I understand about poorer countries with lack of regulations, but have not thought that's possible in Europe. Government should not allow anyone to live or operate in such buildings if they're not up to code and are not finished.
How people can get mortgages for such things, or how business can register their offices if building is permanently "under construction"?
The what now?
Take your house. Now add some scaffolding for a new floor on top of it. Does it alter the ability or even quality of living in it?
It might also help hide the pool, which is also taxed.
"Up to code" isn't the same as a safe house. That's just such an american way of looking at issues. All that does is make the legal liability clear. It doesn't make anything safer or nicer.
It's like arguing that a 'stop sign' makes an intersection safer. It doesn't. Real proper pedestrian and cycling infrastructure does. Traffic calming. A stop sign just tells you who gets bankrupted when another person is killed yet again.
Your asking the question 'if it's unclear who can be sued how can people be safe' but these things are completely unrelated. As any statistic would tell you.
You could not be any more wrong and your rant at then end was irrelevant on what I've asked.
And regarding lack of regulations, I can assure you that about 50% of Europe isn't too keen on regulation, either.
Plus, few people are that stupid. This isn't actually dangerous. They generally leave some "decorative" rebar sticking out somewhere over 2m or so in the air, or on the actual roof of the building. Nobody can really get hurt, not more than you'd bump into the chimney :-)