Have you heard of the MOT for cars? Well, the ITE is something similar, only for flats and buildings.
ITE stands for Technical Inspection of Buildings. This assessment is mandatory and serves to verify the safety level of the building and that the owners have taken care of its rehabilitation and maintenance.
Unlike the MOT, the ITE does not depend on you as the owner of the property, but on the community of owners, who must request it.
When should the ITE be carried out?
Since 2012 , all buildings older than 50 years in municipalities with more than 25,000 inhabitants must undergo an ITE, unless the autonomous community has other specific regulations.
In addition, once they reach the half-century mark, they will have to pass an inspection at least once every 10 years.
To find out the age of the building, you can check the year of construction in the land registry or use the certificate of completion of work or the first occupancy license.
How is it carried out?
The ITE is carried out by a qualified technician, who will visit the house to assess its condition, exactly the same as a mechanic with a car.
The ITE process is very simple and can be summarized in three steps:
Request an appointment, just like with the MOT. Remember that the inspection must be carried out by an approved professional, who may be a surveyor, an architect or a building engineer.
Inspection of the building, which will usually be limited to common areas and structures. The technician will not normally have to access your home or any other dwelling.
Grading and possible measures . As in every exam, there will be a final grade, which will be favourable or unfavourable. The second case occurs when there are serious or very serious deficiencies that pose a security risk.
When the result is unfavorable, the community will have to carry out the reforms indicated in the report and present a certificate that they have been carried out in order to pass the ITE.
This is how you can obtain the certificate of aptitude that means you have passed the ITE.
What is valued in an ITE?
The ITE will assess:
- · The state of conservation of the building and construction in terms of safety and health.
- · Community facilities, including accessibility for people with disabilities and whether adaptation works can be carried out to improve it.
- · Energy efficiency according to the Energy Efficiency Certification of Buildings, which will be included as a guideline section.
From there, each autonomous community can establish some additional requirements.
What happens if the building does not have the ITE?
The first consequence of not having the ITE or maintaining an unfavorable ITE is that you can be fined (or the community of neighbors, actually).
The fine can reach 6,000 euros and is just one of the problems of not having the ITE. In addition, you will also need the ITE to be able to request public aid for conservation, accessibility or energy efficiency works.
On a personal level, there may be other consequences, such as stopping the sale of the house. In fact, the ITE is one of the things you should check when buying a second-hand flat, because it can give you a lot of information about possible levies in the future.
Can you get a mortgage without the ITE?
The documents that must be submitted when applying for a mortgage on a home always include the home's energy efficiency certificate and proof that the house is free of encumbrances.
The ITE is not mandatory and requesting it depends on each entity. If the bank where you apply for the mortgage does its job well and helps you with the paperwork, it would do well to mention it. After all, a building without the ITE or, even worse, with an unfavorable ITE, is synonymous with construction work, and not exactly cheap ones.
If you want to avoid these works and focus on renovating your new home, remember that there are special mortgages for buying and renovating. There are even green mortgages with better conditions if the renovation improves the energy efficiency of the home. 