Developers in the Vega Baja region of the Valencian Community, where the South Costa Blanca is located, regularly deliver properties without the Licence of First Occupancy (LFO) that owners need to connect to the utilities, a consumer association has claimed.

The European Association of Consumers and Users (AECU), based in Torrevieja, has complained that hundreds of properties in the Vega Baja region have been delivered before the LFO has been granted, and in many cases before the developer has even requested the licence.

Home buyers who take possession of a property without this licence are unable to set up accounts with the utility providers, and are forced to rely on the work’s supply for water and electricity. According to Honorio Fernandez, president of AECU, buyers are then “left in limbo” with a problem that can take years to sort out at their own cost.

The AECU claims that the problem of developers forcing buyers to complete on new homes without LFOs is widespread in places like Almoradi, Algorfa, Orihuela, Torrevieja, San Miguel, Guardamar and Rojales, amongst others. The AECU has also accused town councils of “washing their hands” of the problem by not doing anything to penalise developers who do not finish their developments properly, and deliver homes without the mandatory licences.