If you are buying a flat in Spain, the block itself has a compulsory periodic survey called the ITE. It is public information, it is free to check, and if it failed and the works are still outstanding, the bill lands on you the day you complete.
What the ITE is, and what it is not
The Inspección Técnica de Edificios is a periodic condition survey that Spanish councils require of residential buildings once they reach a certain age. A technician inspects the common parts: structure, façades, roofs, shared services, weatherproofing. The result is recorded as either favourable or unfavourable.
Think of it as roughly analogous to a building’s MOT. It is not a survey of the flat you are buying, and this is the single most expensive misunderstanding British and Irish buyers make in Spain. The ITE never goes inside the apartment.
You will also see the initials IEE (Informe de Evaluación de Edificios). It is a broader version of the same thing: condition, plus accessibility and energy performance. In the Madrid region it is governed by Decreto 103/2016.
Why it matters to your wallet
When you buy a flat in Spain you join the comunidad de propietarios, the owners’ association. You inherit its situation, including its obligations.
If the building’s ITE came back unfavourable, the association is legally required to carry out remedial works within a set period. Those works are funded by a derrama — a special levy on the owners, apportioned by each flat’s coeficiente de participación, the share recorded in your title deed. It is not split equally; a large penthouse pays more than a small first-floor flat.
The three works that come up again and again are façade renovation, roof waterproofing and localised structural repair. In a mid-sized block any of them runs to tens of thousands of euros. Your share can easily be several thousand.
And there is a provision that surprises most foreign buyers: the purchaser is liable for the association’s charges for the current year and the three preceding ones. That is why the certificate confirming the seller is up to date with community payments is required at completion. Ask for it, and read it.
How to check it in Madrid
Madrid City Council keeps a Registro de Edificios y Construcciones that lets anyone look up ITE and IEE data by address or by file number. It is free and public, and it is reached from the Inspección Técnica de Edificios pages on madrid.es.
With the exact address you will see whether an inspection has been filed, when, and whether the result was favourable or unfavourable.
If nothing comes up, that can mean two very different things: the building is not yet old enough to be required to file, or it is required and has not done so. Those are not remotely the same, and it is worth establishing which before you commit.
How to check it in Málaga and Andalucía
Andalucía works differently, and this catches people out. The framework is Ley 7/2021 (LISTA) and its implementing regulation, Decreto 550/2022. The general rule for residential buildings is that the obligation begins at 50 years of age and repeats at least every ten years. Individual councils may set stricter terms by local by-law.
There is no single public lookup equivalent to Madrid’s. Administration is municipal and the information is requested rather than searched. Three routes work, in order of speed:
- The administrador de fincas — the managing agent — through the seller. They hold the certificate and the minutes, and this is the most complete route.
- The town hall, through its register or electronic office.
- The seller directly. You can make production of the certificate a condition of the contract.
The three documents to ask for, always
- The most recent inspection certificate, with its result and any defects recorded.
- The certificate that the seller is up to date with community charges, which is required at completion anyway.
- The minutes of the last two owners’ meetings. This is where levies are approved, quotations are discussed and disputes surface. It is the document that saves the most money and the one almost nobody requests.
If the minutes show a levy already approved for the façade, that is a concrete figure you can take into the price negotiation. If you find out after completion, it is a concrete figure you simply pay.
A note on the age thresholds
You will find Spanish websites stating that the first inspection falls due at 30 years, others at 45, others at 50. They are not all wrong: municipal, regional and national instruments coexist and each sets its own trigger, so the answer genuinely depends on which rule applies to that building.
Do not rely on a figure from a blog, this one included. Check the official calendar for the specific municipality. Madrid, for instance, publishes its schedule by year of construction and draws up a register of the buildings that are due.
And then there is the flat itself
The ITE tells you about the shell. It says nothing about the wiring in the property you are buying, the windows, the damp on the north wall, or whether the previous owner’s bathroom refit was done properly or enclosed a balcony without permission.
Those are two separate layers and both cost money. Checking the building is something you can do yourself in ten minutes. For the flat, we send a chartered architect: up to 170 checks and a report with every defect priced in euros, within 48 working hours.