In Palma de Mallorca, a builder has been sentenced to 5 years in prison for fraud for participating in the sale of a completely refurbished house without having the necessary permits from the local council, which decreed the demolition of the house as it had been built illegally.
The first thing to bear in mind is that a house must comply with the town planning requirements of each municipality, so that, if they are not met, a town planning infringement can be incurred and therefore the council can order the legalisation, demolition and fines (depending on each case).
In this case it has been demonstrated that the builder had a close relationship with the seller (administrator of the selling company, who is on the run from justice), that he knew about the illegalities, that he tried to legalise without success, that he was present at the signing of contracts and that after the sale he became the owner of the selling company.
All this proves that they deceived the buyers and for this reason, in addition to 5 years in prison, they have been forced to return the full purchase price as compensation.
A few years ago there was another case in Mallorca where the seller had hidden some illegalities and the buyer was able to withdraw from the option contract and receive compensation (double the down payment). In this other case it was a civil matter, not a criminal one, and the purchase was never made, only the option contract was made.
According to the Ley del Suelo R.D. 7/2015, the seller has the obligation to inform the buyer of the illegal parts of the house and if he does not do so, the buyer has four years to resolve the contract and also claim compensation.
It is also true that there are other cases where judges have said that the buyer had the right and obligation to investigate what they were buying and for that reason they have not been able to terminate the contract or receive compensation.
Our conclusion: I think it will depend on each case and it will be very important to know if the buyer is a consumer or not and if it can be proved that the seller knew about the illegalities (many sellers do not).
Lawyer
Email: alonso@cornerabogados.com