Finding a trustworthy plumber, electrician or builder as a newcomer

Terms used

• Administrador de fincas — The administrador de fincas is the professional who manages your building's community of owners, including shared repairs and contractors.
• Ferretería — A ferretería is a local hardware shop, often a good source of tips on reliable local trades.
• NIF — The NIF is the tax ID number of a person or company.
• CIF — The CIF is the tax ID number of a company.
• Boletín eléctrico — The boletín eléctrico is the certificate an electrician issues after a regulated electrical installation.

Key rules

• Best source: Recommendations from neighbours, the porter, your ferretería or your administrador de fincas are more reliable than online reviews.
• Installer check: For electrical, gas or heating work, confirm the installer is active on your region's register before work starts.
• Certificate: Regulated installations must end with an installation certificate, so ask for it and keep it.
• August: Book non-urgent work well before August, because many small firms close for weeks.

Start with people, then platforms

Word of mouth is the most trusted way to find a tradesperson. Ask neighbours, colleagues and the building's porter. Ask your local ferretería too: hardware shops and builders' merchants know which local trades turn up and do the job properly.

After that, try local expat or neighbourhood groups on social media and messaging apps. Online platforms and map reviews are useful for comparing quotes, but quality varies, so treat them as a shortlist and not as proof.

Your home insurance may include an assistance service for emergencies. Save its number now, before something breaks.

Ask your administrador de fincas

If you own a flat in a community of owners, the administrador de fincas arranges contractors for the shared areas and often has trusted suppliers. For work inside your own flat they do not have to help, but many will recommend someone informally, and some will arrange the work for a fee.

You hire and pay the tradesperson yourself. The administrator is not responsible for work inside your flat unless you engage them separately.

Check the credentials before you agree

Ask to see these before work starts:

• Their NIF or CIF, which is their tax ID.
• Proof that they are registered as self-employed, or that their company exists.
• Civil liability insurance, which covers damage caused by the work.
• For electrical, gas or heating work, their installer authorisation.
• For a builder, up-to-date Social Security and tax certificates. Larger jobs also need risk-prevention paperwork.

For regulated installations, the installer must give you an installation certificate. For electricity this is the boletín eléctrico. Keep it.

What you need depends on the job and your region. Small repairs may not need an authorised installer.

Look up installers in the official register

Installer authorisations are held in regional registers run by each region's industry department. Electrical, gas and heating installers must be on their region's register.

1. Ask the company for its registration number and certificate.
2. Search the register on your region's industry department website.
3. Check that the name, NIF and speciality match, and that the company is active.

There is no single national search, and each region's website works differently. Some regions need you to send a request to the industry department.

Trade associations

National and provincial associations of installers and builders usually keep member lists and will give you names on request. A name from an association is a referral and not a guarantee of quality, so still check credentials.

Plan around August

In August many small firms close for two to four weeks, often the whole month or the second half. Suppliers slow down too. Non-urgent work is hard to book, and the weeks before and after are busy.

Coastal and tourist areas may be different, because some trades keep working through the summer. For urgent problems, use your insurer's assistance service or a larger firm with 24-hour cover. Expect higher prices.

Get it in writing

Whoever you choose, get a written quote before you agree to anything. Compare at least two. The tables and lists below show which trade to call for which problem and what to ask for.

Which tradesperson to call for which problem

Most home problems go to one of a few trades, and the Spanish title is what you search for or say on the phone. A few problems need a licensed installer, an architect or an architect-technician, and a general handyman is the wrong call for those.

If you rent, tell your landlord first about any repair you did not cause. Do not hire anyone until they agree.

Everyday problems and the trade to call

Agree the price before work starts. This matters most for emergency call-outs, especially locksmiths.

Damp needs a diagnosis first

Damp has three common causes: a leak, condensation, or damp rising from the ground. Each needs a different fix. Painting over it fails. Ask for the cause to be identified before you pay for repairs.

Leaks that may not be yours

If water comes from a neighbour's flat, or damp comes from the roof, façade or shared pipes, the problem is not yours alone to fix. Notify the comunidad de propietarios (through its administrador de fincas) and your home insurer (seguro de hogar). A fontanero or a leak-detection firm (detección de fugas) can find the source. Lifts and other shared systems are handled by the firms the comunidad has hired, not by individual owners.

When it is not a job for a general trade

Gas. If you smell gas, call your supplier's emergency number or 112 first. Installation, boiler work and gas pipework need an instalador de gas autorizado. Periodic gas inspections are also done by an authorised firm.

Electrical certificates. New circuits, a higher contracted power or a rewiring need a boletín eléctrico (an installation certificate). Only the authorised electrician can issue it.

Serious cracks. Call an arquitecto (architect) or arquitecto técnico, also called an aparejador, if a crack is:

• wide, diagonal or stepped;
• growing;
• in a structural element;
• reappearing after repair;
• accompanied by sagging floors.

They can give you a written technical report (informe técnico). In older buildings it may also tie in with the building's mandatory inspection. Tell the comunidad and your insurer too.

Changes to the building. Moving or removing a load-bearing wall, or any work that needs a permit (licencia or declaración responsable) from the town hall, starts with an architect or architect-technician, not a builder. In general, the architect designs the project and directs the works for structural changes. The architect-technician controls quality, measurements and costs on site, and can design smaller reforms that do not touch structure or use.

Check locally

Who counts as authorised, and which works need a permit, differs by region and by town hall. Ask your town hall before starting anything beyond a simple repair.

Timeline and deadlines

• Book non-urgent work before the shutdown, as the weeks before and after August are also busy: well before August

• Expect many small firms to close for two to four weeks, often the whole month or the second half: during August

• Use your insurer's assistance service or a larger firm for emergencies, usually at higher prices: if something urgent breaks in August

• Allow for lead times that can stretch into September for work you could not book earlier: after August

Documents you need

• The tradesperson's NIF or CIF (tax ID), which identifies the person or company you are hiring.

• Proof that they are registered as self-employed (alta en el RETA and the Hacienda census, modelo 036 or 037), or the company's incorporation papers.

• Installer authorisation (carnet or certificado de instalador) from the region, for regulated electrical, gas or heating work.

• Civil liability insurance (seguro de responsabilidad civil), which covers damage caused by the work.

• Up-to-date Social Security and tax certificates from a builder, plus risk-prevention documentation for larger jobs.

• The installation certificate (certificado de instalación, called the boletín eléctrico for electricity), which the installer issues after regulated work and registers with the region.

Checklist

• Ask neighbours, colleagues, the porter or your administrador de fincas for tradespeople they have used.

• Compare quotes and reviews from online platforms, remembering that quality varies.

• Ask the company for its installer registration number and certificate for electrical, gas or heating work.

• Look the company up in your region's installer register on the industry department website, and confirm the name, NIF, speciality and that it is active.

• Get a written quote before agreeing to any work.

Frequently asked questions

Can my administrador de fincas recommend a plumber or electrician for my flat?

Yes, many administrators will informally recommend trades for work inside your flat, but they are not obliged to. They may arrange the work for a fee. You contract and pay the tradesperson directly, and the administrator carries no liability for private work unless you engage them separately.

Do coastal areas also shut down in August?

Yes, some do, but in coastal and tourist areas many trades keep working through the summer to serve tourist needs. Inland, expect many small firms to close for two to four weeks. Ask any trade you contact whether they are open before you plan work.

Can a trade association give me names of installers or builders?

Yes, provincial associations of installers and builders usually keep member lists and will give names on request. They do not guarantee the quality of the work, so still check credentials and get written quotes.

Who can help with an urgent repair during the August shutdown?

Your home insurance assistance service can send someone in August, because insurers and larger firms keep 24-hour emergency cover running. Expect higher prices than normal. For non-urgent work, book early, as lead times can stretch into September.