In Málaga, a city ordinance of November 11 2006 requires a mandatory inspection of buildings by a qualified professional. The Inspección Técnica de Edificios (ITE) is based on the age of the building and the first up are those built or refurbished prior to 1907, the deadline for these having been set for November 11th 2008.
Fines for non-compliance with the deadlines could be around €3,000.
A total of 2,671 buildings fall into this category and, with only seven months to go, only 2 have actually complied with the ordinance and had inspections carried out. One of these is the Clínica Gálvez, which received a favourable report. The other is a building in calle Peña where the owners will now have to carry out repairs in accordance with the results of the inspection report.
The Council, fearing a last-minute avalanche, has written to owners reminding them of their obligation to arrange for the inspections to be carried out. In the letter, they have also clarified a couple of issues, one being that old buildings which have undergone a major and comprehensive refurbishment within the past twenty years do not need an ITE.
It looks like busy times ahead for architects!