The countdown begins to claim off plan properties that were never-handed over.

October 7, 2020 is the last day for you to claim your off plan property bought before January 1, 2016 for which you never received your keys.

Many of those who advanced money to buy a house that was never built or handed over have been able to recover their investment and many others are in the midst of a painful judicial battle.

However, there may be thousands of investors who have given up all hope and don´t know that it´s still possible to recover their investment.

Those affected by this ordeal usually end up accepting their financial loses as in most cases the incident occurred over ten years ago, assuming there are no options to recover what´s rightfully theirs.

However, there´s still time to act since the deadline for an off plan property´s cooperative or buyer   to claim the return of their money under Law 57/68 is October 7, 2020, unless the agreed delivery date was prior to October 7, 2005, in which case the term will end after 15 years from the agreed delivery date.

People who purchased their home before December 31, 2015.

This regulation applies to those who purchased their home before December 31, 2015. It was then when the Law 20/2015 entered into force and introduced several changes regarding the claim´s deadlines.

Said Law states that the amounts contributed by the buyers are only guaranteed from the moment the builder or cooperative obtained the building license, given the fact that until then it is not mandatory to contract an insurance or bank guarantee.

Another aspect that it introduced regarding the claim period relates to the guarantee. With the new rule, in the event that the buyer doesn´t claim the guarantee within two years from the time the builder committed his/her breach, the buyer will no longer be able to ask the guaranteeing bank to return his/her contributions.

So, if you bought an off plan property before January 1, 2016, you´re still in time to recover what is yours!

And what about those who bought it after 2016?

What happens to those who signed the contract after October 7, 2015 or who did so from January 1, 2016?

All of them are also affected by the five years time limit, but not the day of commencement of that period. Each specific case will have to be analysed to determine when the applicable period begins, but in principle these people will be able to claim their contributions after October 7, 2020.

Are you one of investors who lost a sizeable deposit on an off-plan property in Spain? We can help you recover your deposit next, contact us.

We want to help you navigate all the legal complexities that come with your home buying in Spain, but this article is legal information and should not be seen as legal advice.