Thats very fair comment and would not disagree.

Stamps are physical proof, like a residency card. It allows people to demonstrate they're telling the truth in the face of bureaucracy that has got out of the wrong side of bed that morning or a computer saying no because the database is down.

I don't think any of us would want to be in the same shoes as our EU resident counterparts in the UK who don't have any physical proof of residency who have to navigate arriving with only a flakey app to deal with the grumpy Border Farce operative.

Good morning , just an observation really but I have been considering how the various Schengen governments managed to make legal the fact that a property owning tourist may only spend six months of the year in EU but quite openly defraud us by charging a whole years' council tax ?

You are suggesting it’s illegal …. On what basis do you think it’s illegal ?

Them's the rules of the game unfortunately.

It's your option whether you want to participate, or not.

Since when has it been legal to enforce payment for a service which is , by EU law , not available ?

The service is available all of the time therefore totally legal to enforce payment. The amount of usage by the individual is irrelevant.

Rosemary

But you are a property owner from choice, since as far as I am aware there is no law preventing you from selling the property.
If you don't like the obligations that come with owning a second home, sell it.
It's not like a property owning foreign tourist could ever (legally) spend a full year at their second home in any case, Brexit or no Brexit.

Use the workaround. UK council tax is much higher than the Spanish equivalent so flip your residency to Spain and refuse to pay UK council tax for the period you are in Spain.
My mate Bob has a cousin who knows a guy who does the same thing. He told me the UK is much more understanding and he gets a special dispensation for his driving license and income tax declarations too.

Well that could certainly be worth a try ! Thanks for all your comments , I'm surprised at the animosity this subject has uncovered so this will be my final post on this thread .

Im not sure it’s animosity ….. perhaps just some don’t share your opinion …. You have posted a very broad but brief opinion and you dont seem prepared to debate it. Just for the record like you I own property In Spain, I’m not resident but I’m quite happy to pay whatever I’m obliged to pay whether that be tax or local charges, the day it makes me unhappy I’ll sell. To use the words ‘illegal’ and ‘defraud’ is way off the mark, perhaps the reason for the responses you received.

I agree with you. It is not the subject matter but the wording and attitude.

Rosemary

UKMS , just as a passing point of interest how much time are you permitted to spend in your property in Spain ?

​​​​​​Fo r UK property and council tax I would question this person who says he stops and starts paying when not using it. In the UK council tax must be paid by someone. The only exception I know is if person owning is deceased and even then the exemption is time limited to allow for sorting out financial arrangements of the deceased. We rent out a UK property and if there is a lapse between Tennant's then we get a bill here in Spain through the post untill new tennant starts paying the tax.
A Spanish non resident as in OPs original comment may not be able to use the house themselves the whole year due to Schengen rules. However the property is still there and local council are still providing full services covered by the tax. It may be they aren't using it but family and friends may or it may be that they let the property short term when they aren't using it. I think like non residents tax one may not agree with it but that means nothing in law.

^^ Yes, this.
I see people challenging your statement and inviting you to respond. It's a shame you didn't engage because I think if you had, you would have thought about it a bit more and realised it was the Withdrawal Agreement signed by PM Johnson that changed the rights of UK citizens, nothing to do with EU law, and you might have found that easier to come to terms with. EU law did not change one jot.
My knee jerk reaction was, why are you keeping the place on if you no longer consider it worth the investment? which is what I am still wondering.
But I apologise if you saw my reply as animosity, it wasn't meant that way.