Bulldozing expats will hurt Spain, Foreign Office minister cautions.

March 9th, 2010

A Foreign Office minister warned Spain on Sunday that knocking down British expatriates’ houses was hurting its economy.

John and Muriel Burns have spent the past decade pursuing their dream of a Spanish idyll, tending the garden and caring for their pool.

Chris Bryant, Minister for Europe, said that the country was undermining efforts to create a recovery in its beleaguered housing market.

He was speaking yesterday during a visit to south-eastern Spain to meet British expatriates who have been told that their homes will be bulldozed after Spanish authorities declared their construction illegal.

The authorities there have been waging a campaign against former officials accused of allowing overdevelopment of coastal regions. Local governments issued building licences for the properties, but these were later nullified following court action instigated by a higher regional government.

Mr Bryant cautioned: “The housing market in Spain is not going to recover quickly if pictures of bulldozers knocking down expats’ homes are appearing in British newspapers.

“Everyone I’ve spoken to in Spain says they want to find a solution but wanting a solution and getting one are two different things.”

He said: “Obviously it’s not for the British Government to tell the Spanish what to do. But I’m pushing the message hard at all government levels that I meet here that they have got to put political willpower into these problems, whether it’s an amnesty, whether it’s a change in the law, whatever the solution is that is needed. That is the point I am pushing.

“I have to say also that there is an enormous difference between the Britons who just make a cursory legal deal – that is always ill advised – and those who have done everything they should or could have done but still find themselves in deep trouble.”

Mr Bryant spent the weekend advising expatriates in Andalucia on issues ranging from property rights to health care. He visited Torrevieja, the fastest-growing town on the Costa Blanca, Malaga, the capital of the Costa del Sol, and the town of Albox, where eight British families are fighting demolition orders issued at the end of last year.

John and Muriel Burns were among the first to receive the demolition orders in Albox. The pensioners emigrated to Spain in 2001. “They did everything to dot the ‘I’s and cross the ‘T’s that they possibly could have to obtain the permission they required” to build their dream house, Mr Bryant said.

“But it turns out that the permission should not have been given. That was no fault of theirs whatsoever – but now they face the prospect of having their home demolished.”

After hearing that his home would be bulldozed, Mr Burns declared that he and his wife would chain themselves to the house.

“If this building comes down, then we will be underneath it,” he said.

Mr Bryant said he was able to tell worried Britons that the Andalusian regional government was appointing a full-time official to deal with the concerns of British expatriates. The official will provide advice on property regulations, health care and residence requirements. Mr Bryant warned: “People buying property anywhere abroad, not just in Spain, have to take at least twice as much trouble as they do at home to make sure everything is legal. It is so easy to go to a lawyer because he’s cheaper.

“Then later you find out that he wasn’t an independent lawyer at all, but was working all the time on behalf of the land developer and you are really stuffed.”

CRA IBI Legal Advice

March 2nd, 2010

Please find below the legal advice provided to the CRA concerning whether IBI can legally be charged by Mazarron Council on the properties of Camposol.

(Should any member require a Spanish version it can be provided by emailing info@cracamposol.com)

IBI LEGAL REPORT

FACTS

Urbanización Camposol.

The issue raised is the entitlement by the municipality of Mazarron to collect property taxes (IBI), to holders of property in this development, taking into consideration the current conditions of both the houses and the urbanization itself.

The Urbanization is neither completed nor taken over by the City Council. It also lack garbage collection services, mail collection, street lighting, and a water supply of part of the development. In addition, there are deficiencies for vehicle access, roads, pavements ..etc. Many homes also lack of Certificate of Habitation.

APPLICABLE LAW:

Royal Decree Law 2 / 2004 of 5 March, approving the revised text of the Law Regulating the Local Municipalities. (Regulation of IBI in Articles 60 to 77).

Royal Decree 1 / 2004 of 5 March, approving the revised text of the Law on Real Estate Catastro. (Arts. 6.8 definitions of real estate for catastral purposes)

Ayuntamiento de Mazarrón. Ordinance Governing the Property Tax.
Catastral

Revisión Catastral made by the Ministry of Finance in 2007.

Current Planning: Review adjustment of the plan adopted by resolution dated 9 May 1991 by the Consejeria of Territorial Policy and Public Works of the CARM. (The draft revision in progress of 2006 is not even initially approved as at 19/2/2010)

Law Decree 1 / 2005 of 10 June, which approves the revised text of the Land Law of the Region of Murcia. (Land Classification arts. 61-66)

General Tax Law. (Articles 163 et seq. In relation to payment of tax procedure)

JURISPRUDENCE ANALYZED:

STS 3rd room as C-Advo. 5th section of 7/2/2006 (Rec 8086/2002). Urban Land/ Soil criteria to meet for the classification of soil as ” Urbano”.

STS 3/10/1995, 19/5/1995. For an urban soil to be considered as such, it is not enough to be provided with road access, water supply, waste disposal and power supply with the appropriate characteristics to serve on the building that exists or where it is built, but also that the soil is inserted into the urban network, ie. there is a basic urbanization perimeter formed by lines serving a network of water supply and sanitation, electricity and which can serve to ground, and this, by its situation is not completely isolated from the existing urban network.
23/12/2004 STS, STS 7.6.1999.

3/02/2003 STS AND STS 15.11.2003. “The mere existence on a plot of land of urban services required, is not sufficient for classification as urban land if that plot is not located in the urban network”.

ANALYSIS

All taxes, whether local, regional or national, are composed of three basic elements, ie, the taxable event, or event giving rise to the payment of tax, the taxpayer or person legally obligated to pay the duty and the accrual or tax period, which is the point in time in which the duty is payable legally.

In the case, and as for the real estate tax (IBI), its elements are those indicated below:

a) It is the taxable event, in accordance with Art. 61 RDL 2 / 2004 Ref Text Local Revenue law governing the ownership of the rural and urban real estate and buildings of special features of the administrative concession rights, property right surface, real right of usufruct and ownership rights .

For the purposes of this tax, shall be considered rustic real estate, urban real estate and real estate special characteristics, those as defined in the rules governing the Real Estate Catastre.

DEFINITION OF REAL ESTATE PROPERTY FOR CATASTRAL PURPOSES: (Royal Legislative Decree 1 / 2004 of 5 March ss. 6-8): It is considered real property for catastral purposes:

- The plot of land or portion of the same nature, located in a municipality and closed by a polygonal line that delimits the spatial scope of property rights and of the buildings located in that area.

The urban or rustic character of the property depends on the nature of the soil (classified or defined by urban planning).

Art 7.2.d. Is defined as soil of urban nature, that which is occupied by nuclei or settlements of population, even if isolated from the urban core, irrespective of the habitat where they are located and whatever the degree of concentration of buildings.

Art 7.2.e. The soil that has been transformed because it has the urban services provided by planning legislation, or, failing that, by having access road, water supply, drainage and electricity supply.

b) As to the person liable to tax, natural persons and legal entities who hold the ownership rights, establishing the taxable event and the tax assessment. (Art. 63 RDL 2 / 2004 Text Ref. law governing local government finances.)

c) As to the entitlement and tax period, the tax becomes due on the first day of the fiscal year, which coincides with the calendar year. The facts, events and businesses that must be subject to declaration or communication to the Catastro Inmobiliario will have effectiveness in the accrual of the tax, immediately after the time they produce catastral effects. (S. 75 RDL 2 / 2004 Text Ref. law governing local government finances.)

CONCLUSION:

The IBI is a tribute to local character whose taxable event is the ownership of certain property rights in rural and urban soil at first of January of each year. The character of the property depends on the nature of the soil.

The nature of the soil of Camposol, is classified for Catastral means as URBANA, a category that has been assigned by the Dirección General del Catastro under art. 7.2.e and art. 62 of the consolidated text of the Land Law of the Region of Murcia.

However, in the current Mazarrón PGOU, Camposol is classified as unscheduled developable land, lacking the necessary infrastructure, according to the above referenced provision, necessary to consider it as urban soils.

There is case law of the Supreme Court stating that the mere existence on a plot of urban services, is not sufficient for classification as urban land if that is not located in the urban network.

In Camposol, it can be found the fact that the works of urbanization are not taken over by the City, due to the fact that they are incompletely implemented and the existence of serious deficiencies in the works already executed.

We understand that urbanization Camposol is not incardinated in the urban network, due to the factual situation of their services (no garbage collection service, private water supply sectors B – F, lack of street lighting, total abdication by the municipality in terms of services and audit work on the developer regarding the execution of works)

We also understand that while there is a jurisprudential basis for attacking the status conferred as urban land, there are also sentences that are pronounced in the opposite direction. However we understand that because the sentences are contradictory, it could result in a ruling in our favour in the Courts of Administrative Litigation.

Should it be able to demonstrate that it is not urban land, the City would not issue IBI receipts for that concept, since the situation of the owners of Camposol is not subsumed in the corresponding taxable event.

In any case, the receipts are to be contested in the voluntary payment period. Besides being contested or not, receipts are required to be paid, because the mere appeal does not suspend its enforceability, which means that although such receipts are being questioned, the recovery procedure continues and the “via de apremio” would start immediately with the appropriate administrative procedure towards forced collection.

In that case, the amount of receipts would increase to 20%, and if still not paid by the owners, the Agency shall proceed to collect it through house owners for the amount of IBI plus surcharges for apremio (urgency), beginning with bank accounts.

This report is issued as a first study of the legal reality exposed, with no additional considerations other than those submitted by the owners of the Camposol Residents Association, without prejudice to other criteria that in the same or different direction could be issued.

In Alhama, 19 February 2010.

CRA Central Liaison Meeting 62 Minutes – 1st March 2010

March 2nd, 2010

Camposol Residents Association

Central Liaison Committee

Minutes of the 62nd Meeting 1st March 2010

Those Present: Greg Green Chairman
Joyce Stewart Vice Chair/Treasurer
Les Crook Membership Sec
Barrie Eveleigh Communications
John Daws
Geoff Nastri
Bob Owen
Apologies: Mary Cooper

Meeting started 5pm

Item 1. Minutes of previous meeting.

Minutes of the 61st meeting having been circulated prior were agreed as a true record.

Proposed: Bob Owen
Seconded: Barrie Eveleigh Carried unanimously

Item 2. Finance Update.

Treasurer reported the General Fund stands at 822.44
The Legal Fund balance at 01.03.10 stands at 18,485.75
Cash in hand 213.64
Refunds from the legal fund to date are 1,640
The bill of 464€ for the Report on IBI payment has been paid.

Item 3. Membership Update.

Les advised that the old and new registers have been amalgamated, and membership now stands at 2,183.

Per Sector Breakdown:

Sector A: 278 members, Sector B: 435, Sector C: 422, Sector D: 999
Only 49 members occupying 39 houses failed to give their poligono nº.

To pre-empt questions on individual or households, these figures represent:

199 homes on A, 275 on B, 254 on C, and 636 on D.

As there are approx 4,000 houses on Camposol, these figures show approx. 33% of houses have at least one CRA member.

The facility to register via e-mail is proving a success with several new and re-registering members, an e-mail of welcome is sent to all new members.

It was decided that as space permits this method of registering will be publicised in the monthly news letters.

Item 4. Communications Update.

Barrie said his letter to President Zapatero is complete and its content agreed by the committee. This will be put into Spanish and sent asap.

The article for next month’s Journal is in progress.

Joyce S to investigate cost of translations.

Item 5. IBI Payments.

As stated in the minutes of the 60th meeting of the CLC, it was decided to seek specific legal advice on the legality of IBI payments being requested from an unfinished, unadopted urbanization. This report is now in hand at a cost of 464€. (See Item 2)
In brief it says;

Camposol IBI bills show the Land Registry in regard of Camposol land as ‘Urbana’ and bills owners as such.

The PGOU (General Plan) of Mazarrón shows the land as undeveloped ‘buildable’ land.

There has been a Supreme Court ruling that ‘buildable’ land not be subject to IBI.

There are also “judgements” to the contrary.

Espadas, who supplied this Report feel that Camposol owners would have a good case for non payment, but advise that those who receive an IBI bill should pay it and argue their case later, rather than refuse to pay, as fines of 20% are added and the Council can make determined efforts to collect.

Due to the odd – to we English – rule that it is the responsibility of the citizen to enquire if he has an outstanding bill, rather than the responsibility of the authorities to send a bill, all queries about IBI, car tax, fines etc should be made at the Hacienda office in Mazarrón. It was suggested that all owners carryout this process at least twice a year.

The IBI legal report in Spanish & English will be published on the website once the electronic version is received.

Item 6. Meeting with the Mayor

Overall there were mixed views regarding the outcome of the meeting.

Regarding the issue of recovering the Masa guarantees, it was clear from what was said a the meeting that this action is likely to be a long process and although disappointing it was agreed that we have little option but to wait until it runs its course.

Concerns were raised about the Council lawyer’s disclosure that they are considering the idea of an equal division of the urbanization for easier administrative purposes, albeit this is only an idea at this time. It was also made quite clear by both the Mayor and the lawyer present that there can be no takeover of any part of Camposol until it is complete and any decisions on what kind of Entity and where, if any, changes to the dividing lines might be, are still some way in the future.

This attitude was viewed by the committee as somewhat disappointing due to its complexity. If not addressed soon enough there are likely to be added delays in setting up the management structure

What was also made clear at the meeting is that the costs of completion and maintenance will come at a cost greater than the guarantees in place. The Mayor has no wish to discuss at this time how those costs will be covered and by whom, until take over is imminent. He has however said in the past that he does not intend that the financial burden will fall on the Council.

Here again the committee feel that to avoid as much delay as possible these issues need addressing sooner rather than later.

Committee opinion is that although it seems we can have little input on the due process leading toward completion, the continued day by day deterioration of the infrastructure dictates that we must attempt to influence the speed of that process as much as possible.

With that in mind the Committee intends to present the idea of a plan to advance necessary work in the interim.

More specific points will be raised at future meetings and it is hoped that Cllr Galvez in her capacity as Councillor for Foreigners will meet us before the next scheduled meeting with the Mayor to pave the way for this.

Given the lack of success by the group opposed to the transfer of the Mazarrón Market Hall, despite their very well organised and continuous series of protests, it must be believed that protests by Camposol would meet with the same indifference at this time. It was also agreed that Legal action against the Council is not an option due to lack of support, leaving only continued negotiation as an option.

Item 7. Fin de Obra Certificates

Geoff Nastri brought to the attention of the committee that some of these certificates together with ten year guarantees are now available for many properties at Costa Calida Services office on Sector A Commercial.

Information is that there are none for turistico properties. Anyone interested in obtaining this documentation should contact CCS direct.

Item 8. C Sector Meeting

Chair said that he has been asked by residents of Sector C to address a meeting organised by them on Wednesday at 11am in Kennellys, at which a legal firm will be in attendance to advise those with defective housing. Chair informed the committee that he will attend this meeting to give them CRA support, but that he in no way intends it to be seen as a CRA initiative.

Item 9. Community Centre.

Chair advised that Cllr Galvez has informed him that the Council have been granted the funds to build the Camposol Community Centre, and that the Centre will be completed within a year.

Item 10. Liaison with the Spanish.

Through our website the CRA has been asked by a Spanish resident of Camposol if we could generate any interest in a basic language exchange scheme to be run at the secondary school in Mazarrón Town.

Joyce S and Les C are to meet Antonio to get more information.

Item 11. AOB

a. John D. asked was there anything further to report on the subsidence on the approaches to the bridge.
Chair said that a council engineer has inspected the bridge and contacted Masa. Cllr Galvez has said that if Masa don’t repair it the Council will and they will bill Masa. Chair has subsequently contacted Miguel and a Masa engineer has assured him that the bridge will be repaired but declined to say when.

b.Les C told of a demo being organised by AUN (Abusos Urbanisticas) in Malaga. Details will be available at the cabin for anyone wishing to attend the demonstration.
Les C to create a poster for the cabin to that effect.

That being the end of business, the meeting closed at 7.15pm

Next meeting provisionally arranged for Monday 29th March.

CRA/Mayor Meeting 24th Feb 2010 Minutes

February 26th, 2010

CRA/Mayor Meeting 24th Feb 2010 Minutes
Mazarron Old Town Hall

Those Present :
Mayor Blaya Blaya
Jackie Galvez – Counciller (JG)
Ricardo Fernandez Puche – Council Lawyer (RP)
Greg Green – CRA Chairman (GG)
Joyce Stewart – CRA Vice Chairwoman(JS)
Les Crook – CRA Membership Secretary
John Daws – CRA
Bob Owen – CRA
Barrie Eveleigh – CRA (BE)
Enrique Olmos – Translator

The meeting commenced at 10am.

1. Now that the Council have officially announced that they are taking legal action against Masa to recover guarantees and the statement given to the CRA in the meeting with the Mayor of 4th Nov 2009, that the process for taking the funds was straight forward and could only be appealed against by Masa after the money was taken, can the Mayor give some idea of how long it will be before the Council adopt A Sector?

The Mayor started by going through the process that has occurred and his vision of the future:

i. The council have been holding back on taking action against Masa as they realise the cost of completing Camposol will be huge and they wanted Masa to pay for as much as possible.

ii. Having accepted that Masa are not going to do anything further the Council have begun the process of applying for the guarantees covering all sections of Camposol. Masa were informed by letter if this intent.

iii. In law Masa are allowed two months to reply with any objections. As usual Masa used the time allowed before answering. Their objections then have to be answered by the Council and another two months allowed for a reply. All this takes time.

iv. The Council will approach the banks holding the guarantees for payment. There are then two possibilities.

a) The bank pay the money to the Council over any objections by Masa. This might take as little as two months. Masa could appeal against payment and should they win the money would have to be repaid.
b) Masa can inform the banks prior to payment being made of their objections and the banks could hold on to the money pending a judgement. This might take a year.

v. When the money is received a full technical assessment will be undertaken to prioritise the work needed and the money used to complete as much of it as is possible. How to finance the rest will need to be discussed then.
BE asked what would happen if there was not enough money from the guarantees to complete the outstanding work, will the council still take over Camposol.

RP stated that it could not be taken over until this work was completed.

There then followed a discussion on who was responsible for making up the shortfall. The CRA position being that the Council (as stated in the Garrigues Report) was fully responsible and the Mayor saying that the residents of Camposol were responsible. This point was not finalised in the discussion.

GG stated that the process still had a long way to run and it would be sensible to start compiling plans and databases ready for the day when Camposol was accepted by the council. The Mayor showed no enthusiasm for this.

2. In the meeting with the Mayor on the 6th May 2009 the Mayor said that J Galvez was to head up a council group looking at the proposed management structure for Camposol. Could we please have an update as to the preferred management structure agreed by the Mayor and what steps are to be taken to put this in to practice?

The Mayor stated that it was still their preferred option that Camposol come under Council administration with an extra levy tax being paid for the additional costs required to maintain Camposol under the guidance of a Camposol management committee. To do this it would only take an amendment be approved by the Council Plenum. The Mayor preferred this option as the powers held by the Council would allow easier and more prompt collection of all taxes due.

GG asked if the Mayor saw this process as being for a whole Camposol. The Mayor supported by his lawyer said that they believed that the administration of such a system would be easier if the urbanization were broken down in to two areas. GG asked what would be the preferable break, to which the lawyer said in equal parts. GG asked the Mayor if it was his intention to divide Camposol into one containing A Sector and the other consisting of B, C & D Sectors. The Mayor would not commit himself at this stage but on being pushed for an answer the lawyer stated an equal split would be preferable.

3. Will the Mayor now commit himself to having a meeting with all groups concerned to negotiate the smooth adoption of Sector A and to a 5 year plan being put in to place to cover all work outstanding and day to day maintenance?

GG asked once again that after listening to everything said previously in the meeting and the reality that the Camposol infrastructure was deteriorating day by day then it was unacceptable not to start the process of preparing data bases, budgets etc.. From what had been said it would be at least two years before any additional Camposol taxes were agreed collected and available to maintain and improve Camposol. The Mayor again would not commit himself away from the process he had outlined earlier.

4. As requested by the Mayor in our meeting of 6th May 2009 the CRA have now contacted the Confederacion Hidrografica who state that they are unlikely to sign off the Revised Plan Parcial without the completion of the artificial rambla on D sector being agreed and completed. Now that the Mayor has acknowledged that Masa is not going to complete this work will the Mayor give his views on who will undertake and pay for this work to enable the Revised Plan Parcial for Sectors B, C & D to be signed off resulting in the Council being able to adopt these sectors?

The Council lawyer showed little concern for the discussions and details obtained by the CRA from their meeting with the Confederacion Hidrografica (CH) and said that he believed that the Plan Parcial could be signed off with the consent of the CH without the artificial rambla being completed but plan approved.

GG asked the lawyer why, if there were there no problem, why there at least 3 poligono’s without escrituras and owners worrying if they actually owned the villas they lived in. He also stated that the CH had mentioned the possibility of the rambla being restored to its original state which would obviously mean many villas being demolished. JD asked directly if there was any chance that his villa would be demolished. JG said no.

There was then a discussion between the Mayor, JG & the lawyer as they obviously disagreed with each other over what had been said.

It was agreed that the lawyer look further in to the situation and report back.

5. Over the last few weeks Mrs Galvez has been involved with the council engineer over the problems with the sewage pumping station on D Sector. The engineer reported that the system installed by Masa did not have the capability to deal with the levels of sewage created. Now that we are agreed that Masa is unlikely to correct this and with the upcoming high season of visitors to Camposol can the Mayor tell us what he can do to deal with this problem before it gets worse?

JG stated that the Council Engineer had visited the site and spoken with Masa and the problem with the sewage had now been resolved. GG confirmed that it had been some weeks since he had heard reports of any further problems.

JG also stated that the Council Engineer had also looked at the subsidence at the major bridge approach on B/C and was talking to Masa. GG stated that he had been in regular contact with Masa and had seen a Masa engineer at the site. If no work is started in the next week GG will contact Masa for an update. GG & JG stated that both engineers had reported that the problem was with the approach and the bridge itself was structurally sound. JG stated that if Masa did not carry out remedial work then the Council would undertake the work and bill Masa.

6. Could the Mayor confirm if Masa were now paying for rubbish collection?

GG stated that the residents of A, B, C & D were paying Masa for this service through their water bills.

The Mayor stated that the only money the Council were receiving directly for rubbish collection was from Sector A residents with Aqualia contracts. He said that, the last time he had asked, Masa was not paying for sectors B, C & D to the Council but he would request an update.

JS asked if the owners on B, C & D could pay directly to the Council for rubbish collection. The Mayor said that he would look in to it.

The meeting closed at 12pm.

Next meeting agreed for approximately 3 months time.

A Tale of Warning!!

February 26th, 2010

This article is from Coastrider
by Fiona Killick.

Property owners in Oasis Urbana 2 part of the La Marina complex were horrified earlier this year when they started to receive bills from the Suma office because their bills were not for the normal amounts they would have expected but for many thousands of euros. The bills had been sent out in order to raise the money to put in place a new sewage system for the area. The total cost of the project is in excess of 5 million euros and we were told by Fini Cánovas president of the local residents association, that the local Town Hall of San Fulgencio is only going to be contributing ten percent of the sum needed and the residents are being expected to pick up the rest, a huge sum that many, being pensioners on very limited incomes, simply cannot afford. Fini said that there are almost 500 families affected by these demands which vary depending on the size of the property but many are in excess of 10,000 euros and some in excess of 40,000. Even those for smaller properties are several thousand euros which, particularly for British residents who are pensioners, will be a large part of a year’s pension. The owners are being allowed nine months to find the money but that is no comfort for a project they believe should be funded by local or regional government. Failure to pay could result in owners facing embargos placed on their houses and bank accounts. “The local Town Hall will not speak to us, “Fini said, “They have passed the whole thing over to the Suma to collect the money.” The Resident’s Association is taking its case to the Public Defender in Valencia this week and their president said they would go to Madrid if necessary to further their cause.

Fini Cánovas advises all owners to record the date they receive their bills on the top of the documents as they have 30 days to lodge an appeal against them.

Useful Precedent or Not??

February 26th, 2010

This article has been copied from The Costa Blanca RTN.

Galicia Amnesty Gives Hope to Catral Residents

Contributed by Louise Clarke
Thursday, 25 February 2010

The Galician Socialists have decided this week to grant an amnesty to all the illegal houses in the region, built before 2003. The Partido Socialista de Galicia (PSdeG) party has decided to officially support the Ley de Suelo and as a result, the move has brought hope to the hundreds of illegal home owners in Catral. Despite rejections by former Councillor María José Caride, the motion to support the law was passed by a majority in the Galician Regional Parliament. It means that any house built without either a municipal or a regional licence before 1st January 2003 will now be given amnesty, whether it adheres to planning regulations or not. Sources at the Galician Regional Government estimate that there will be tens of thousands of homeowners who will benefit from this amnesty. But those houses that were built on protected
land will be excluded.

IRRESPONSIBLE

The agreement states that the houses built without a licence before January 2003 can be legalised by payment of 10 euro per square metre, so as with the situation in Catral, legalisation comes at a cost to the homeowner. Socialist Councillors opposed to the amnesty described it as “an irresponsible exercise” and argued that the PSdeG Councillors, who voted in favour of the law, were going against party policy and its official position.

Former Galician President, Emilio Perez Touriño, strongly criticised the reform of the law, due be written into the regional constitution next week with the view to implementation by mid March. A regional parliament spokesman told RTN “A document will be sent to all the municipalities to make sure that they are aware of the new reforms and it is then up to the homeowners to contact their own Town Hall to finalise the legalisation of their houses.”

NO LEGAL LIABILITY

Chuck Svoboda of Abusos Urbanisticos No! (AUN) told RTN “It could be a useful precedent of sorts and could help in many situations, although I don’t like the implications of a wholesale; amnesty. It lets the bad guys, i.e. the promoters, developers, Town Halls and speculators off the hook.” He added “The devil will be in the detail as the people in Catral have learned. They will get their homes legalised, perhaps, but at what cost, and to whom? The property owners will, no doubt, get stuck with the tab as the other tax payers won’t pay for infrastructure costs and many, if not most, of the developers and promoters turn out to be front companies with no resources and no legal liability once they go bust.” Chuck concluded “Town Halls don’t have any money and the developers’ bank guarantees, in many cases, are worthless. There are also situations where those who built houses discover that their dwellings aren’t even on property they own. What sort of amnesty will cover that? How can they ever get clear title or proper registration of their property? Galicia doesn’t have a very large non-Spanish population to prey upon, so I wonder how attractive this would be to the authorities in places that do have one.”

Landmark Judgement made in case of Camposol Touristico Property

February 18th, 2010

Condemned For Selling House on Touristico Land

They must pay 289,813 Euros to an English couple who bought the house in Camposol.

The Provincial Audencia of Murcia has ordered a construction company to compensate 289,813 euros for a villa that was acquired for permanent use when legally it was not possible for this to be built on land intended for the tourist sector buyers. The Audencia confirmed the sentence which was handed down a year ago by the Court of first instance number four in Totana in which it had ordered the company return to a married English couple money paid for the property. The court has also ordered the withdrawal of compensation initially made for 5,000 euros be paid to the married couple for mental anguish as this was not proven and they have had the use of the villa for the last 5 years. The judgment of the Provincial Audencia of Murcia indicates that this couple bought a house in the Camposol Urbanization in Mazarron and presented a demand against the seller asking for the nullification or resolution of the contract to verify that this villa was not planned for normal residential use, but for tourist use. He also stated that it was not possible to change the purpose of the property to residential from Touristico as this had been authorized by the Mazarron Council for that purpose. The Audencia confirmed the nullification of the sales contract and ordered the company to pay a total of 289,813 euros to the purchasers of the property.

This article is taken from La Opinion dated 18th Frebruary 2010.

Want to be a CRA Member but living in the UK?

February 17th, 2010

If you are a homeowner of a villa on Camposol you can now join the CRA by email.

All you have to do is email the details below to info@cracamposol.com and you will be sent your membership details by return. Your membership card will then be ready for collection on your next visit to Camposol.

Full Name.
NIE or Passport Number.
If re-registering old CRA membership Number.
Villa Details in Camposol :
Villa Type
Poligono & Plot Numbers
Street Name and Number
Spanish Tel Number
Do you own villa Y/N
Are you on pardon Y/N
Do you have residence in Spain Y/N
Are you resident in Spain or do you use your villa for holiday home or rental.
E-mail address.
UK address & Telephone No.

Nb… No information will be passed to any third party without your prior consent.

Current members with the old red membership cards can also follow the same procedure to obtain an updated green membership card.

CRA Meeting With Mayor – 24th Feb – Questions

February 16th, 2010

The following questions have been forwarded to the Mayor in anticipation of the meeting to be held with the CRA on 24th February 2010.

1. Now that the Council have officially announced that they are taking legal action against Masa to recover guarantees and the statement given to the CRA in the meeting with the Mayor of 4th Nov 2009, that the process for taking the funds was straight forward and could only be appealed against by Masa after the money was taken, can the Mayor give some idea of how long it will be before the Council adopt A Sector.

2. In the meeting with the Mayor on the 6th May 2009 the Mayor said that J Galvez was to head up a council group looking at the proposed management structure for Camposol. Could we please have an update as to the preferred management structure agreed by the Mayor and what steps are to be taken to put this in to practice.

3. Will the Mayor now commit himself to having a meeting with all groups concerned to negotiate the smooth adoption of Sector A and to a 5 year plan being put in to place to cover all work outstanding and day to day maintenance.

4. As requested by the Mayor in our meeting of 6th May 2009 the CRA have now contacted the Confederacion Hidrografica who state that they are unlikely to sign off the Revised Plan Parcial without the completion of the artificial rambla on D sector being agreed and completed. Now that the Mayor has acknowledged that Masa is not going to complete this work will the Mayor give his views on who will undertake and pay for this work to enable the Revised Plan Parcial for Sectors B, C & D to be signed off resulting in the Council being able to adopt these sectors.

5. Over the last few weeks Mrs Galvez has been involved with the council engineer over the problems with the sewage pumping station on D Sector. The engineer reported that the system installed by Masa did not have the capability to deal with the levels of sewage created. Now that we are agreed that Masa is unlikely to correct this and with the upcoming high season of visitors to Camposol can the Mayor tell us what he can do to deal with this problem before it gets worse?

CRA Central Liaison Meeting 61 minutes – 12th Feb 2010

February 13th, 2010

CRA Central Liaison Meeting 61 minutes – 12th Feb 2010

Minutes of the 61st Meeting 12/02/2010

Those Present:
Greg Green Chairman
Joyce Stewart Vice Chair/Treasurer
Les Crook Membership Sec
Barrie Eveleigh Communications.
John Daws
Geoff Nastri
Bob Owen
Apologies: Mary cooper

The meeting began at 1.30pm.

1. Previous Minutes:
That the minutes of the 60th meeting circulated prior were a true record.
Proposed: Bob Owen
Seconded: Geoff Nastri Carried Unanimously

2. Over the last year there have several changes to the way in which membership to the CRA has been recorded. There are in fact two lists :

a. The original list containing just under 2000 card holding members.
b. A new list consisting of just under 700 members who had re-registered their membership and new members who had joined since the re-registration process started.

This has caused some confusion as to the actual membership numbers of the CRA and needed to be corrected to maintain the CRA’s charitable registration which requires all members to be recorded and available on request.

It was proposed that both lists be amalgamated with a clean-up operation to be undertaken to ensure that all members are alive and are Camposol homeowners or homeowners family.
Proposed : Les Crook
Seconded : John Daws Carried with one against.

To be able to comply with this proposal:

a. Over the next few days both lists would be amalgamated, checked for duplications and approved by the committee.
b. A request would be posted on the website and on the Cabin notice board asking the following :
i) If any current member wished to withdraw their membership they should do so by contacting a committee member at the Cabin when open or by emailing info@cracamposol.com with their request.
ii) Any person, member or non-member, who knew of the passing away or moving away of anyone they think to be a CRA member contact a committee member at the Cabin when open or by emailing info@cracamposol.com with the details to allow the records to be updated.

In addition to the points above two other suggestions were approved :
iii) All members who have not re-registered but have an original red membership card should change this card for the new Green Card. At the same time information such as email address should be given in to assist with improved communication for all members. This can be done by contacting a committee member at the Cabin when open or by emailing info@cracamposol.com with their current membership card number.
1v) A membership request form will be made available for download from the website to allow non-resident homeowners to apply for membership much easier. The completed membership form can be emailed to info@cracamposol.com

There being no further business the meeting was closed at 3pm.

The next committee meeting will be held on the 1st March 2010.

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