The Conservation and Maintenance of Real Estate in Spain: An Opportunity to Enable the Facility Manager to Reduce Property Reputational Damage

The conservation and maintenance of real estate in Spain are essential to ensure the safety, health, and appearance of such real estate, as well as to preserve its patrimonial value. Current regulations impose the obligation to carry out interventions on the property not only when defects are detected but also preventively, at which point the Facility Manager is a key player. This duty that falls on the property also means that when the real estate causes damage to a third party, tort civil liability is largely attributed to the property. The objective of this article is to find a way to reduce the reputational damage that weighs on the property when there is damage to third parties. From a conceptual approach between architecture and law, this article analyzes the current regulations and studies on the various non-contractual liabilities that may fall on the property. In addition, it examines the usual contractual relationships between owners and Facility Managers, considering the impacts of different contractual modalities on the distribution of responsibilities. It is evidenced that, through appropriate contracts, reputational damage can be minimized. The article concludes that it is possible to transfer responsibility to Facility Managers, which leads to minimizing reputational damage with respect to the property.