Dangers of buying property in the Region of Valencia

Foreign Residents Association warn against buying property in the Valencian Region

The Association of Foreign Residents called ‘Citizens of Europe’ based in Altea, Alicante sent out a press release yesterday in which they recommend against buying property in the Valencian Region so long as there is no change in the urban laws there which in their opinion are abusive.

The association has 3000 members, all of whom are foreign residents living on the Mediterranean coast as well as the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands. However, the majority, two thirds, live in the provinces of Alicante, Valencia and Castellon.
Their spokesperson said that in the present situation they could not recommend buying a property in the Valencian region to anyone whether they be Spanish or a foreign resident if urban laws are not radically overhauled as proposed by the European Parliament.

‘Citizens of Europe’ was founded in 1993 following the Maastricht agreement in order to provide information, encourage participation and integration of European citizens in Spain. According to this association overcrowding, illegalities and corruption have been accurately described in a report by the European Parliament Petitions Committee which recently visited the region.

Despite the report and the recommendations made by the European Parliament the Valencian Government has refused to amend urban legislation in order to protect property owners and buyers.

The European Parliament Petitions Committee last week approved the report which received the unanimous backing of all groups apart from the Partido Popular, Spain’s main opposition party. The report was compiled following a visit by the EU Petitions Committee to Almeria, Madrid and the Valencian region last month to investigate the thousands of reports about urban abuses in Spain. It describes many irregularities in urban laws in Madrid, Valencia and Andalucia.

The report recommends creating independent commissions to mediate in disputes over urban projects and that property owners who are affected by new building projects receive adequate compensation.

Last week Michael Cashman, a British member of the EU Petitions Commission, presented 15,000 reports of urban abuse in the Valencian region made by EU citizens.
The European Parliament has asked the Spanish Government and the regional Authorities to recognise the legitimate rights of property owners who acquired their properties legally and to define precisely under what circumstances the appropriation of a property is justified.

In addition it also recommended that regional organisations which defend the rights of their citizens be given the power of arbitration in special commissions which look at disputes over urban planning.

Related:
Urban development in Spain and irregularities
EU to inspect urban policy in the Costa Blanca

Urban development in Spain and irregularities

According to the findings of an investigation carried out by the European Parliament Committee on Petitions local, regional or even national authorities do nothing to prevent irregularities occurring in the endless urban development taking place in Spain. This ever increasing development has resulted in the growth of urban populations sometimes to an unsustainable level with regards to available resources. Those most affected by this situation are the inhabitants of areas under development and the purchasers of new properties.

The European Committee on Petitions visited Almería, areas in the Sierra de Madrid and the Comunidad Valenciana while carrying out their investigations which took place following a UN report in December which concluded that there was little control placed on urban development in Spain.

The findings of this investigation also show that the application of land laws in some areas of Spain cause numerous problems and that there was lots of pressure on local authorities to commit to massive urban development projects.

The government of the Comunidad Valenciana received the harshest criticism. The Committee pointed out that this was the area where local residents were in most danger and where the authorities were the most uncooperative and the most arrogant in their attitude towards the Committee. Few explanations were offered to explain why many beautiful coastal areas had been destroyed for the sake of urban development.

Furthermore the Committee deeply regretted the fact that officials from the Ministry for Housing cancelled a meeting with them for reasons they ‘found hardly credible’.
The Committee on Petitions said that many citizens in Spain were being denied their legitimate rights when it came to land laws and urban development and this was especially true in the Comunidad Valenciana. They found lots of cases where town halls had given the go ahead for massive building projects which had nothing to do with tourism or improving the area but in reality was down to greed. They found that there were many situations where residents saw the size of their local rural population grow disproportionately without receiving any benefits.

It also highlighted the prospering Spanish economy in recent years and asked how many Spanish owners of Construction Companies could be found in Forbes list of the 100 richest people in the world.

Another worrying observation was that citizens from elsewhere in Europe were buying properties in good faith only to find that they were forced to pay more in charges to the constructors than stipulated in the original agreement.

The management of water supplies and rubbish collection were found to be two of the most serious environmental consequences of massive urban development in the areas investigated. The Committee also found evidence of money laundering.

However, as the European Committee on Petitions has limited powers, it has asked the European Commission to investigate possible cases where European law is being broken and to ensure that local and national authorities respect the law. The Committee also proposes that limits be placed on the excessive power enjoyed by constructors in Spain.

The report also suggests that special tribunals be set up in autonomous regions in Spain in order to look at compensation for those who have lost property through the application of land laws.

EU to inspect urban policies in the Costa Blanca

The Benidorm and Costa Blanca Association of Hotel Owners (Hosbec), and the Association of Property Developers and Urban Planners are meeting today to discuss the visit by a delegation from the European Parliament which will inspect urban policy in the Communidad Valenciana. This is the second visit made by EP delegates investigating the constitutionality of the controversial Valencian land laws. However Hosbec claims that the inspection forms part of a continuing campaign against tourism in the region (a claim which property owners adversly affected by the LRAU could find quite offensive). The European delegation, led by Marcin Libicki, will begin by meeting property owners affected by the LRAU land laws in Orihuela.

Tomorrow the delegation will visit Torrevieja, Rojales, Catral, Tibi, Parcent and Benissa, where it will meet more owners whose properties have been affected by the LRAU. On Friday the delegation will visit Xábia and Valencia, where it will meet Esteban González Pons, a Local Government councillor in charge of urban development and member of the ruling PP Valencian government, who has spoken out publicly against the visit.

Hosbec has accused the visit of damaging the economic and social interests of the Communidad Valenciana and diminishing tourism in the province. It also views the visit as part of a campaign by certain political groups against tourism in the Communidad Valenciana and blames the Socialist Executive.

The Association for Property Developers together with Urban planners has complained of having requested a meeting with the delegation but receiving no reply. They also question the fact that the EU has sent politicians instead of technicians if the question over LRAU was technical. The Association's legal representative has gone as far as claiming that the legislation protecting property owners in the Valencian Region actually goes too far in recognising too many rights and so affected free competition.

In the face of so much opposition from hoteliers and property developers, it will be interesting to see how the visit unfolds and if the delegates are successful in persuading the European Parliament to put further pressure on the Regional Government in Valencia to change the LRAU Law.

Related:
Valencian Land Laws unconstitutional according to the European Commission