Choosing a contractor in Tenerife

Many of the problems experienced by foreigners improving their homes can be put down to communication difficulties with their contractors.  Sign language is not adequate to explain in detail what you require from a contractor, and the less clear you are, the less accurate your presupuesto will be.  Just as in any country, it is imperative that both you and your contractor agree with precisely what is to be done, or else you are sure to end up disappointed or paying more than you thought.

Changes in EU law mean that certain skills are more transferrable, and it is possible, for example, that an electrician qualified in the UK or Ireland can become licensed in Tenerife to trade.  Indeed, the quirky UK is slowly changing their systems to match the EU standards that Tenerife complies with.  The benefit of these changes for expats is that it is possible to skirt around the language problem by hiring a legal contractor who speaks perfect English and can understand exactly what you want.

Spain’s system is designed to ensure that you get a fair service from a contractor at a fair price.  Therefore anyone who carries out any of the building trades should be appropriately qualified and licensed to practice.  In this way, the customer is protected by consumer law, the various insurance policies that the contractor is obliged to carry, a guarantee on the materials and labour and can feel assured that the contractor is suitably qualified. 

Unfortunately, there are still unlicensed cowboys who specifically target the soft expatriate market.  Some of them are expats themselves, who may be nothing more than DIY enthusiasts refining their skills at the expense of paying customers.  Rates tend not to be any lower with unlicensed builders, indeed the eventual costs can often be much higher.  Even if you are sure that an unlicensed builder may be able to achieve the quality you want, there are less obvious costs that might come your way.

If your unlicensed contractor is found to be working on your home, you might find yourself responsible for paying for his tax and social security liabilities.  You would be treated as an illegal employer, and may even suffer worse penalties.  A legal contractor will be paying his contributions to the Agencia Estatal de Adminsitración Tributaria and the Seguridad Social, but if you are concerned about this, they should be able to obtain certificates from both agencies that show their payments are up to date.

If you are restoring an old property, it is often better to use a local artisan who is accustomed to working with the local materials with traditional techniques.  Finding good artisans can be difficult, and really relies on talking to neighbours whose properties have been restored to the standard you are looking for.  These local tradesmen are often in high demand, so you might find yourself waiting in a queue for their services.  The smaller the job, the further back in the queue you will probably be.  Local Canarian builders are not known for giving formal presupuestos or accurate start and finishing dates.  You will have to fit into the more relaxed way of working, because you stand a slim chance of changing their habits of a lifetime. 

Some contractors are not used to working with written quotes, in which case you have two options.  Either you can accept their verbal quote and hope you are a good judge of character, or you can write it for them.  Don’t be afraid to do the latter, even if you risk your builder thinking that you are rather an odd foreigner.