I got in touch with John, who returns from the far east in December. Here is his reply -
" I went to Elche council because immigration wanted certificate to prove house was habitable. Cost was €46 and took eight weeks to sort out, and you need someone who speaks good spanish. If San Jose only wants us to pay for water/electric until Dec, maybe they'll sign off anyway, that costs nothing."
Of course, I too would like to see the certificate, but John's word is good as far as I'm concerned. He has no need to mislead any of us. We are all in this together. If that proves to be the case, then ..................
Tercio de Mahou por favor.