Spanish Planning Scandal campaign
Telegraph Expat is launching a campaign in support of the hundreds of thousands of British and other expats who have fallen victim to urban corruption and the confused state of property law in Spain. If you have beeen affected by the problem, please add a pin documenting your story to our Expat Directory (telegraph.co.uk/expatdirectory) under the pin category 'Illegal Spanish Property'. Over time, this will generate an interactive map which will document and expose the full extent of the problem.
Expat weekly_telegraph May 4th, 2011 9:20
Buying in Spain is not as safe as houses
By Anna Nicholas
Today José Blanco, Minister for Development in Spain, is in the UK to kick off a European wide roadshow aimed at encouraging Britons to invest in property in Spain. The man must have the hide of an armadillo and the cojones of a bull.
Spanish government roadshow sparks fury from victims of property scandals
With rosy coloured spectacles firmly in place, José Blanco promised that the initiative would "highlight the strengths of our economy, transparency, and legal certainty of our planning legislation.' At least he has a sense of humour.
Spain currently has about 700,000 vacant properties rotting away, mostly along stifled coastlines, the result of greedy over development during the last decade when the country experienced a so-called property boom. Many Britons like lambs to the slaughter invested in homes, lured by the sun and false promises. Tens of thousands of properties were either illegally built or never completed when corrupt developers went bankrupt. Countless Britons, mostly retirees, had invested their life savings in such properties and had diligently ensured that building permits and local council permissions were in place. Unwittingly they employed corrupt lawyers, architects and builders who colluded with deceitful local councils to gain false permits. Those who invested in new developments off-plan, placed hefty deposits as guarantees with Spanish banks and when the properties never materialised, found their money had evaporated along with any hope of compensation.
In 2009, the British represented 31.5 per cent of foreign buyers of property in Spain so it comes as no surprise that José Blanco and his property chums are itching to get their hands on more gullible potential purchasers. The Spanish government has admitted to a need to "speed up the digestion of stock" but for many British victims left suffering from property scandal dyspepsia, the roadshow is proving too bitter a pill to swallow.
Maura Hillen, president of Almanzora Valley action group, AUAN, has said that the Spanish government must put its own house in order before encouraging further buyers. She added, "Faced with the myopia of the Spanish administration, the indifference of the UK government and helplessness of the EU, we have no choice but to fight on."
Helen and Len Prior whose £600,000 Spanish home was "illegally" demolished in 2008 and who were forced to live in a garage, are still awaiting justice and compensation. Their home had been built with false building permits issued by their local Spanish council.
Instead of preaching about the benefits of buying in Spain, might I suggest to José Blanco that he first address the following issues during his European roadshow: Reform of town planning, punishment of corrupt officials, regulation of estate agents, regulation of the legal profession, enforcement of bank guarantees, compensation for victims of property scandal, judicial security, end of Ley de Costas (the arbitrary and retrospective coastal planning law) a stop to land grabs, and finally the creation of an independent commission.
Until all these matters have effectively been dealt with and the Spanish government is prepared to act with transparency, revising the Draconian planning regulations which have been used with impunity by its regional authorities, it has no right to hold its cheerleading roadshow.
José Blanco might be lucky enough to find some willing recruits on his European travels but in truth he's got a long way to go before he'll be home and dry.
Find out more about Anna Nicholas here
Telegraph Expat's Spanish Planning Scandal campaign is supporting the thousands of expats who have been affected by the illegal homes crisis in Spain. You can find all the latest news on the situation here.
