YMF

Can anyone tell me who Dr David Ross who created the petition is? I've googled him and looked for him on the various campaign group websites but cannot find any reference to him.
Yvonne

scampicat

My husband and I have both signed it

AUAN

Over 700 people have now signed the petition.... I have posted a more comprehensive response but it appears to be with the moderators.

AUAN

To address some of the comments posted here:
- David Ross R. is an AUAN member. He started the petition and we are happy to support it.

- There are apx. 300,000 illegal properties in Andalucia (Source: Statement to the Planning Committee of the parliament of Andalucia by Josefina Cruz)

- 43 properties have been demolished in Andalucia since 2006 and there are 700 demolition orders pending. Source State Prosecutor.

- The Ley de Suelo is Spains National Planning legislation. Each autonomous region has adapted it for its own use but strictly within the original framework. The Planning legislation for Andalucia is commonly known as the LOUA.

Rosemary

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

AUAN

Like it or not, we are all in this together. Because of Spanish governmental negligence in the past it has become a European problem.

It is an absolute must that Spain, through its national government and its regional governments, begins to heed and respect its own laws. How else can Spain regain trust?

It takes one minute to click here and sign... Please do it NOW.

Thank you.

Andalusian Housing Corruption

rachelk

Isn't there a risk that legalising illegal properties might just make people think it's OK to build illegally again in the future in the hope that those houses too will be legalised?

I know that laws re building and classification of land are abused in Spain, but they do exist for a reason.

Lynn R

I share your concern, Rachel. I sympathise with people who bought them in good faith, believing they had obtained the necessary permissions, but not with anyone who went ahead and built a house when they only had a licence for an almacen, or ignored the need for a licence altogether.

I hate to see the proliferation of single dwellings and small urbanisations that have sprung up in the countryside even within the 9.5 years since I bought my house. And I am not a nimby or someone who wants to live in the countryside myself but deny anyone else the right to do so. I live in a town. I know that some people like to live in the countryside, but I don't think their individual preference gives them the right to build wherever they like, as if building is not strictly controlled you end up with a countryside despoiled forever and the beauty which attracted people in the first place is destroyed. So much of the coastal area of Spain has been ruined, something must be done to halt the spread of development in country areas.

Lenox

When people bought these houses, they weren't illegal, otherwise the notarios would have noticed something odd at the signing of the escrituras. A different agency, in this case, the 'Conserjería de Obras Públicas y Vivienda de la Junta de Andalucía' only afterwards described them as 'ilegal', otherwise - who on earth would have bought them?
Thousands and thousands and... thousands of these homes!
Do you imagine that British pensioners look to settle abroad in a house with major legal problems? Give them something to do?
Please sign the petition.

fionamw

... and just to further confuse issues, land with EXISTING (and in our case OLD - 100+ years) on it was decreed to be Suelo Protegido in the 80s so that's another muddle the poor little ayuntamientos have got to get their heads around. They say not to worry, they'll get to sorting it but... when!! We have escrituras, etc., just have to not take too deep a breath while waiting.

AUAN

It's a fair comment that there is a lot of illegal building in Andalucia. This is due to a lack of enforcement of the planning regulations and a lack of transparency in the chain of purchase which has created a culture of contempt for the rule of law. The end result is that there are some 300,000 illegal buildings in Andalucia according to the Juntas own estimates.

However, a consequence of this lack of control is that many of these illegal buildings have been sold on to purchasers in good faith (both Spanish and foreign alike) who used lawyers, notaries, registrars etc and perform proper land registry searches etc and yet ended up in an illegal house.

The consequence of this situation is that there are a lot of unhappy consumers out there. Many people are being treated unfairly. Its bad for business and the economy.

Time for something to be done. Please sign the petition.

Lynn R

I know - I did say I sympathised with those who had bought them in good faith. But it's the fact that there are thousands and thousands and thousands of them that bothers me.

If every one of them is legalised, what's to stop the whole sorry mess being repeated and us ending up with many thousands more, with the inevitable impact for the countryside? That's what would worry me.

AUAN

The whole sorry mess continues to this day. There is no enforcement and no respect for the planning laws in our small towns in my experience.

What we are asking for is sensible solutions. For example, compensation PRIOR to demolition for third party purchasers in good faith. Accuracy in the Property Register to protect purchasers etc.....

Lenox

In the Marbella fire, it appears that around 100 'viviendas ilegales' were burned down, out of the total of 225 homes destroyed. Would the administraciones allow these homes - sometimes the principal and only dwelling of the homeowners concerned - to be repaired?
Urbanismo Patas Arriba

cricketman

Compensation from who?

The building companies are bust, the ayuntamientos are bust and central government is bust