Thursday, July 08, 2004
Financial Times 8th July
MEPs tell Valencia to strengthen homeowners' rights
The European parliament yesterday called on the Spanish region of Valencia to suspend all new property developments until the rights of existing homeowners - including those of a large expatriate community - are properly safeguarded under local laws.
The parliament sent a fact-finding mission to Valencia in May after receiving complaints from thousands of residents on the abuse of their property rights on Spain's Mediterranean coast.
A residential tourism boom on the coast has encouraged local councils to hand over vast tracts of rural land to property developers. Under Valencia's urban development law, property developers can then charge existing landowners exorbitant fees to "urbanise" their plots, even if residents already have access to roads, water and electricity.
The law makes it almost impossible for landowners to challenge property developers or present alternative urbanisation plans.
The highly critical report by the parliament's fact-finding mission is likely to embarrass Valencia's regional authorities. "There is no doubt that the application of the law has led to a serious abuse of the most elementary rights of many thousands of European citizens either by design or by deceit," says the report, a copy of which was obtained by the Financial Times.
"These citizens have had their homes and their land expropriated and had to pay for the experience, finding themselves in a surrealistic legal environment without any proper recourse to real justice."
Foreigners bought almost 100,000 holiday homes in Spain last year, spending €7.2bn ($9bn, £4.8bn), according to the Bank of Spain. Britons own almost 800,000 properties in Spain, accounting for about one-third of new purchases, allowed by Germans and French. Some studies estimate up to 6m north Europeans will retire in Spain in the next 20 years.
The report warns Valencia that its lucrative residential tourism industry is being undermined by the absence of clear property rights. A spokesman for the regional government yesterday said urbanisation laws were being amended to strengthen the rights of existing property owners.
But the European members of parliament who visited Valencia say: "The main draft changes to the law highlight, yet fail to adequately address, the enormity of the problem facing so many European citizens."
The fact-finding mission found instances of corruption and bribery in local councils, which often receive big paybacks for reclassifying rural land. The report also accuses developers of charging extortionate fees for basic services and of being the "unscrupulous beneficiaries" of a bad law.
As well as a moratorium on new property developments, the European parliament urged Valencia to consider "an appropriate level of compensation" for people whose properties had been confiscated or destroyed by developers.
"Judging by the detailed correspondence received by the European parliament, there are likely to be hundreds, if not thousands, of such claims."
MEPs tell Valencia to strengthen homeowners' rights
The European parliament yesterday called on the Spanish region of Valencia to suspend all new property developments until the rights of existing homeowners - including those of a large expatriate community - are properly safeguarded under local laws.
The parliament sent a fact-finding mission to Valencia in May after receiving complaints from thousands of residents on the abuse of their property rights on Spain's Mediterranean coast.
A residential tourism boom on the coast has encouraged local councils to hand over vast tracts of rural land to property developers. Under Valencia's urban development law, property developers can then charge existing landowners exorbitant fees to "urbanise" their plots, even if residents already have access to roads, water and electricity.
The law makes it almost impossible for landowners to challenge property developers or present alternative urbanisation plans.
The highly critical report by the parliament's fact-finding mission is likely to embarrass Valencia's regional authorities. "There is no doubt that the application of the law has led to a serious abuse of the most elementary rights of many thousands of European citizens either by design or by deceit," says the report, a copy of which was obtained by the Financial Times.
"These citizens have had their homes and their land expropriated and had to pay for the experience, finding themselves in a surrealistic legal environment without any proper recourse to real justice."
Foreigners bought almost 100,000 holiday homes in Spain last year, spending €7.2bn ($9bn, £4.8bn), according to the Bank of Spain. Britons own almost 800,000 properties in Spain, accounting for about one-third of new purchases, allowed by Germans and French. Some studies estimate up to 6m north Europeans will retire in Spain in the next 20 years.
The report warns Valencia that its lucrative residential tourism industry is being undermined by the absence of clear property rights. A spokesman for the regional government yesterday said urbanisation laws were being amended to strengthen the rights of existing property owners.
But the European members of parliament who visited Valencia say: "The main draft changes to the law highlight, yet fail to adequately address, the enormity of the problem facing so many European citizens."
The fact-finding mission found instances of corruption and bribery in local councils, which often receive big paybacks for reclassifying rural land. The report also accuses developers of charging extortionate fees for basic services and of being the "unscrupulous beneficiaries" of a bad law.
As well as a moratorium on new property developments, the European parliament urged Valencia to consider "an appropriate level of compensation" for people whose properties had been confiscated or destroyed by developers.
"Judging by the detailed correspondence received by the European parliament, there are likely to be hundreds, if not thousands, of such claims."
Comments:
Post a Comment
