February 6, 2006
Insights into the recent spate of negative press surrounding illegal build in Spain
I came across this interesting series of posts on an online forum that put across the arguments of illegal building and the recent spate of negative press on Spain. It ties in quite well with my post on the importance of using a lawyer in all conveyancing matters Read Post.
Questions Post
Did anyone out there see the Tonight programme on Channel 4 about the demolition of illegal houses which had been constructed on rural land in Spain?From what I understand watching the programme is the new Socialist Government of the Junta Andalucia is now turning the "screws" on the various Ayuntamiento's who have allowed this and turned a blind eye.
One of the local Government officials was interviewed and when asked why they had allowed this to continue he simply replied that they had stopped the builders and boarded the land up but the builders simply broke back in to continue construction. The English interviewer thought this a poor excuse but he replied they had done all they could - makes you think. I ask you what a feeble defence.
The reporter ended the programme with the fact that hundreds of houses are still being built on Zona Verde. She went on to say that in all probability a lot of these homes now being built on rustic land will also face demolition orders in the future once they are constructed. How ridiculus why allow them to be built in the first place?
My heart went out to these people who are about to loose every thing through no fault of there own. One couple interviewed have even threatened to commit suicide if the bulldozers come. It is terrible it is about time the Spanish authorities got a grip on this situation and did something about it instead of sitting on the fence.
Reply Post
Like all programmes of this kind the reporting was sensational but shallow and uninformative. Unfortunately the scene was set with the opening words of the reporter, Fiona Foster, when she openly stated on a national ITV television programme that Alicante was in Andalucía. In view of this, what hope for the accuracy of the rest of her contribution. Perhaps the language in which the warning signs of illegal construction were written should have given her a clue to the fact that she was actually in the region of Valencia.The regional government of this area is the Generalitat de Valencia and is ruled by the Partido Popular, not the Junta de Andalucía which has always been ruled by the PSOE, so it is difficult to equate the situation of the two regions and their relationship with the central government especially since the PSOE gained control nationally last year.
However, I suppose none of this means much to the thousands of people who are being conned into purchasing illegally constructed property all over Spain by crooked lawyers, estate agents and developers and they deserve our sympathy but this has been well documented in the British press and on television especially in the case of the LRAU (so called 'Land Grab' law) which is a feature of the same region and it beggars belief that people are still willing to part with hundreds of thousands of euros without getting proper checks done on the property they are purchasing.
At no point in the programme were such things as title deeds or notas simples enquired about by the reporter and although it is very unlikely that such documents exist in these cases it would have been a pertinent question to ask.
Also, a distinction should be made between properties which have been built totally illegally, as it appears in the cases quoted in the programme, and developments which have been given permission by the local Town Hall without reference to the regional government which is the case with much of the illegal construction in Andalucía.
Sensational and entertaining as it may be this kind of programme does nothing to help the people who find themselves in this predicament neither does it serve any useful purpose for prospective purchasers of property in this country.
Oh, I could go on and on but if you have got this far you have done well!
By the way, I have written to the Tonight With Trevor McDonald programme and told them all this but, not surprisingly, have received no reply!
Category: The Costa del Sol Property Market.