Illegal house advice urgently required

We purchased a property in inland Spain in October 2009 and used a local solicitor.  In February 2010 we were informed by the Town Hall that our swimming pool, naya and pergola were illegal. We contatcted the solicitor who said they would sort this problem out.  Two weeks ago we received another letter from the Town Hall to say that our house was illegal and we have been given 2 months to demolish it.  We have submitted representations to the Town Hall through our original solicitor and are waiting to hear. Our original instruction to the solicitor which we have proof of clearly states that we would only proceed to purchase once all checks were complete.  We were assured at the Notary before signing both by the acting agent and our solicitor that the house was legal.  We are obviously concerned about the outcome and where this may eventually lead too.  Can anyone out there help or advise please...

Hi m2lou,

Where exactly is your property situated ?   Depending on the area if building on rustic land in order to be legal the plot should be 10,000m2 and then you are able to contruct 2%, however different areas have different specifications !!    It would also depend on whether the land had been reclassified or if there was a building on the land previous which had a title deed.

Some town halls are trying to rectify the problem and regulate the illegal builds but it really depends on where you are as to what the outcome will be. If this is a wide spread problem in your area there could possibly be action groups already active that could help you with information.

I live in a very small inland village in the North of the Costa Blanca where about 300  ( almost half ) of the Houses are illegal - on the whole due to no fault of the owner.

There are a number of ways that your property can be declared 'Illegal' , and even if you do have all the necessarry documentation to support your case, you may well find that this holds little sway.

My personal advise would be this : to speak directly with your Ayuntamiento to find our what their exact concerns are regarding your property and if there is anything you can do together to reach a compromise before taking it through the courts ( Your Solictor can probobaly help with this ). Claiming that the Notaries or Solicitors didn't do their jobs correctly isn't likely to get you very far, unless you can  A) Proove that they were negligent and B) They have some kind of professional Indemnity Insurance.

There are a number of Residents Associations up and Down the Costa Blanca, such as the AULN, who will be better placed to advise you in more specific terms

 m2lou:

I would need to see documents, specially the letter sent to you by the Local Council

Best,

Maria

 Am so sorry to hear of  your plight .......... just when we thought it was safe ....... Wham more illegal properties being sold 

Please do let us know where you are living as there is bound to be some association there to help you, and maybe some of us can point you in the right way.    

So beware all off you out there there was actually  a guy from Mijas trying to sell an illegal property just outside Cartama only last week, and he was trying to sell it to a Spanish friend of mine, her Husband who is english  would have made the appoinment  ........ bet he wouldnt have bothered if he had known .......... think she told him a few home truths .... hopefully he will come unstuck 

      it is possible to do your own research on a property with very little problem ,make sure their is an up to date nota  simple/escritura  and pop along to the catastro ,they will show the location and also state rustic property and urban .its certainly worth the time and effort on the research . and always get a good solicitor who is recommended.  good luck

** EDITED - Self promotion **

 Dear All,

so different from the UK where anything standing without objection for four years is deemed legal and even the others are unlikely to be demolished if families with children are accommodated.

I assume that this allows for "natural" development and expansion by man seeking to provide shelter for his vulnerable family - sort of "human rights" or doesn't that exist in Spain?

the UK countryside is dotted with little domestic enclaves that used to be non-profitable pig farms etc.

Good luck

Regards

Norman