15,000 homes under threat

15,000 ex-pats face losing homes

European Parliament urged to save their properties

Article by the cbfriday.com

MORE than 15,000 Costa Blanca homeowners have pleaded with the European Parliament to save their homes under threat from the controversial LRAU land-grab law.

Michael Cashman MEP, has challenged Sr Blasco, the Spanish minister in Valencia, over recent allegations that the European Parliament was exaggerating the number of petitions it had received from desperate citizens asking for help.

Mr Cashman has been leading the fight
for justice for EU citizens against alleged land grabs in and around Valencia.

Mr Cashman said: "Señor Blasco claims the EP is exaggerating as to the severity of the problem concerning the LRAU law in Spain.

"We have been petitioned by more than 15,000 EU citizens affected by the abusive implementation of this law in Valencia and we are acting on their behalf in order to ensure justice is done.

"I’d like to tell citizens affected by this law, as well as Señor Blasco and his colleagues in the ministry in Valencia, that the EP will not rest until this issue is resolved. If that means going to the European Court of Justice, so be it."

His vow comes as a Teulada couple are living a nightmare not knowing whether they will lose their property because of the land-grab laws.

Expatriate pensioners Tessa and Len Deacon said they cannot afford to pay the high infrastructure costs being demanded by the developers of the adjacent land ito their home.

They bought their home in 1993 but now a developer wants to build next door.

The couple would lose 700 square metres of land as well as having to pay 53,247 euros to the developer.

The Deacons said: We are UK pensioners and this is our only home which we bought in 1993 for our retirement.

"The LRAU has had a devastating affect on our lives and we would not wish the stress we have suffered for the past three years to be suffered by other people.

"We have been forced to spend money we had accumulated for our retirement on expensive lawyers and court fees just to try to retain what is legally ours."

• The association Ciudadanos Europeos has awarded its Golden Ensign to Abusos Urbanísticos No leaders Charles and Lisa Svoboda in a ceremony in Altea. The award was made in recognition of the Svobodas’ success in defending the rights of small property owners.

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Overseas property: Spain

It is not just in the UK that house hunters are stepping up a gear as the traditional sales season gets into full swing. The same is happening among would-be purchasers in Spain, which remains the favourite overseas holiday home location for Britons wanting to buy into the sun.

The Government's Office of National Statistics says some 69,284 properties in Spain are owned by Britons, although these include those owned by people still officially resident in Britain and who declare their second home to the Inland Revenue. In reality, many more are likely to exist.

Full story on the Independent online.

Spanish Government in for coastal property

Environment minister reserves the right to buy coastal property

Environment minister Cristina Narbona has declared the government has the right to buy coastal land or property offered for sale and that sellers must give first refusal to the coast department.

Sra Narbona said that where property or land is for sale on the coast, the government must be informed. This, she said, is a measure to ensure that unspoilt areas of coastline remain undeveloped and protected.

Under the law, the government has the right to carry out its own assessment of any property and fix a value. This, say experts, could cause problems because of the common trend of putting lower values on title deeds in order to avoid taxes - and then making up the true value in undeclared cash. If a seller refuses to accept the government's valuation of a property, the government can insist on buying at the value in the deeds.

In a separate move, opposition parties in Valencia have called the regional government's urban development programme ‘irresponsible’.

A report by the European Observatory claims Alicante Province is a vulnerable zone in terms of natural disasters. It says that intense construction over the last 10 years has left some places at risk, a fact ignored by regional government.

Opposition groups are demanding that regional president Francisco Camps ensures that marshland and risk areas are turned into development ‘no-go’ zones.

ARCHITECTS SPEAK OUT

The official college of architects in Valencia has urged regional housing and territories chief Rafael Blasco to suspend all building licences in coastal areas until such time as the new Plan Territorial del Litoral has been finalised.

President of the college Fabián Llisterri said that intense construction along the coast in recent years has in some cases caused damage and called for a public debate when the plan is ready.

Story from the Costa Blanca news

Spanish Country property for sale

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