# building licence revoked



## nomadros (Oct 18, 2010)

Hi...I'm wondering if anyone can give me any advice on the above subject. On the 23rd Dec 2013 my girlfriend's house (along with all its neighbouring houses) had its building licence revoked. The house was built for her around 2003, bought "in the white" with everything declared and using solicitors, architects etc. It's part of a small development in Andalucia. We have 15 working days to respond and our Spanish solicitors (not the ones used for buying the house) say we should sue the council and the original solicitors. However I just want to check here to see if there are any other options. Any help appreciated.


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## donz (May 5, 2010)

Surely a reason had to have been given? Can't say I've had a lot of experience on this but the reason needs to be made apparent then it will very much depend on that


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## Aron (Apr 30, 2013)

nomadros said:


> Hi...I'm wondering if anyone can give me any advice on the above subject. On the 23rd Dec 2013 my girlfriend's house (along with all its neighbouring houses) had its building licence revoked. The house was built for her around 2003, bought "in the white" with everything declared and using solicitors, architects etc. It's part of a small development in Andalucia. We have 15 working days to respond and our Spanish solicitors (not the ones used for buying the house) say we should sue the council and the original solicitors. However I just want to check here to see if there are any other options. Any help appreciated.


There is a pressure group dealing with this problem. Type into Google. SOHA Spain. Open their website and find out from there what you can do next.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Aron said:


> There is a pressure group dealing with this problem. Type into Google. SOHA Spain. Open their website and find out from there what you can do next.


it's been driving me mad trying to remember what that group is called!!

here's a link SOHA - Save Our Homes in Axarquia - Pressure group in Spain fighting to keep their homes : SOHA – Save Our Homes in Axarquia


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

donz said:


> Surely a reason had to have been given? Can't say I've had a lot of experience on this but the reason needs to be made apparent then it will very much depend on that


If it is the ones I'm thinking of then; 
Unknowingly to the buyers the houses were built on rustic land. The builders stated that the properties were completely legal . The buyers had full paperwork including council approved building licences , licence of first occupation, escrituras, registered on property register, ibi being paid ,etc. 
The previous mayor ,along with many others including the builders, is facing criminal charges over it. 
It would appear that the junta have acted to issue instructions to the local council to rescind the licences due to the court case.
The houses are included in the new urban plan by the local council but that has still to be declared acceptable by the Junta.


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## nomadros (Oct 18, 2010)

gus-lopez said:


> If it is the ones I'm thinking of then;
> Unknowingly to the buyers the houses were built on rustic land. The builders stated that the properties were completely legal . The buyers had full paperwork including council approved building licences , licence of first occupation, escrituras, registered on property register, ibi being paid ,etc.
> The previous mayor ,along with many others including the builders, is facing criminal charges over it.
> It would appear that the junta have acted to issue instructions to the local council to rescind the licences due to the court case.
> The houses are included in the new urban plan by the local council but that has still to be declared acceptable by the Junta.


Thanks for all the replies. You got it in a nutshell. My girlfriend has emailed various UK MEPs (she still has a house in the UK) to see if any of them will get of their butts over this, but basically if this goes through, then even with all the correct paperwork, you cannot guarantee any house is legal in Spain.


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## davexf (Jan 26, 2009)

nomadros said:


> then even with all the correct paperwork, you cannot guarantee any house is legal in Spain.


Hola

Absolutely correct; with corruption in place, any house can be made to look legal. What is needed is a method of making illegal houses legal. There are a reported 300,000 illegal houses in Andalucia alone. Most, if planning permission had been submitted, would have been allowed to have been built. 

What is needed is the 17 autonomous authorities to take all planning permissions back in-house. That way the mayors cannot let houses be built without proper planning permissions 

Davexf


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## nomadros (Oct 18, 2010)

davexf said:


> Hola
> What is needed is the 17 autonomous authorities to take all planning permissions back in-house. That way the mayors cannot let houses be built without proper planning permissions
> Davexf


yeah...I trust no one on this at the moment...I've got 47Ha of rustic in Catalunya and won't even build a shed on it until all this gets sorted. One minute I can build and the next no chance. So, my tractors live in an excavation in the hillside, my house is a Mitsubishi Shogun and my latrine is whatever the boar dig out during the night. You'd think that given the scale of the problem that they'd declare an amnesty as long as you pay a cash sum (as they do/did in Italy) instead of taking the demolition route. That way they get cash and people can keep their homes....unless they really want to corner the world hardcore market.


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## JoCatalunya (Mar 16, 2011)

nomadros said:


> yeah...I trust no one on this at the moment...I've got 47Ha of rustic in Catalunya and won't even build a shed on it until all this gets sorted. One minute I can build and the next no chance. So, my tractors live in an excavation in the hillside, my house is a Mitsubishi Shogun and my latrine is whatever the boar dig out during the night. You'd think that given the scale of the problem that they'd declare an amnesty as long as you pay a cash sum (as they do/did in Italy) instead of taking the demolition route. That way they get cash and people can keep their homes....unless they really want to corner the world hardcore market.


Thanks to the introduction of the Cedula D'habilitilidad by the corrupt embezzling government that exists in Catalunya it is becoming harder and harder to build a house here. 

Saying that, if you have a hillside in which your tractor lives, have you considered building into the hillside, a kind of 'Hobbit House'. You may find that a little easier seeing as you are not building on the land but are simply excavating a larger tractor shed.


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## nomadros (Oct 18, 2010)

JoCatalunya said:


> Thanks to the introduction of the Cedula D'habilitilidad by the corrupt embezzling government that exists in Catalunya it is becoming harder and harder to build a house here.
> 
> Saying that, if you have a hillside in which your tractor lives, have you considered building into the hillside, a kind of 'Hobbit House'. You may find that a little easier seeing as you are not building on the land but are simply excavating a larger tractor shed.


yeah that's what I want to do anyway...trouble is getting my girlfriend on side regarding an underground house! In the meantime, I'm concentrating on getting all that land sorted, making a profit and stopping people trying to nick stuff! I reckon I've got at least 2 more years of truck dwelling before I think about bricks and mortar. The only thing I appear to be tending at the moment is a herd of solicitors and they cost a fortune to feed.


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## JoCatalunya (Mar 16, 2011)

nomadros said:


> yeah that's what I want to do anyway...trouble is getting my girlfriend on side regarding an underground house! In the meantime, I'm concentrating on getting *all that land sorted, making a profit and stopping people trying to nick stuff!* I reckon I've got at least 2 more years of truck dwelling before I think about bricks and mortar. The only thing I appear to be tending at the moment is a herd of solicitors and they cost a fortune to feed.


Bold and underscored mine.

Good luck with that. It actually costs me more to farm my small piece of land than I make and I am organic so I dont buy weedkiller and the like. 

As for stopping folk nicking stuff, the only way we have managed to do that is to never leave our property unattended. Even then the sons of you know whats have come sniffing round and we have had to chase them off because the Mossos dont want to come out into the campo because I swear they are scared stiff of the dark.


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## nomadros (Oct 18, 2010)

I know what you mean about lack of profit...I'm trying all sorts of wierd stuff to get an edge. You've got a right rod for your own back with organic...must be a nightmare. I thought about it, but after scrubbing the land for the first time, I never want to see another weed again.
As for "visitors", I've been lucky so far... I made a point to telling everyone when I got there first that I would be sleeping in the middle of the woods, miles from anywhere to draw them out and lay down my mark. Got one "visitor" when I wasn't there...he played with my weights and left. The trick I use is to appear poorer than everyone else, work harder than everyone else and make yourself known in the villages. No one has bugged me in ages.


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