Does the building inspection tell you if there is aluminosis?

What the building inspection is

It is the periodic check of a building's condition carried out by a qualified professional on behalf of the owners' association. Depending on the region it is called a technical inspection or a building assessment report (ITE or IEE). Spanish national law lets the authorities require owners in blocks of flats to show the building's state of repair, accessibility and energy efficiency; the timetable and frequency are set by each region or city council, because the Constitutional Court struck down the national provisions on them in 2017.

One example: in Catalonia every building with homes must be inspected before it turns 45, and if no defects are found the certificate is valid for 10 years.

What can the building inspection see, and what not?

It sees what is visible: the inspector walks the accessible areas and records cracks, rust or spalling in façades, roofs and structure, with their severity and deadline. Without laboratory tests, it cannot identify the cement in the joists. Catalonia's housing agency, where buildings are inspected before they turn 45, points out that it does not look for hidden defects.

The inspector walks the accessible areas and records the defects seen on façades, roofs, services and structure, with their severity and a deadline for putting them right. Rust stains on joists, cracks in ceilings or fallen concrete that the inspector sees should be recorded and graded.

Being visual, it includes no laboratory tests, so it does not say which cement the joists contain. Nor does it see what suspended ceilings hide or what is inside flats the inspector did not enter. A favourable result means no defects were recorded on that date, not that the building has no high-alumina cement.

How should you read the inspection if you suspect aluminosis?

Go to the structure section and look for floor slabs, joists, cracks, reinforcement corrosion, rust or spalling, with the deadline the inspector sets. Check the date as well: in Catalonia a certificate with no defects is valid for 10 years, according to the regional housing agency, and anything that appeared later is not recorded.

Find the structure section and, within it, the floors, joists or horizontal structure. Look for words such as cracks (fisuras), deflection (flechas), corrosion of reinforcement, rust stains, spalling (desprendimientos) or loss of section, and for the deadline the inspector sets for each one.

Check the date too: an inspection from nine years ago does not reflect anything that appeared afterwards. If there are defects in the floors, ask the owners' association for later reports and the cost of the works. When a study does look for high-alumina cement, it starts the same way, with a close visual inspection, but goes on to take samples from the joists and test them.

What if there is no inspection or you are not shown it?

Ask the property manager, read the minutes and ask for the answer in writing. A missing inspection says nothing good or bad about the building: Spain's Land and Urban Regeneration Act (Royal Legislative Decree 7/2015) lets authorities require proof of its condition, but each region or town sets the timetable, and the building's turn may not have come.

No inspection does not mean the building is fine or faulty: it may not be due yet, or the owners' association may not have commissioned it. Ask the property manager, read the minutes and ask for the answer in writing.

Without that document, the year of construction and a careful look at bathroom and kitchen ceilings and shared areas are your best clues. If the building dates from 1950 to 1970 and you see signs, speak to a professional before signing.

How HOUSINGFAX checks it

The complete report looks up the building inspection on record where the regional register is integrated and summarises it in check 01, “Building condition assessment”: date, result, defects by deadline and elements affected. Check 03, “Is there a risk of aluminosis?”, uses that information and the Catastro year to give you a level in words, from very low to very high.

Start with the free report, which shows both checks with your building's real data and the key information blurred. The essential report costs €11 and the complete report, with the recorded building condition, €19. The report does not replace a technical inspection of the building.