Terms in the glossary
- Basic seismic acceleration
Basic seismic acceleration is the characteristic value of horizontal ground acceleration that Spain's seismic building code, NCSE-02, assigns to each area, expressed as a fraction of gravity (g).
Read the full definition- Bq/m³
Bq/m³, becquerels per cubic metre, is the unit used to measure radon concentration in air: how many radioactive disintegrations per second there are in each cubic metre.
Read the full definition- Building inspection
The building inspection (ITE or IEE) is the periodic check in which an architect or building surveyor assesses a building's state of repair and, in its assessment-report version, its accessibility and energy efficiency too.
Read the full definition- Cadastral reference value
The cadastral reference value, valor de referencia in Spanish, is the value the Spanish Directorate General for the Cadastre sets for each property from an analysis of the prices of all notarised sales.
Read the full definition- Certificate of habitability
A certificate of habitability, cédula de habitabilidad in Spanish, is the official document confirming that a home is fit to live in.
Read the full definition- Derrama
A derrama is a special levy: an extraordinary payment the owners' association of a Spanish building charges on top of the regular fees to pay for works or other unplanned costs, with each owner paying according to their ownership quota.
Read the full definition- Energy performance certificate
An energy performance certificate, certificado de eficiencia energética in Spanish, is the document signed by a qualified professional that rates a home's energy use and emissions from A to G and includes recommendations for improvement.
Read the full definition- European Ground Motion Service
The European Ground Motion Service (EGMS) is a Copernicus product that uses radar from the Sentinel-1 satellites to measure, with millimetre precision, how much the ground moves across almost all of Europe.
Read the full definition- Floor slab
A floor slab, forjado in Spanish, is the horizontal element between two storeys: it is the floor of your flat and the ceiling of the one below, and it carries their weight to beams, walls and columns.
Read the full definition- High-alumina cement
High-alumina cement is a very fast-hardening cement that Spanish standards now call calcium aluminate cement (CAC).
Read the full definition- Joist
A joist, vigueta in Spanish, is a long piece, usually of precast concrete, that runs from support to support inside the floor slab and holds up the floor of each storey.
Read the full definition- Property valuation
A property valuation, tasación in Spanish, is the value of a home worked out by an approved valuation company, or a bank's valuation service, under the rules of Order ECO/805/2003; it is the figure a Spanish bank uses to grant you a mortgage.
Read the full definition- Return period
A return period is the «inverse of the probability that a flood greater than a given value occurs in a year», as Spain's Royal Decree 903/2010 defines it.
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Essential limit. Preliminary screening: it does not replace an inspection, a diagnosis, a test, a certificate or a safety report.