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Playa Blanca is a minefield right now.
Yet another building licence issued by the now ex-mayor has been revoked.
Not so bad if it is revoked straight away, but this one was issued in 2002; 350 properties built and most sold and then revoked in 2009 to leave the properties illegal and under threat (supposedly) of demolition.
I don’t think it would ever happen, but it will certainly take a while to sort out.
Most Ayuntamiento’s under fire right now…there has been a huge swoop by Policia Nacional, they didn’t even inform Policia Local (that gives you an indication of the “not what you know but who you know” state of things) who went into Ayuntamientos and ordered staff to leave immediately taking nothing at all with them whilst searches were carried out. Lots of arrests…some set free…others still under intense scrutiny.
Talks of “expenses scandals” in the UK pale into insignificance when you see the monetary amounts involved here…More here… http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_21587.shtml
and a bit of Royal scandal here http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_21696.shtml
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SteveB,
It is a worrying situation, but I think that more than anything, it is just a lot of political “one-upmanship” going on.
In all my time here, I only know of one property that was bulldozed. That was to make way for a golf course and once again, surprise, surprise, it was on the Mayor’s family’s land! This was an old property and had been there for years so probably had no paperwork anyway. The mayor used to be mates with the owners, but when it came to court the mayor swore blind he didn’t know them and never went to the property in question (he grew up with them!).
As you can imagine, it sparked a real fuss and in the end, the owners won a court case. Too late as their property was gone by then…
But, to have a development of 300 – 400 properties declared illegal is more a way of one political party getting one up on another, or trying to disgrace an already disgraced mayor a little more.
To say they are under threat of demolition is probably a massive overstatement and is probably being used by stretching the interpretation of legal and illegal. If someone just decides to build a house in the middle of a field with no paperwork, then one could reasonably expect it to be demolished.
However, we are talking 300 – 400 houses here that have been financed by banks and bought with mortgages etc etc. Bear in mind that these are not off-plan, but homes being lived in.
Paperwork will probably be rearranged and then there will be no problem.
Interestingly enough, this is nothing new as nearly every hotel built on the island has, at one stage or another, been declared illegal and supposedly under threat of demolition.
Out of them all, general local feeling is that one of them should never have had a brick laid (Papagayo Arena) and this one has caused the most ructions. But, it is still there….
Over the water in Fuerteventura, the two big hotels on the beach have been legal/illegal/legal as regular as clockwork.
Deals get done, the hotels stay where they are.
At the end of the day, you do your homework, use a good agent (like me!), use a good lawyer (like I always do) and enjoy the sunshine.
You can do no more…
I know I have used the word “probably” a lot here, but it is probably the only one I could use!I would be interested to hear from other forum members who have encountered “illegal” builds that have subsequently been bulldozed. Has this happened with just individual properties, tower blocks, whole developments? What have been the repercussions?
And to go one further, if you were the unfortunate individual to be caught up in a situation like this – where does the buck stop?
If you bought with a mortgage the bank would have done their homework.
You would have signed in front of a Notary.
You may even have paid local taxes.
If it were subsequently declared illegal, wouldn’t the blame (and repercussions) extend to the Notary who is there to see all paperwork is correct, and to the Ayuntamiento who have received the taxes and maybe the Land Registry who registered the purchase?
Otherwise, couldn’t you argue that the Notary was in receipt of funds from an illegal operation; the Ayuntamiento accepted funds from an illegal source; the Land Registry were guilty of accepting money derived from illegal activities?
Pandora’s box…… -
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@Stewlanz wrote:
SteveB,
If it were subsequently declared illegal, wouldn’t the blame (and repercussions) extend to the Notary who is there to see all paperwork is correct, and to the Ayuntamiento who have received the taxes and maybe the Land Registry who registered the purchase?
Otherwise, couldn’t you argue that the Notary was in receipt of funds from an illegal operation; the Ayuntamiento accepted funds from an illegal source; the Land Registry were guilty of accepting money derived from illegal activities?
Pandora’s box……Logically you are correct, however non of that may may apply in Spain.
Thats the whole issue that the EU has with Spain, its legal system allows all the guilty parties to get off with any penalty, the person who suffers is the home buyer. Don’t kid yourself that your building won’t be demolished, certainly people should consider very carefully investing in a country where this CAN happen.BTW, avoid N. Cyprus, buying an illegal property could land you with a 5 year jail sentence and cost your UK house as well.
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