In Spain, the Building Regulation Act (hereinafter BRA) establishes in its third chapter (articles 8 to 16) a basic definition of the building agents in Spain as well as its different types.
Firstly, the BRA establishes in this chapter that the building agents are all those natural or legal persons that participate in the building process and that their obligations will be determined by the BRA, other applicable provisions and by the contract that originates its operation.
In light of the above, it is worth asking what the building process entails. Pursuant to Article 2.1 of the BRA, this process is defined as the action and the result of building a permanent building, public or private, whose main use is included in a series of groups described in the BRA itself. For practical purposes, these groups permanently cover the totality of buildings.
Types of building agents in Spain
The BRA distinguishes the following eight types of building agents in Spain:
- The developer
- The project manager
- The builder
- The construction manager
- The director of the execution of the work
- Entities and laboratories for quality control of the building
- Product suppliers
- Owners and users
It should be noted that these categories are not watertight; there is the possibility that a single person could be classified as several types of a building agent within the same project.
Initially, the variety and range of construction agents may surprise, but, taking into account both the definition of the building process and the aforementioned basic definition of the building agent, it is obvious that any participant in the construction of the building (with even minimal relevance) will be considered a building agent.
Still, the inclusion of owners and users of buildings as building agents can be somewhat confusing, since they do not participate in the construction process of the building. However, the owners and building users are included because the legislator takes into account the importance of the proper use of work and the maintenance of buildings. This has caused these subjects to be considered building agents.
Subsequent articles will delve into the defining characteristics and main obligations of each type of building agent in Spain as well as their respective civil liability regime.
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