Spanish Real Estate forum - Spanish property - Estate agentsSpanish Real Estate forum - Spanish property - Estate agents

LisaK · 05-28-2008, 02:23 PM

Hi, I am looking for advice on the decree 218.
We have an estate agency software solution and a property portal and I have been trying to find out information about if we have to conform to decree 218 but a lot of what I read on the internet is someones opinion and the next article I read seems to contradict the last one. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Miguel Lameiro · 05-28-2008, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LisaK

Hi, I am looking for advice on the decree 218.
We have an estate agency software solution and a property portal and I have been trying to find out information about if we have to conform to decree 218 but a lot of what I read on the internet is someones opinion and the next article I read seems to contradict the last one. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for posting the question...sharing these doubts helps others

Lots of helpful advice on Decreto 218/2005 in another area of the forum also:

http://www.spanishrealestateforum.co...g-renting.html

If you are simply an advertising medium (in many ways like a newspaper or magazine), then you do not have to worry about Decreto 218/2005. It is the responsibility of the professionals who advertise to comply with the legislation. The law applies only if you come into direct contact with buyer clients in the sale or rental of properties. Hence, to avoid the need for compliance, you cannot collect leads or details of buyer clients, nor can you advertise with the intent of receiving any correspondence from them. All correspondence must be direct to the professional agent or agency who has placed the advert.

In your case regarding advertising, a reminder for real estate agencies who advertise to ensure compliance with article 5 of Decreto 218/2005 will be helpful.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Miguel

LisaK · 05-28-2008, 03:14 PM

Hi Miguel, Thank you so much for your advice, I have potential clients asking if we conform, I can now reply to them.
There is a lot of info on the internet which seems to be hear say, I´m glad I have been able to get direct information from you, Thanks again.... Lisa

Miguel Lameiro · 05-28-2008, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LisaK

Hi Miguel, Thank you so much for your advice, I have potential clients asking if we conform, I can now reply to them.
There is a lot of info on the internet which seems to be hear say, I´m glad I have been able to get direct information from you, Thanks again.... Lisa

Hi Lisa,

Great to help out. Yes, there is a lot of misinformation out there from companies and organisations who may not have taken the time to properly consult Decreto 218/2005 *as well as* many other pieces of legislation that are directly or indirectly related to this particular decreto.

As for myself, I've reviewed many different branches of consumer protection law for Andalucía, but my true passion and area of focus and specialisation is on the Andalucian real estate sector. I've had the chance to study various aspects of consumer legislation with various university professors and Junta de Andalucia inspectors who work in this field. Some of the work and documentation prepared by my team has been consulted and printed for use by inspectors and civil servants of the Junta

I've also had the chance to chat about Decreto 218/2005 with the University professor who indeed wrote the original draft of the law. It's interesting to gain insights from the people who are shaping the current changes in home sales and rentals in the entire region.

Cheers,
Miguel

LisaK · 05-28-2008, 03:43 PM

Do you have an opinion as to whether such legislation will spread to the rest of Spain in due course?

ToniW · 05-28-2008, 04:10 PM

Hi Lisa
We have been warned here in Valencia that something similar is in the pipeline, lets hope they get it right. As i mentioned in another thread (out of place) in the UK its up to the property owner to have a "sales pack", I feel this would be the easy solution, make the owners responsible for their own property, then all agents would have it at hand when showing the properties.

Miguel Lameiro · 05-28-2008, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToniW

Hi Lisa
We have been warned here in Valencia that something similar is in the pipeline, lets hope they get it right. As i mentioned in another thread (out of place) in the UK its up to the property owner to have a "sales pack", I feel this would be the easy solution, make the owners responsible for their own property, then all agents would have it at hand when showing the properties.

Hi Toni,

Homefinder and I are engaged in an interesting discussion on the issue of vendor requirements (in addition to the comments posted in this same thread, above). Feel free to review and comment....I'll be posting a response when everyone's been able to provide feedback on a pivotal question I've posted. I look forward to feedback. Please visit:

Decree 218/2005 - How to comply with Decreto 218

Saludos,
Miguel

Miguel Lameiro · 05-28-2008, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LisaK

Do you have an opinion as to whether such legislation will spread to the rest of Spain in due course?

Hi Lisa,

The drive to promoting the protection of consumers is here to stay. These are fundamental elements enshrined in the Spanish Constitution and also promoted by the European Commission. So, being a little bit repetitive, my opion is that the laws relating to consumer protection requirements are here to stay.

Some people are surprised to learn that, indeed, some of these are directives from the European Commission on minimum requirements for consumer protection. For example, Ley 44/2006 in Spain is a direct response to a scolding from the European Commission, indicating that Spain had to provide stronger protection on consumer issues as relating to abusive contractual clauses. One of the most pertinent to our discussion includes, for example, the protection of a consumer in a property purchase from the application of "abusive contract clauses", such as relating to supporting the costs that, by law, would normally be paid by the vendor.

Just some thoughts,
Miguel

mevilla · 06-03-2008, 12:09 PM

Wouldnt surprise me if they were to start something like decree 218 in our area, maybe they have used the Andalusia region as the guinea pig, if it is successful for the local government then maybe it would be introduced in our regions.

We are not against it as we never have more than 70 - 80 properties at one time so it wouldnt really affect us massively, we are always in contact with all of our clients on a monthly basis - they often visit us so we can keep all paper that would be necessary to comply with such a law should it be introduced.