Foros de la Plataforma por una Vivienda Digna

[netodyssey]

Spanish Property Land Grab WarningFamilies are being sold picturesque coastal properties in Spain without being warned by estate agents that their grounds are to be bulldozed under strict compulsory purchase laws, an investigation has found.

Thousands of people are being offered what appear to be perfect homes. The reality is that under draconian property laws – dubbed the Spanish acquisition – the land surrounding some of them can be seized by developers.

The estate agents selling the properties are aware of the "land grabs" but are not legally obliged to warn their clients, who can even be charged a proportion of the cost of the new building schemes.

In one case uncovered by The Sunday Times, a couple were sold a £260,000 (Euro 371,800) villa on the Costa Blanca only to find that a third of their land was being seized for a development and that they faced a bill for £60,000 (Euro 85,800) towards its cost. The victims of such schemes are frightened to be identified because they fear they will never be able to sell their blighted homes.

At one sales exhibition at the Dorchester Hotel in London, an undercover reporter was wrongly assured that none of the properties offered by Ocean Estates International, one of the leading companies in the market, was in danger of "urbanization". This is the term used by the Spanish authorities for the land grab under local planning laws known as Ley Reguladora de la Actividad Urbanistica. The laws were intended to provide social housing but are now being ruthlessly exploited by some Costa Blanca developers who use them to obtain land under compulsory purchase orders. They can then force the homeowners to fund infrastructure for the development such as roads, lighting and drainage systems.

To the unsuspecting buyer, a £315,000 (Euro 450,450) villa being advertised on the internet last week looks an idyllic retreat. The attached description states that the villa in Alicante enjoys "superb" views and is situated in a "private location". It fails to say that the developer intends to take a third of the land for a property complex and will charge the buyer £60,000 (Euro 85,800) for his scheme.

The present occupants said they had bought the property from Ocean Estates in October 2002. They used lawyers recommended by the firm to carry out standard checks but the couple claim they were not told of the land grab. They were distraught when they discovered the truth and complained to Ocean Estates, which put the property back on the market. Ocean Estates claims it was unaware of the problems.

One person, who wished to be identified only as David, said he nearly bought the same villa through Ocean Estates last July. He claims that he was given no information about the land grab. "Ocean were keen for me to put in an offer there are then, but I demanded they check whether there were any problems with the land laws, especially as there was a green area near the house," he said. "The sales manager told me it was just people's gardens but I demanded he check. He got back to say a lawyer had checked and it was okay. I said, "What lawyer, because I have already made my own enquiries and it's got big problems". He replied, "Well, I spoke to the owner and he's a lawyer."

In another sale, Ocean Estates flew a businesswoman out to Spain who subsequently bought a property. She used Ocean's recommended lawyer, but was not told that a road-widening scheme was due to remove half her garden – and that she would have to pay some of the costs.

At last month's Ocean Estates exhibition at the Dorchester there were no warnings of the risks of homes being vunerable to the land-grab laws. One of the company's legal advisers told the Sunday Times reporter that there was no danger because the homes on offer were all in urban areas.

Ocean Estates, which describes itself as "number one in the Spanish property market", assures clients that it will "safeguard" their interests throughout the sale. It tells potential buyers that a "team of experts will guide you through every aspect of the property purchase" and that recommended lawyers will provide a written report.

It is not just Ocean Estates that is selling homes under threat of a land grab without warning buyers. Another estate agent has six properties on his books which are affected by land-grab laws and admitted that he was aware of the problems. "Ninety per cent (of my buyers) are British and they still don't understand about the laws, thank God." he said.

Nigel and Susan Foster, who live on the Isle of Wight, bought a planned retirement home in Spain from another agency before the laws were introduced. It is now to be demolished to make way for a holiday home development. They have been offered just £36,000 (Euro 51,480) for their home which is valued at about three times that amount. Nigel Foster said: "They've scuppered all our plans for our future."

Ocean Estates said it was not aware that any of its properties were directly affected by land-grab laws but buyers needed to obtain independent legal advice. A spokesman said the couple who bought the home in Alicante should have been given a report by the company's recommended lawyers about any problems, although they did not receive one. The company said the couple had signed a Spanish document which detailed the problems. Although the company put the property back on the market, it claims that it was not aware of the problems. It said any employee who gave assurances about the legal state of a property would be breaching company guidelines.

Clare Rewcastle and Jon Ungoed-Thomas October 2003
http://www.spanishcosyhomes.com/spain/news/land-grab-warning.htm