THE issue of illegally built homes is one that affects many thousands of expatriates living in Spain, and in particular areas like the Costa del Sol and Almeria.
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.
Dear fellow petitioners,
You may remember that 17 months ago I submitted a petition to the Governor of the Bank of Spain with regard to the non-compliance of the various Spanish banks who were not honouring the guarantees given by them to protect deposits paid by purchasers of off-plan properties. You very kindly supported this petition and were signatories to it. The petition was briefly brushed aside by the Bank of Spain’s legal representative who in so many words suggested we deal with the matter through the courts. This in spite of the public pronouncements made by the Governor himself when explaining his powers to deal with recalcitrant banks.
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There is light at the end of the tunnel for some of the 16,500 properties within the Marbella municipality that were built but never got their first occupancy licences. Although bought in good faith, often with mortgages, owners have waited years to see if their homes would ever become regularised. Luckily for some, a few property developers are already working with the town hall to reach solutions for the many thousands of homes that were built without the relevant paperwork. The first to receive their licences are almost 300 owners with the La Reserva de Marbella in Las Chapas, east of Marbella. Some of the blocks in the development were without licences, leading to problems in recent years with utility providers, mortgages lenders and other institutions.
Political battle lines are being drawn in Mijas over the 700 properties in the Calahonda Royale development. Home owners in the urbanisation, which is located near the Mijas Costa/Marbella border, just north of the N340, have been waiting for over a decade to be granted the first occupancy licence, ‘licencia de primera ocupacíon.’
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‘This development, being built by one of the largest and most distinguished development companies on the Costa del Sol, is just a three-minute walk from Marbella town centre. The apartments in Banana Beach consist of one, two, three and four bedrooms, fitted to the very highest standards possible.”
Sounds great doesn’t it? You’d never guess from this glowing description that the Banana Beach development was built illegally and has been condemned to demolition. Despite this, the properties are being advertised on websites targeting UK buyers.
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Demolition work start this week on an illegal development in the Golf Río Real area of Las Chapas, Marbella. The block in question consisted of 34 apartments built by Naviro Inmobiliaria on land designated as a green zone.
This month, a petition will be delivered to Number 10, requesting that Gordon Brown plays his part in helping solve some of the issues involving Spanish real estate and the UK investor.
The document asks that he lodge’s a complaint on behalf of British citizens who have become victims of Spanish property scandals and abuses. It also asks that Britain involve the EU.
It appears that’s 2 properties/developments are to be demolished, the cost to be paid by the developer
These are 2 of the 8 properties that the Mayor, Ángeles Muñoz, has promised to demolish in exchange for the Junta de Andalucía granting temporary trading licences to businesses located in other illegally built buildings. Although it appears that the Junta are going to want to see further demolitions in the future.
One of the properties to be demolished in Rio Real is owned by Avila Rojas, currently facing charges under the Malaya case and the other is located in San Pedro and was built by the builder Prosavi
News source: www.typicallyspanish.com
I have just been onto the Marbella Town hall website and have found information relating the Marbella PGOU (Urban Plan). As many property owners and potential buyers know Marbella has suffered from a large swath of illegal properties, around 18.000 apartments, townhouses, villas, etc…
Last Thursday I was down in Mijas Costa, La Cala specifically showing some people the area. In between getting soaked in the torrential rains some interesting bits of information can up, which after some research appear to be genuine.
It appears that under the Mijas PGOU plan (the urban plan) quite a few projects have been approved that should see the coastal area develop in a way that will enhance the quality of life for people living and working in the area.
