From The Telegraph - 28 April 2011
Expat anger as Spanish ministers seek new UK property investors
Spanish government ministers are heading to London to lure back British buyers at a roadshow, much to the disbelief of thousands of expats caught up in Spain's illegal property fiasco.
According to an announcement made by the office of Spain's visiting development minister José Blanco, next week's Spanish Homes Roadshow "will highlight the strengths of our economy, transparency and legal certainty of our planning legislation."
It is estimated that there are up to one million "illegal" properties in Spain - largely owned by Britons who bought property there in good faith only to fall victim to uncertain planning regulations and unscrupulous developers and officials.
The roadshow reflects growing alarm in Spain at the huge stock of newly-built homes - 400,000 of which are near the coast - that have remained vacant since the country’s economic crisis began.
Prices have fallen by up to 40 per cent as banks and developers desperately try to claw back their investments.
The UK is the first international destination for the roadshow because, according to the latest data, its citizens and investors in 2009 accounted for 31.5 per cent of foreign buyers of property in Spain.
Many potential buyers have however been recently put off by horror stories of planning permission being retrospectively revoked and other complications, and the number of British buyers has slumped.
Keith Rule of Bank Guarantees in Spain, one of the many campaign groups set up by expats who have been affected by Spanish planning abuse, said: "This is an insult to all those of us who stand to lose so much due to the corruption and negligence in the Spanish property sector.
"The Spanish property sector certainly does not have any transparency or legal certainty.
"It is a serious mess and Señor Blanco and the Spanish Government have nothing to put on a show about.
"Señor Blanco must, together with his government colleagues, rectify the serious injustices that have taken place over the past decade in their country."
In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph in February, Beatriz Corredor, the Spanish housing secretary, who will be joining Mr Blanco in London next week, promised new planning laws to end the confusion.
She was reported as saying: “The British are our highest priority and are those about whom we are most concerned.
“It is true that there has been... an image problem. Now we want to reassure the British, and all foreigners, that we are doing everything possible to put the details clearly on the table.”
If someone buys a house with all the correct paperwork, Ms Corredor said, they could be assured of its legality.
“If there is not any mention of legal proceedings on the document, the person who buys the property through the correct channels will then know there is judicial support."
The roadshow, which will also take place in France, Germany, Holland, Sweden and Russia, is designed in two phases - the first phase dealing with large investors and brokers, the second phase open to private sector participation "with a selection of real estate products that meet the minimum standards of legality, planning and quality."
At a recent EU Petitions Committee hearing about the problem of illegal homes, Conservative MEP Roger Helmer spoke out in support of the British expats fighting for legalisation of their homes bought in good faith.
In a blog posted after the hearing he wrote: "A word of advice to anyone thinking of buying a property in Spain: don’t. And never, never, never buy off-plan (that is, a property not yet built). Don’t put down a deposit. Don’t even think about it."
His comments drew the attention of Stephen Hitchins, director of property company The Almanzora Group Ltd, who argued that it was unfair to tar all Spanish property owners with the same brush.
In defence of the expat property market in Spain, he said: "It is a legitimate desire of many people, especially it seems the British, to own second and retirement homes abroad, in better climes and in different environments.
"Spain has been and remains by far the most convenient and popular place for the realisation of that ambition within Europe.
"As a result there are hundreds of thousands of such homes in Spain owned by British people alone, quite apart from those owned by other nationalities; there are no issues whatsoever concerning the legality of all but the most minor percentage of these homes.
"It is not right that leaders of opinion, no matter how concerned about the plight of those few caught in an illegal housing trap, give advice that quite unecessarily prejudices the legitimate interests of the majority of their nationals, who own completely legal property in Spain; it is hard enough for them to sell their properties in today’s market as it is."
The roadshow starts at the Spanish Embassy in London on May 4.
Telegraph Expat's Spanish Planning Scandal campaign is supporting the thousands of expats who have been affected by the illegal homes crisis in Spain. You can find all the latest news on the situation here.