Calidad de vivienda y seguridad en el consumo. Corte Suprema, 9 de julio de 2018, rol 4065-2018

The present commentary analyses the case Servicio Nacional del Consumidor con Inmobiliaria Francisco de Aguirre Limitada, in particular the judgments of the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court on the occasion of the hearing of an appeal and, later, cassation on the merits; which dealt with the scope of application of Law No. 19,496 on the Protection of Consumer Rights. To this end, and after briefly summarizing the facts, we will explain the legal problem posed by the concepts of quality and safety and their relationship with the applicable regulations. In turn, we will present the arguments of the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court in this regard, with special consideration of the dissenting vote of the Member Attorney Ms. Chaimovich on distinguishing the rights of safety from the quality of housing within the consumer relationship. With this, we intend to achieve an adequate understanding of the matters excluded from the law and the distinction between the rights it protects.