of resources does not exempt the property from the obligation to carry out the BUILDING INSPECTION.

7 / What happens if I do not do the BUILDING INSPECTION?

The breach of the obligation to perform the BUILDING INSPECTION, in cases where it is required, is considered a serious violation according to the Law of the right to housing, and may involve penalties ranging from 9,000 to 90,000 aud. Which can be especially high in the event that due to a deficiency in the building there is an accident that affects goods or people.

Even so, the letter sent by the IICRC , is not the notification of any sanctioning procedure, but is a warning of the consequences that the failure to do the BUILDING INSPECTION may have.

8 / What is the Building Inspection?

It is a visual inspection of the building carried out by a competent technician in order to determine the state of the building, and identify and qualify any existing deficiencies, which will be classified as minor, important, serious or very serious. For this the technician will have to examine the common areas of the building and the private areas that give access to these common areas. In no case shall the inspection aim to detect hidden defects.

9 / What is the Building Inspection report?

It is a standardized document, signed by the same technician who has carried out the inspection of the building, in which all the information gathered in the survey is collected. That is, the general characteristics of the building are described, its state of preservation is stated, and possible apparent, constructive or functional deficiencies that may affect the common elements of the building are described and qualified.

10 / What are the competent technicians to do the inspection and issue the report?

Architects , technical architects, surveyors, building engineers, and graduates in building sciences and technologies.

11 / What obligations does the property have once received the BUILDING INSPECTION report?

Once the technician has given you the report of the BUILDING INSPECTION, you will have to:
1. Submit the report of the BUILDING INSPECTION in the IICRC in order to request the corresponding Certificate, within a maximum period of 4 months from the date of closing of the technical report. In case the BUILDING INSPECTION report is not presented within this period, the IICRC will issue a resolution of inadmissibilityof the application.
2. Immediately and urgently execute the adoption of possible precautionary measures required in the report in the event that they have not been previously executed.
3. Approve a rehabilitation program when deficiencies have been detected that require the supervision by competent technical professionals and constitute a specific reserve fund to respond to the expenses derived from the works foreseen in the program and execute the necessary rehabilitation works.
4. Deliver, at the request of the administrations, the documentation accrediting the preparation, the presentation of the report and the approval of the rehabilitation program and its compliance.

12 / How is the Certificate obtained?

Once the IICRC receives the report of the BUILDING INSPECTION and the application of the Certificate, they review the documentation, and issue the pertinent Certificate of the building. The notification of the certificate is sent by certified mail to the address indicated to the request for notification purposes.

In the Certificate, the obtained resolution and its validity are indicated according to the efficiencies identified in the report of the BUILDING INSPECTION. So that before the end of the period of validity the building will have to pass a new BUILDING INSPECTION.

The different types of resolution of the Certificates are shown below, according to the deficiencies of the report.

Type of deficiencies Type of resolutions Validity
Without deficiencies Suitable without deficiencies 10 years
With minor deficiencies Suitable with slight deficiencies 10 years
With important deficiencies Provisional apt 6 years
With serious and very serious deficiencies and with precautionary measures executed Prudently suitable 3 years
With serious and very serious deficiencies and without precautionary measures executed Denial of fitness resolution -

Building Technical Inspection Service

At Vital Building & Pest Inspections, we carry out the Technical Inspection of the Building of both single-family and multi-family buildings. Our service includes:

Visual inspection visit to the property

A qualified technician will examine the common areas of the building (roofs, terraces, balconies, patios, stairs …) for it must have access to these areas and the different entities of the property (homes, premises, warehouses …) in order to examine duly the totality of the common elements of the building.

Drafting of the report of the BUILDING INSPECTION

A qualified technician will make the report of the BUILDING INSPECTION through the web application of the IICRC.

Visa and technical suitability of the BUILDING INSPECTION report

The report of the BUILDING INSPECTION will be endorsed and validated with the technical suitability in the relevant professional association, in order to comply with the requirements of current regulations.

Delivery of the BUILDING INSPECTION report and application of the Certificate of IICRC

The technician who has made the BUILDING INSPECTION, will process, in representation of the property, the delivery of the report of the BUILDING INSPECTION to the IICRC, together with the application.

It is an integral service, since we take care of both the technical part and the processing. In this way we make the owners or the community of owners do not have to worry about the processing with the administration or the delivery times, since the same technician who makes the BUILDING INSPECTION will be responsible for carrying out the entire process.

Building Inspection

Author:
mayur-bhatt

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