Developer Peñarroya Sentenced to refund One million euros for Eleven Dwellings at La Reserva de Marbella

2008-04-29

First Court number one of Marbella, Málaga, sentenced the Spanish company La Reserva de Marbella, S.A. headed by the well-known developer Mr Cristóbal Peñarroya to refund almost one million euros to a total of eleven plaintiffs in a class action law suit. These purchasers deposited stage payments for eleven off-plan properties at the development known as La Reserva de Marbella. This development of detached dwellings is currently illegal as it lacks the mandatory Licence of First Occupation.

José Carlos Villanueva, El Mundo newspaper.

In the sentence ruled last 22nd of April to which newspaper El Mundo has access to, the judge Mrs Dolores Ruiz Jiménez revoked the eleven Private Purchase Contracts that the plaintiffs signed with the developer between the 4th of July and the 19th of December 2003.All of the plaintiffs who will now be refunded are of British and Irish citizenship. They are nine couples which signed jointly and two other persons that signed individually. The developer gave them a deadline to complete on the eleven properties without the mandatory Licence of First Occupancy required under Spanish law.

The down payments made by the eleven plaintiffs range from 66.581€ up to 90.319€. To said amounts one must add the accrued legal interests which range from 8.300€ up to 12.478€. The developer’s legal representative may appeal against the ruling of the judge. However, legal sources have confirmed the plaintiffs will execute provisionally the ruling so that they may start to obtain their refunds which they had made as down payment on the eleven properties.

Completion

The problems stem back in 2006 when the purchasers were sent by the developer a registered communication by means of a Notary public to complete on the properties on a given date. They would have to pay the balance which amounted to 70% of the value of the properties. Some purchasers warned the developer that he was in breach of contract as the properties were not being delivered on time as per the terms set forth in their Private Purchase Contracts. The developer was meant to hand over the properties in May 2005. Other purchasers decided not to appear before the appointed notary on said completion date due to the breaches of contract La Reserva de Marbella had incurred in.

In February 2006 the developer requested from Marbella town hall to be granted the Licence of First Occupancy. Three months after, in May of that same year, La Reserva de Marbella developer thought he had obtained said LFO by means of an administrative legal figure known as “Administrative Silence”. In June 2006 the developer notified the purchasers giving them a deadline to complete before a Spanish notary public.

Before filing the law suit, the affected parties contacted the developer through their chosen Marbella law firm, Lawbird Legal Services, by means of a burofax to clarify the legal status of said development with the warning that they would revoke their contracts if it wasn’t clarified. This registered communication went unanswered by the developer. This forced the purchaser’s lawyer to cancel their contracts because their dwellings lacked the mandatory

Licence of First Occupation

Moreover, a town hall resolution existed issued by the “Comisión Gestora” in which it stated that the LFO had not been granted by “Administrative Silence” to developer Peñarroya for La Reserva de Marbella. The 29th of May 2006 a local legal report had already included La Reserva de Marbella’s Building Licence as one of many which were undergoing an administrative process that was reviewing it, being one of many Building Licences that were revoked by the Junta de Andalucía.

The ruling delivers justice

At the Marbella law firm, Lawbird Legal Services, which acted on behalf of the eleven plaintiffs in a class action law suit against La Reserva de Marbella, the ruling was received with satisfaction. The ruling pends a possible appeal by the developer’s lawyer to the Audiencia Provincial which would make it definitive.

Lawbird’s lawyer Mr José Ramón Gutiérrez Jiménez has undertaken the weight of the legal procedure aided by his colleague Mr Luis Fernando González Ordóñez. The purchasers contacted both solicitors tangled in the legal predicament they were in as a result of Marbella’s  general urbanistic chaos due to the lack of legal planning security.

At another Málaga court, earlier on this month, Lawbird won another ruling against La Reserva de Marbella which affects only one purchaser. She will obtain a full refund of 85.000€ which she paid over to developer Peñarroya at La Reserva de Marbella. Until now the developer in this case has not paid any funds over to this plaintiff. Three La Reserva de Marbella properties which had been legally frozen by her lawyer to secure her stage payments will now be executed by him to obtain the refund.

“This ruling is yet not firm pending a possible appeal, yet it is a professional satisfaction for our law firm but above all it delivers satisfaction to our clients, all of them British and Irish”, was declared by Lawbird’s solicitors “at long last Spanish Justice acknowledges they were right all along. It is not admissible, as the developer strived to do, to deliver a property without the mandatory legal and urbanistic requirements for a first occupancy”.

In many of these cases for the plaintiffs they were their life’s savings or their largest family financial commitment. For this reason to those affected “it is a great satisfaction to verify that it is worthwhile filing a law suit before a Spanish Court of Justice, even bearing in mind the associated fees, expenses and time it requires, taking into consideration you are a foreigner”.

Lawbird upholds that “the Costa del Sol cannot be left at the mercy of a handful of very powerful developers, as has been the case in Marbella, undermining the good image of Spain abroad, specially in the United Kingdom and Ireland, whose citizens have traditionally been attracted by the lifestyle in our coasts”.

This Marbella law firm, specialized in defending those affected by real estate and planning problems, as well as those who have been tangled in the problematic urbanism of the Gil era, considers good that Marbella’s town hall continues to revise the illegal Building Licences granted under former major Jesús Gil. With this in mind, “this revision process will further on strengthen the rights of all those purchasers that bought here in good faith”.     

This message was last edited by Tish on 5/2/2008.

 

Tish

This is great news regarding a company that has abused its power over the market for far to long.

Somehow feel that the Banks may have a bit of a panic on regarding Bank Guarantees ?

Thanks for posting this and it will give many a great deal to think about.

Just Dan

11 dwellings? Out of 700 apartments?

No mention of the dozens of cases that went against those who sued at great extra cost to themselves.  And no mention of the hundreds who completed having bought to enjoy their apartment in the sun for many years to come.  Every owner I know over there is happy now they have completed and we moved on from the scaremongering long ago.

 

palmtree

Not so as I know many that are unhappy.

11 now may be 100s tomorrow.

Penarroya deserve all they get. 

Dan

I think we need to keep a sense of balance here.  Whilst I am pleased for the 11 owners who got their deposits back we should bear in mind that it is not Pennaroya who are witholding the LFO's but the Town Hall in Marbella.  Pennaroya are not the villains (though I appreciate they may have contributed to the problem like a lot of other developers down there).  Its easy to feel triumphal but Pennaroya are caught up in this like the rest of us.  The real villain here is the length of  time it's taking the Authorities to sort the mess out.  There doesn't seem to be the sense of urgency I would have expecteded for something that clearly requires urgent attention.          

As complex's go I think LRDM is one of the better developments down there.  I am an owner who completed two years ago and have enjoyed it immensely.  I have'nt lost any sleep over the lack of the LFO because I expect it will come through eventually.  Having said that I respect peoples concerns over not completing without one.  If I have one gripe it's to do with the state of the gardens belonging to some owners at ground level.  They are obviously not been attended to and they are an eyesore.          

I Agree with Seabury, I have lived in my property for over a year now, and i think its great here. I am a little confused about the Eleven

First Court number one of Marbella, Málaga, sentenced the Spanish company La Reserva de Marbella, S.A. headed by the well-known developer Mr Cristóbal Peñarroya to refund almost one million euros to a total of eleven plaintiffs in a class action law suit. These purchasers deposited stage payments for eleven off-plan properties at the development known as La Reserva de Marbella. This development of detached dwellings is currently illegal as it lacks the mandatory Licence of First Occupation.

Where abouts are these 11 detached dwellings? are they eleven in a particular block?

Thanks to Tish for publishing this article.

Johnone

This message was last edited by johnone on 5/3/2008.

 

I to agree with most of seabury

Location is excellent and this is a vital factor.

Pennaroya however have and are a dreadful company to deal with in my opinion and while some of the development is delightful, the owners should be proud of how they have presented their homes,however there are some parts that look like they could be on homes from hell.

As seabury has pointed out and this I feel will have a real impact on the properties value and the developments reputation.

Dan

i think seabury is spot on and agree that the gardens need attention. We did complain to the administrators about the lack of watering . apparently no one else has compained so perhaps we should contact them.

if pennoyra does end up with more appartments to sell, you would have thought he would be interested in keeping la reserva looking good. The over grown gardens do let the side down.

Does any one know if pennoyra is paying the community fees for the empty appartments.

if anyone wants to compare la reserva you should take a drive inland through Riveria Sol, they are still building hundredsof appartments, all the way up to the motorway and beyond!!!!! i think we have a lovely development and the gardens will mature if given enough water.

best wishes to everone

 

 

Hi

So apart from water,the lack of maintanance the court cases which are going against Penarroya , pikeys,barking dogs and dog sh-t everywhere its really O.K then

Totally agree that Riveria del Sol  is a nightmare and given time with a strong residence commitee all paying fees then La Reserva de Marbella could turn out the dream development thats clearly the intention of many.

If resident do not what another Riveria del Sol then action must be taken to ensure this does not happen and thats facing the clear negative aspects which if allowed to grow will be a disaster.

Its clear that as the development grew the standard of build quality reduced in the pusuit of profits where the last block being fit for demolition and fear that this section will always be a pigs ear.

If you want water,unite and get the water and thats at least a start.

Just Dan

 

This message was last edited by Just Dan on 5/4/2008.

DAN  such negativity, we have jst come back and la reserva is very clean. the dog sh.... t is less eveident, the place is well kept. i gather the person vandalising the gate into block 6 has been stopped. The shop is well stocked and the bar/resturant is nearly complete.   we have found the developer respond to all repairs and issues we have ever asked about. i mentioned the lack of watering to encourage others to complain and get the gardens looking good but with so many people in court or holding off it is always going to be difficult to get the community working. 

i know there are issues with la reserva but at least we have less issues than others and a developer that is working with the town hall.

 

The developer is working with the Town Hall

Well he would wouldnt he as he wants the habitation licence on properties that have been built illegally.

With the brown paper bags a risky route at this point in time this is the ony option.

Its great news that the bars etc have or are opening as this is a massive benefit to all at La Reserva.

What happened to the quality build around the main swimming pool, cars jacked up with wheels off and broken windows part of the the way forward.

Cant see anyone wanting the last block which I mentioned in my last post and social housing would be an option open to the developer to offload it.

If only the greed had not set in this would have been a great development in a brilliant location,sadly also their are landlords that dont give a toss as to who they rent to as long as the rents paid in a very shorterm view.

I am sure that with strong committies things will improve and as said before the majority are doing a wonderful job in presenting their properties,in a manner they should be proud of so helping the reputaion of La Reserva.

I wish everyone all the very best at La Reserva and feel that if issues are addressed and not sweep under the carpet then it will become a very good development.

Just Dan

 

 

From my experience it takes a strong community to get things working well. For us it meant a change of president from an unoffical Pen appointment. It meant appointing new gardeners, cleaners etc and making sure they knew what was their role and what wasnt (and moving from pen appointed contracts).

Our fees are in steady decline and that included doing some large (ish) investments for the future, to keep potential bills down (Water for one).

Fingers crossed for everyone, but it does need committment from residents there full time - its not the easiest of tasks being el presidente.

 

Excellent, responsive reply and if residence rally then La Reserva will be a lovely development.

 

Just Dan

the problem we have is manzana 3 is so large, with so many empty appartments the developer caries the day. the last 2 AGM'S have been rather one sided.

 

Please dont give up as there is so much to gain.

What percentage are contributing to the management fees and is the developer paying his share for every vacant property.If not why not and if they are then why is the up keep not excellent . IT CAN ONLY BE ONE SIDED IF ITS ALLOWED.

Are some residents not paying ? At the end of the day the issues may need to be forced as to sit back  will a very poor option.

Perhaps it just may be a case in years to come when its said" WE SHOULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING BEFORE" Be honest we all do or have done that in the past.

Good luck to you all

 

Just Dan.

As a newcomer to this website, I feel I had to post this.

We have just returned from a holiday/reckie.  We stayed at la Reserva de Marbella  in a friend's apartment whilst visiting other potential properties in the area to buy.   The one thing which struck me the most was that there were so many properties for sale. 

Out of all the developments we visited (and believe me we looked at many) the one thing I found most disappointing about La Reserva de Marbella was the gardens.  Where are all the beautiful flowers, do they not grow in this community?  We have some beautiful photographs of other complexes, which were most inviting with bright beautiful flowers and shrubs and extremely well planted.    It was a gardeners dream and showed off their community well.  They seemed well watered and cared for. ........  Then we came back to La Reserva, and it looked so dull.  Trees infront of our apartment were yellow (think they should be green) no flowers apart from weeds in the banks, waterfall didn't work whilst we were there.

All in all, ..........  it is a beautiful complex, and I have set my heart on a property there, but keeping an eye on the market, and everything else.  We are just waiting to see if we can get a mortgage, as some people seem to be able to get one.

I know of the problems from reading through the blogs, but the views and peaceful complex (apart from the dogs barking, but they weren't too bad) are worth the wait.

 

Think Gesha has summed it up nicely.

Pennaroya ?

Just Dan

If the developer WERE paying the fees for all uncompleted apartments then the income for each community would be at the level it should be and the gardens could be maintained.  However, those of us who have completed know that they try and charge us for back-dated community fees from the time the community was started to completion date.  The interesting question, is are they paying the community fees for the apartments that are officially unsold and still in their name.  It is a question I will be asking our President.

we have just returned fro our appartment and are equally upset at the state of the gardens. I did ring the administrators and was told no had complained !!!! We have written to the president of Manzana 3 in the vain hope they may do something. Pennoyra must have spent a lot of money on the plants and they are in a very poor condtition. The path down to the big pool needs attention, the soil is being washed away by the storms so better drainage is required.

We have been told before that the developer is not paying the community fees for empty appartments and the potential owners owe the commuity !!!

 

This is the very sleeping monster I have been bringing up,that of the management fees.

Developers are also now claiming back dated fees they have paid and also interest on loans from when people would be judged to have been required to complete if they win the cases.

Dont know if they are being successful but I know that this is the intention is some cases.

Management companies will surely levy claims if they are owed money and surely this will be on the properties or the development.

Just Dan