Thread: Illegal property demolition on the Costa del Sol

Up until today I had no idea that "illegal" properties were actually being demolished on the Costa del Sol..

I just read an interesting article in the SUR in English and it appears demolitions are moving forward!

Residents in the Alta Vista area of San Pedro are less than impressed by the announcement from the Mayor that two illegal properties, not part of the Urban Plan (PGOU), are to be demolished. They say that, so far, just six orders have been issued against the promoter Prosavi, but that a further 45 properties in the Mediterranean village complex have no licences and are not part of the plan and should be demolished. The residents want clarification as to why only six orders have been made, as they can see no logic in the situation. They say that apart from any other considerations the area does not have the infrastructure to support these buildings.

What do you think about this?

A lot of properties near Marbella are going to be demolished too, some have the black and white tape around them to show they are not legal. I believe even Antonio Banderos has a problem with his villa. Ther are a lot of half started apartment blocks which will be removed.

There has been none of this in Benalmadena so far. But I know a lot of properties were demolished in Valencia province last year.

Cartama demolished an illegal build last year. It was owned by a Spaniard and the reason they picked on him was that if he had applied for planning permission they would have granted it......I'm sure there is some logic there but it escapes me.

The heading 'Illegal Property Demolition' could be read as the 'Demolition of Illegal Property' or the 'Illegal Demolition of Property'. The case in Vera (Almería) at the beginning of the year certainly falls into the latter category.

Several properties in Mijas are on the Junta de Andalucía's hit list but this is turning out to be somewhat embarrassing for them because the Town Hall is PSOE controlled, the same as the Junta.

This is an example of what is happening there:

Mijas resident calls on the Town Hall to demolish her home

Originally Posted by jayce

A lot of properties near Marbella are going to be demolished too, some have the black and white tape around them to show they are not legal. I believe even Antonio Banderos has a problem with his villa. Ther are a lot of half started apartment blocks which will be removed.

Humm.... I think this is one of the reasons there have not really been demolitions in Marbella as yet, imagine the outcry if AB has his home in Marbella pulled down, not only by locals proud of the fact he has a home there but by other famous. This is all Marbella needs now to destroy it's name totally.

BTW, AB bought his villa without knowing it was built illegally so he is in the same boat as most others who have bought these properties while date back as far as 20 odd years!!!!! ley de las costas.

Something you will notice if you look into the demolitions that have taken place is the properties that are owned by anyone who is anyone, or has links with politics, local government or the town halls have not had their properties touched while a few in the same areas who are just like you and me (Spanish included) have.
This is a sad discraceful situation that the Spanish government just seem to be dragging their heels on... like many other things that don't get them votes.

The Junta de Andalucia are supposed to oversee this but look at Laguna Beach in Estepona, built on the beach just over a year ago with support from the JdA.

They are definitely demolishing in the Valencia region. A spanish friend of mine works in the office in Alicante that deals with the illegal properties.

The problem with all this property demolition business is there are 2 sides to it.

There are those that come on holiday or whatever and purchase a property for cash or by other means. They do not apply for any documentation or do local searches or surveys. All of a sudden they find themselves in an illegal property, well would you part with your hard earned cash in the UK without going through the proper channels? People come on holiday and get all starry eyed and leave there brains and common sense back in the UK, in this instance and in general I would say tough, it's your fault!

Then we have the corrupt mayors and planning committees that we have seen in Marbella and Estepona. Developers can get licenses and permissions paying huge backhanders which are demanded by people in power. These people then get found out and developments they granted permission to are then under threat. To me this is wrong a person in power has given permission, end of story. If he has been paid or demanded money who cares its his problem and people that have subsequently purchased property should not suffer. If someone decided to put all this to the European Court of Human Rights I would be interested to know what the outcome would be.

I am aware of property been demolished, but I wish they would just get on with it in some cases. Take for instance the apartments next to the Hospital Costa de Sol, they are right at the side of the road and are a real eyesore, part finished, covered in graffiti, I don't see the point. Might as well get them finished or get them down because as it is it serves no other purpose than to make the area look terrible.

I am sure there are many other arguments and reasons why actions are taken but in general that's how I feel

If you are paying your annual property taxes, IBI, basura etc then they cannot touch you. If your sat in an apartment block and haven't paid a penny then you better make some enquires...

Originally Posted by Leisure2000

I am aware of property been demolished, but I wish they would just get on with it in some cases. Take for instance the apartments next to the Hospital Costa de Sol, they are right at the side of the road and are a real eyesore, part finished, covered in graffiti, I don't see the point. Might as well get them finished or get them down because as it is it serves no other purpose than to make the area look terrible.

Last year Angeles Muñoz, the Marbella mayor said. “We are going to remove the legal insecurity so that buyers can feel confident,” she says. “To do this, we will have to legalise practically all the * 19,000 * properties that were built with illegal licences.”, the same artical places blame on Jesus Gil for the start of this but this all started before Gil and Gil actually spent most of the money on the town while the 'theives' of recent years spent the money on themselves and didn't even pay the town hall staff or bills.