The decree on the illegal properties was meant to have been ready within six months of its announcement back in March but is still not ready and the provincial delegate for Public Works and Housing has stated that will not be ready until November, more than likely December.

So there are still around 50,000 home owners of illegal properties in Andalucía that will have to wait several more months before the new regulations come into force. Once they are it is hoped they will be able to start the process of legalising their properties.

According to the Junta de Andalusia’s legal department, they have only started to study the recommendations recently as the information was presented to them in July. It is expected to take several more months as the relevant legal experts have to make sure that the new decree will not contravene any existing documentation. Once they have confirmed this, it will then more onto the Junta’s Government Committee to approve it.

In the meantime, while the affected property owners wait, they are still in the situation where they do not even know is the new decree will even benefit them. Although a minority, there are property owners who cannot show any documents showing they bought in good faith. If these properties comply with the safety and habitation conditions and were built long enough ago that the period of legal action has expired, then those properties will be moved into a special property classification.

Unfortunately, although I hope I am wrong, I do not think this will end well for all 50,000 property owners.

Regards
Andrew Bellés

In its conclusions to the investigation the public prosecution department accuses Ruiz Casado, and his wife, Teresa Maldonado, of wrongful appropriation and calls for a four year prison sentence for both of them. The private prosecution accuses the defendants of fraud in addition to wrongful appropriation and asks for sentences of eight years each.

According to the public prosecution the sales contracts specified that deposits paid would be returned with the corresponding interest if the dates for the start and completion of the project were not honoured. If the developers had opened an account for the funds for other things, he would have been able to pay them back” explains the prosecution.

Representing the buyers, the private prosecution claims that the buyers signed their contracts and fulfilled their financial obligations “under clear and evident deceit, as they were led to believe that the development was being built”.

“There wasn’t even planning permission” say the legal representatives of the buyers, stressing that there is evidence of fraud. Both public and private prosecution call for the funds to be returned.

Source: Sur in english print edition 17th to 23rd of June 2011

In some cases, the prospective owners – many of whom were from Northern Ireland – put down an £85,000 deposit for their Spanish properties.

However, the land still belonged to its original owner and the complex was never built.

An investigation is now ongoing into Ocean View Properties, based in Birmingham, which was the British representative for Sun Golf Desarrollos Immobiliarios SL in Spain.

The company was formally dissolved in March last year when investigators and liquidators were brought in to try and recoup some of the losses for its creditors.

No charges have been brought, but the official receiver public interest unit in Manchester has until March 2011 to decide whether or not they will launch a civil case.

It is understood a police investigation was also undertaken, but the decision over whether to pursue criminal charges has yet to be made.

Ian Richardson, from chartered accountants Grant Thornton, was appointed liquidator in June last year and described the amount of money recovered so far as “negligible”.

Antonio Flores, from the Spanish law firm Lawbird in Marbella, is representing a group of victims from Belfast.

Around 100 families, who made payments to Ocean View Properties totalling £6 million, formed an action group to try and claw their money back.

Mr Flores said it was time for other victims to join together in other parts of the UK.

“It is going to be very difficult for them to recover their investment,” he said.

“It is now up to individuals who have lost their money to team up, put names and amounts on a piece of paper, get qualified legal representation and file a suit.

“It is only then that national Governments, with their unlimited resources and power, will be forced to do something and find out where and with whom did each pound paid towards a dream homes end up.”

Mr Flores said the development site was owned by an elderly Spanish man who was promised 200,000 Euros for agreeing to sell his land, without planning permission.

The lawyer said the owner had not been paid.

Mark Mackay is one of the investors who told how he lost his money: “I paid £85,000 advance for an apartment at Sun Beach but when it all started to go wrong, they offered me another in Morocco.”

Mr Flores said the investors should have used their own lawyers, rather than one affiliated to Ocean View Properties.

“If you use the lawyer that represents the interests of the developer you are asking for trouble,” he said.

A group of 14 Britons, who lost an average of £70,000 each, said they were taking joint legal action and were in touch with “many others” also affected.

“We are taking group action against a lawyer who was recommended to us by Ocean View Properties,” said a spokesman.

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

The General Plan for Urban Development (PGOU) for Marbella, in Malaga Province, was recently approved and its aims are to restore judicial safety to the town, as well as attempting to solve problems from the past relating to the more than 16,500 illegally built homes.

It will achieve this by setting a series of deadlines to initiate the regularization procedures, warning that if these proceeding are not started, the town hall will be able to take action (at the expense of owners or promoters) and/or if necessary leave homes which do not do so out of the PGOU, that is, in an illegal situation.

The latter carries leads to the loss in value of the property as well as the limitation on credit and sales possibilities.

The irregularities in homes detected in the PGOU are multiple, but are mainly related to building on protected land, on land destined for public areas without complying with the legal transfer duties (non-transfer of free areas and resources); areas with excessive building or density, among others.

Due to the amount of different problems, the PGOU could not set global or general solutions, but on the other hand, has tried to find individual solutions, which inevitably can lead to unfair situations in which the correct assessment is advisable.

The size of the problem can be seen in the image below, where the PGOU map of Marbella shows more than 1,000 illegal urbanizations.

The PGOU does not legalise the affected homes and communities, but instead establishes the way they can be legalised, setting a Development charge which affects them, this is why it is essential to be properly advised, so the deadlines are complied with and that all necessary measures can be taken and actions carried out in order to ‘legalize’ properties.

The participation of local residents in drawing up the PGOU is fundamental, and not only something which the urban development law wants to promote, but also the only way to guarantee to normal citizens, that our political representatives and leaders know our problems, our demands and proposals.

Many Town Halls all over are starting the drafting of the PGOU, so it is recommended to make the participation positive, pointing out the real existing problems, proposing alternatives to solve them, opening the dialogue necessary for the elaboration of the PGOU.

In our opinion, the instrument which allows the complex and untidy situations to be legalised must be the PGOU, in that it is an efficient and necessary judicial setting which is needed to provide judicial safety to the area, guaranteeing citizens the due confidence in the existing legal setting, and therefore, the due respect for their assets and rights.

The main town planning problems.

One of the main problems is the lack of First Occupation License, which allows the house to be used. There are many reasons why they do not have the license (such as not having or flouting a building license, the urbanization not having been carried out, fees not being paid…) therefore, it is fundamental to know the status of the property, not only if they want to sell or mortgage it, but also to avoid devaluation. And now in Andalucia, because a recent act, the companies could even cut services off in case you don’t have the FOL.

Another problem is when promoters have not fulfilled the contract or completed the urbanization, meaning that the services and resources have not been completed and the infrastructure required by the town hall is not in place. In many cases, he town hall demands current owners of the homes to comply with the requirements, demand that they be carried out, or that large sums of money be paid.

In many other cases, when there is no building license or it has been flouted, the Town Hall can start proceedings to make the property legal, demanding that urban planning laws be obeyed and with the possibility of ordering that the unduly built home or extension be demolished.

It is important to note that this action can expire within four years (unless protected land or green areas).
Also, the coastal boundary is affecting many properties. When demolition orders are issued for buildings near the sea or on the coastline these are hard to solve, but precedents are of vital importance to lead one in the right direction and show that the Law provides different alternatives for each case.

Source: EWN Business

Today I want to inform you of a further action being undertaken by a fellow sufferer, Keith Rule, leader of the Finca Parcs Action Group. He has devised a further petition regarding the problems surrounding bank guarantees. It was launched yesterday on the EyeonSpain website. Unlike the earlier one, this is a very thorough and precise exploration of the issues. Keith is attempting to provide the various leaders of the governments and relevant organisations of both England and Spain with HARD FACTS re the Spanish law (Ley 57/68), through which we are required to work, and the HARD FACTS connected with the miserable circumstances in which many of us have found ourselves.

The petition has been devised as a survey. It asks you to provide these HARD FACTS which will be compiled and presented as a dossier of evidence including formal statistics to the leaders that you will find listed at the head of the petition.

It has taken Keith two years of research, drafting and refining the petition and he has left no stone unturned to get it right and legally correct. I urge you to look at the website http://www.bankguaranteesinspain.com and complete as much of it as you can. Everyone can sign (anonymously if you wish – the only requirement is that you have an e-mail address) as it caters for all those who have had, or are having, to deal with a bank guarantee issue in their attempt to purchase an off-plan property. It allows for both winners and losers to sign and it also allows supporters of the spirit of the petition to sign, too.

The more HARD FACTS you can provide the stronger the HARD EVIDENCE.

Please get behind Keith and help to make this petition one that cannot be ignored.

Thank you.
Ruth Genda

Thousands of homes that were bought or built in good faith across the area are at risk since the regional authority began reviewing local councils’ planning approvals – and concluded that in many cases, permission to build should never have been granted.

The threat of sending in bulldozers at short notice has horrified the estimated 5,000 Britons with properties in the hillsides of Almanzora, one of the worst affected areas 60 miles north of the coastal city of Almeria in southern Spain.

Hundreds of properties have already been served with demolition orders, but most homeowners had not felt under immediate threat because of Spain’s slow-moving legal system. They believe that the fast-track demolition orders will change that.

“The fast-track orders could speed up the legal process and hasten demolitions,” said Maura Hillen, who organised a mass rally against them in Malaga. To add insult to injury, after a demolition the victim would have to pay the municipality for the bulldozer.

“We are really worried about express demolition, because officials here have a habit of doing crazy things,” she said.

The former IT specialist in the City of London, aged 46, has set up a group of Britons who, like her, have been given demolition orders. They are using skills from their former professional lives and funds raised from car boot sales to pay for their campaign.

They call themselves the “Albox 8″, after the small town where they live, whose population has risen from 15,000 to 22,000 over the last decade. Builders and property developers prospered as new villas sprouted during a four-year property boom that began in 2000, and local officials praised the foreigners who brought money to the impoverished region. Almost overnight, on dusty roads where there had once been plodding donkeys, newly rich farmers were driving Mercedes limousines.

Then Spain’s overheated property market was rocked by a series of corruption scandals, and the regional government began scrutinising permission granted by local council officials.

Half-built properties are thought to be at greatest risk of the new, prompt demolitions, putting people like John and Liz Brown, originally from Hampshire, into the firing line.

The whitewashed churches and almond groves seen from their villa make up the kind of spectacular view they dreamt of before they took the plunge and sold up in Britain.

But the couple have never moved into a property on which they spent £140,000, after a court order stopped construction before the windows were fitted. Since then they have fought a legal battle to be allowed to live there.

Now there is a real chance that officials will send in a bulldozer in the coming months to flatten the house on which they have spent their life saving, but where they have never lived.

“Spain is a lovely country with friendly people and a wonderful lifestyle but when it comes to law, this is the Third World,” Mr Brown said, standing amid rusting cans and scattered breeze blocks where his swimming pool was supposed to be.

“It was always our dream to retire here and we worked hard to do it. But now I wish I had never bought a property. People in Britain who are thinking of coming here should know what they are letting themselves in for.”

Other residents of the region were equally perturbed. Expatriates fear that any day an official could knock on their door with a legal order declaring their dream home was built without the requisite permission. Every time a JCB digger drives into the area there is panic.

The dashed dreams are particularly cruel for retired couples like the Browns – another member of the Albox 8 – who are too old to start again.

“We spent all our savings on this villa,” said Mrs Brown, 60, a former driving instructor. “We can’t go back to Britain because we have burnt our bridges and we haven’t got anything left.” Her husband has had cancer for the past year. Mr Brown, 72, is a former soldier and veteran of the Malayan campaign, who worked for British Airways before his retirement.

Some residents served with demolition notices have suffered stress-related illnesses and one, Muriel Burns, said she had been suicidal since being served a demolition notice just before Christmas.

Mrs Burns, 70, and her husband John, 82, originally from Batly in West Yorkshire, have pledged to handcuff themselves to the French windows and die together inside their tastefully decorated living room if the bulldozer comes.

The result has been crippling for Britons who in most cases bought in good faith, trusting Spanish property developers, lawyers and local officials to provide the correct paperwork. Most have been horrified to discover their houses may lack the necessary permission.

Juan Espadas, the former housing and town planning minister for the regional government, defended the measure introduced during his tenure. “This express demolition law will only be applied in very illegal cases,” he said. “In all cases the owners will have the opportunity to defend themselves.”

Since the financial crisis hit, the expatriates’ enviable lifestyle has been hit by a falling pound, negative equity, and a shrinking jobs market, on top of demolition fears.

“Half the British you speak to now are leaving or want to leave,” Mr Brown said. “The way it feels here, the Spanish dream is over.”

Source: Telegraph

Yesterday in the European parliament’s Petitions Committee, a Spanish government spokesman attracted widespread condemnation for Spain’s failure, over many years, to act on extensive property scams, affecting British and other buyers of Spanish holiday and retirement homes.

In the meeting, Alicia Paz, Director General for Sustainability of Coastal Regions, asserted that the Spanish Coastal Law, implicated in many of the forced expropriations of seaside property, was intended to preserve Spain’s fragile coastal environment. But she failed to explain how such a law could be applied retrospectively, how it could be used to deny basic property rights to Spanish and foreign investors who had bought property on the basis of binding contracts and land registration, and why the expropriations seemed to apply to private householders, but not to hotels and major developments.

Over the years I have received dozens of complaints from constituents or former constituents, many telling tragic stories of elderly couples who had spent their life savings on a dream retirement home on the Costas, and lived there happily for months or years, only to wake up one morning to find an eviction notice on the doormat, and bulldozers at the gate. Some have seen their dreams, their homes, and their life savings literally reduced to rubble before their eyes.

In addition to the Coastal Law, which has seen thousands of properties taken into public ownership without proper compensation (at best owners are offered a temporary lease on the properties they previously owned), the region of Valencia has seen extensive expropriations based on local planning laws. There are widespread and credible reports of collusion between developers and corrupt local politicians. In some cases, to add insult to injury, owners are presented with bills for tens of thousands of Euros for the provision of utilities to the very land they’ve had taken away.

Yesterday, in the debate, I pointed out that countries wishing to join the EU had to demonstrate that they had a functioning market economy, which required the rule of law, rights of property, and  enforceability of contracts. Spain was failing to meet these criteria. If Spain were now applying to join the EU, it could be excluded on those grounds. I am also disappointed by the attitude of the European Commission, which claims it is unable to take any action under EU law, despite Article 17 of the much-vaunted “Charter of Fundamental Rights”, which states that a citizen “Has the right to own, use, dispose of and bequeath his lawfully acquired possessions” . The Charter came in with the Lisbon Treaty.

Over many years I have been frustrated that there is so little I can do to help victims of these scams. Now at least during the Spanish EU Presidency we are building up the pressure on Spain, and on the EU Commission, to take decisive action. In the past, Spanish MEPs have tended to support the status quo, but I was struck yesterday that all but one of the Spanish MEPs who spoke demanded action to resolve the problems.

Source: Roger Helmer MEP

Local Government Minister Rosie Winterton this week welcomed progress to give better protection to UK citizens living in or considering moving to Spain and pressed the Spanish Government to seek long-term solutions to the current property problems faced by some UK citizens.

Ms Winterton met with Manuel Chaves, Spain’s Third Vice-President and Minister for Territorial Policy, and Gaspar Zarrias, Spanish Minister of State for Territorial Affairs, to discuss the property ownership problems some UK nationals are facing in Spain despite purchasing homes in good faith.

Ms Winterton welcomed, as a positive first step, agreements, announced recently by Mr Zarrias and Chis Bryant that will be signed between the UK and both the Junta de Andalucia and the Valencian Regional Government for a regional civil servant from each of the two regional governments to advise UK citizens on integrating into Andalucia and Valencia.

They will give local, informed advice to British citizens in these regions, on a range of issues such as purchasing property, registration with local authorities, and healthcare coverage in Spain.

But Ms Winterton also made clear the importance of finding long-term solutions to help those facing difficulties at present, to ensure that nationals living in or considering moving to Spain feel better protected.

Ms Winterton said:
“The agreement is a positive first step and such innovative co-operation is certainly the way forward. Having regional civil servants in our consulates to advise UK citizens will help people to feel reassured and better protected.”
“But we remain absolutely committed to working with the Spanish Government to find long-term solutions to the problems currently faced by those who bought property in Spain in good faith.”

Minister for Europe, Chris Bryant said:
“I met with Gaspar Zarrías, Minister of State for Territorial Affairs, and Juan Espadas Cejas, Consejero de Vivienda y Ordenacion de Territorio at the Junta de Andalucía at the British Consulate in Malaga earlier this month to announce the appointment of these two Spanish civil servants. I’m fully supportive of Rosie Winterton’s work in this area to ensure that the British Government does all it can to help British citizens affected by this issue.
“I would advise people to be extremely careful with property purchases overseas. Through our Travel Advice we suggest that prospective buyers seek independent legal advice and contact relevant local associations of those affected by property problems.”

Source

According to Phillip Smally of Save our Homes Axarquia (SOHA) “The Junta de Andalucia is responsible for the current situation. We have been hearing for several years that the problem will be solved, that each case is being reviewed, but in the meantime we are seeing many properties being declared illegal and are being demolished. We do not feel that we are receiving enough leniency as many of us bought in good faith and were never told that the properties we were buying were illegal”.

It is expected for Martha Andreasen (UK politician) to make an appearance. A lady who recently came to attention in Spain for pressing Spain’s Premier José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero over illegal build.

Regards
Andrew Belles

For the properties still outside the urban plan there is still hope though as, in theory at least, the courts are meant to consider the interests of all involved, which will include those who occupy the properties.

There are also several groups of residents that will more than likely appeal against the current  PGOU Urban Plan. I personally don’t think they will be successful as a majority of interested parties have been waiting a long time for this and will want to get on with their lives.

If your property is still affected, it will be down to the courts whether the property  is demolished, if there is any compensation, who is responsible for the payment of  compensation or better yet, a legal way to keep the owner-occupied properties standing.

Regards
Andrew Bellés

The confrontation between Marbella and the Junta revolved around certain lived in properties currently deemed illegal. At this moment in time it appears there are 500 homes that could not be legalised through the new PGOU’s compensation scheme.

Properties not included
The properties at the centre of the debate are around 500 homes that could not be legalised through the new PGOU’s compensation scheme, which includes apartments in the Banana Beach complex, properties in Río Real and La Víbora and several homes next to the Río Verde.

For those not familiar with the compensation scheme, in return for the legalisation of the 16,500 (out of a total of approximately 18,000 properties) properties already built, the developers have been ordered to donate land for parks, schools, etc… (Basically for the public good).

The town hall will continue to work with the Andalusian Government to find a legal way of keeping the 500 homes on the plan; although once the PGOU has been finally approved the matter will be in the hands of the courts. And with the courts involved there will not be a general amnesty, but a look into the advantages and disadvantages of whether the individual properties should be demolished. But if you are an owner of one of these properties do not despair, you as the owner of the property have the right to take legal action to defend your interests. This should include having had the property built and occupied on the basis of licences granted by the Marbella town hall in the past.
It also appears that of the although properties in Jardines de la Costa in San Pedro appear as legal on the new PGOU, they seem to have been designated as part of the compensation land to be given by the developer. For this to happen the developer will have to buy back the properties.

Now we just need the Junta to give the final go ahead and life for many in Marbella should finally start to return to normal after waiting since 1986. Once the final approval is in place the stagnant Marbella property market should start to finally pick up.

Regards
Andrew Belles

And although Costa Blanca has been in the limelight due to the case of the Priors, a British couple who had their house bulldozed, Andalucía has its fair share of illegal properties. Thankfully with less drama though. According to a recent article, there appears to be around 40,000 illegal homes in the province of Malaga, a high figure, but less than what most thought. And of these 40,000 around 20,000 are located in the municipality of Marbella.

So what will the Spanish government do? In a normal situation where Mr and Ms X were building a property or buying a property and tried to cut a few corners, they would get a slap on the wrist, followed by a hefty fine. In the worst case scenario the government would come in a pull down the offending structure.

But what you can do to one offender you cannot do to 40,000! Especially when a vast majority bought in good faith, either not knowing that there were any legal issues or it was hidden due to corruption as seen in Marbella. There is then the separate issue of whether the property was build on land, where the builders/developers simply did not apply for the licences to cut costs, or whether it was build on protected lands.

Thankfully, the Malaga provincial Government, “La Diputación”, together with Marbella and Mijas Town Halls, have confirmed that there are now plans to legalise the 40,000 properties built illegally.

The Mayor of Marbella, Ángeles Muñoz, has stated there will be no demolitions, and with the hopeful approval of the PGOU (urban plan), 18,000 properties in the municipality will be brought into the legal fold. A great piece of news for all those who own the properties. It should be noted however that there still seems to be around 1,000 properties whose fate has not yet been decided.

For those in Mijas, the Mayor, Antonio Sánchez, has confirmed that no more fines will be issued while the new PGOU Urban Plan is being revised.

Furthermore the President of the “Diputación”, Salvador Pendón, has stated that the illegally built property could also be saved in the Axarquía region. He stated that in a majority of cases the province the properties should be legalised as they are not built on land that is protected in any way. However, if the properties were built on protected lands, demolitions are still a definite possibility.

Regards
Andrew Belles

As you would expect, under the new PGOU plan for Marbella, this apartment block would not be legalised. What made this block one of the main candidates for demolition was that unlike many of the other 18,000 properties with planning issues in Marbella, this development had not been sold nor occupied. This is also the case for the other development that is soon to be knocked down.

Supposedly the development was supposed to have been torn down within 2 months of the order being given, which was in September, by the promoter. Obviously more than 2 months have passed since September, but the order was executed by Naviro, not the townhall. So whether they faced additional fines for the late start I cannot say.
Naviro Inmobiliaria is owned by the Granada businessman José Ávila Rojas who faces charges in the Malaya corruption case.

The development that appears to be marked for demolition is Linda Vista, located in San Pedro, a development of six small houses build by Prosavi which was also built on land designated green zone.

This is a small, but positive, step in sorted out all the planning ‘issues’ surround the Marbella property market. It appears that a majority of the properties in Marbella will be legalised, especially those that have been sold to people who bought in good faith. Of course if your property has been affected by the scandal, I cannot say what sort of compromise will be available to yourselves.

Regards
Andrew Belles

Thankfully, someone has already beaten me to the punch and I get to save myself a horrendous amount of research. It appears that Mark Stucklin, author of the Spanish Property Doctor column in the Sunday Times and the book ‘Need to Know: Buying Property in Spain’.

Below you will find a google map that highlights a range of developments that have problems to one degree or another from Costa Brava, Costa Dorada, Costa del Azahar, Costa Blanca, Costa Cálida, Costa de Almeria, Costa de Granada to Costa del Sol.
See legend below map for explanation. If your development is affected by land grab, illegal build, bankrupt developer, Ley de Costas, corruptions ,etc… contact Mark Stucklin on http://www.spanishpropertyinsight.com/map.htm

[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ptab=2&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=105250464931852375469.000444b303da886afd78f&ll=37.588119,-3.098145&spn=5.799202,8.036521&output=embed&s=AARTsJpubih6jboiI8zXef9QEz_K3hsRTw&w=425&h=350]

Placemark legend
Red = Land grab
Yellow = illegal building, demolition threats
Magenta = Environmental black spot
Blue = Bankrupt developer, unfinished urbanisation
Green = Unsustainable development, water problems
Light blue = Ley de Costas affected zone
Purple = Alleged Corruption

Regards
Andrew Belles

Source: Press release

HOSTAGES OF SPANISH PROPERTY SCANDALS

A Petition to the British Prime Minister on behalf of British people who are victims of the well-publicized Spanish property scandals and abuses, will be presented in February 2009.  Petitioners ask Mr Brown to address the Spanish Prime Minister directly and voice his disdain for these abuses. Petitioners also ask the PM to support a call to the EU for Sanctions on the Kingdom of Spain until these abuses are stopped and justice is delivered. They also ask Mr Brown to motion an investigation of British REAs & those using British bases, who have continued to sell illegal properties in Spain.
This Petition will also be presented to the European Parliament, pressing for EU intervention.
An alleged triangle of corruption involving developers, real estate agents, and in particular lawyers who have not given their clients the correct legal representation, is highlighted in the Petition, which contains a dossier of supportive facts.

Many have purchased property in Spain without being protected by a Bank Guarantee, the Law in Spain since 1968. Those who do have this ‘protection’ find that Banks in Spain are not honouring these legally-binding Guarantees, which leaves them with no choice but to take lengthy and expensive litigation in an attempt to get their money back. Many Petitioners are eager to sue their original lawyers for collusion and negligence, but cannot find a lawyer in Spain who will enable this action.
Thousands of illegal properties in Spain are now being brought into new Town Plans (PGOUs). Judges are ruling in favour of some developers, leaving the off-plan purchaser who refused to complete on an illegal property years ago without redress and facing many thousands of Euros in legal fees, including those of the developer. Some of these developers have previously been charged with bribary involving back-handed payments to Town Hall officials, to build on greenbelt or ‘rustic’ land.

To date, 75% of Petitioners have paid deposits totalling 13.2 Million Euros for properties that are now classified as illegal, or not even built many years later. 24% of Petitioners have discovered that they have completed on illegal properties. These propeties cannot be re-sold and face possible demolition. For these owners, their homes are now worthless, as it is illegal to live in a property in Spain without a Habitation Licence.

Suzanne Wyatt, compiler of this Petition, says ” The figures quoted are just the very tip of the iceberg. Many of us feel like powerless hostages, while criminal actions are being legalized. Developers who have built illegally have repeatedly postponed court cases, and been allowed to Appeal on Judgements against them, when they have clearly broken their own Spanish Laws. They are being given far too much lenience by the Spanish Judicial system, deliberately causing as long a delay as possible within the courts, until they are eventually granted Habitation Licences for said properties, or enter Administration.  EU Laws have undoubtedly been breached, and we believe that EU Sanctions are now the only way to force the Kingdom of Spain to clear up this mess, deliver justice, and restore the well-known British love and respect for Spain and her people”.

Supportive signatures and personal experiences are encouraged via a dedicated website: www.spanishpropertyscandalpetition.co.uk