Demolition threat to 1000s of Brit expat properties in Spain

[al**bear]

Thousands of homes belonging to British families living in Spain are under threat of demolition.

Planning permission granted by local authorities can be overruled by the regional government, leaving the owners with no building and no compensation.

Now the British government is stepping in to try to help.

video story here

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25397192

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Permissions granted by Local Town Councils mean nothing - the only legal permission is from the District authorities

Now like loads of these schemes, I remember warnings in loads of  papers and on TV, at the time of the boom warning People, that there were major dangers in planning consent in Spain.

[tommy.irene]

BBC News - Expats turning away from Spanish dream

www.bbc.co.uk

Spain has long been the destination of choice for Britons who want to make a new life in the sun, but last year 2011.. this has been going on for years now..

[bankhaunter]

The threat of demolition has been there for several years now, it's not a new story.

[lhasa.two]

I think a lot of expats tend to leave their brains behind in Gatwick - or any other airport - when they buy property in Spain... I lived there for 9 years and owned property so have first hand experience of the PP issues.

Some of the new developments haven't got the correct permissions for building on - as an example - the front line (closest to the sea). The land they build on can have ownership problems. For instance in Spain, several members of a family can "own" land through inheritance as it often skips the spouse and goes straight to the children. So when it's sold, every owners signature needs to be on the "Escritura" (Deeds), not all lawyers get those signatures... this is where the problem starts. The developer buys the land thinking he now owns it outright but without all those signatures he doesn't. He then applies for local PP via the "town Hall", gets it, proceeds with the build BEFORE getting the relevant permissions and sign off from the Regional Government who should check the new ownership deeds when they are registered.  Their lawyer/s may see the discrepancy and this results in the planning system breaking down. Then the new buyer expat generally relies on the local lawyer to purchase the property for them, usually recommended by the agent for the developer. Expat does not think to get it checked out by a British International lawyer specialising in buying property overseas... who would have picked up on the initial "ownership/signature" issues. 

None of this is new, it's been happening for years in Spain. In the boom years of huge EU money, the RG's were mostly happy to turn a blind eye. Right now though I can't see why these properties need to be demolished - unless it's an employment gain for the collapsed construction industry, there must be some negotiating room for the developers (if they haven't gone bust) and the new owners to sort out the mess. The money the Regional Government would hope to gain is miniscule compared to their current debts. Seems to me they are pulling at straws for any kind of revenue from it. They'll end up completely damaging their tourist industry as the Brits Germans and Russians sell up and move elsewhere, that's of course if they can find new buyers in this current climate...