Hi,
from the original question I think that you purchased a VPO or Estate-Subsidiased property and now you want to sell it but you cannot. I also assume that the property is in Andalucia.
In the past the VPOs were just properties where there was a maximum price fixed by the authorities. Such properties were subsidiased by the government, the regional authorities or the local authorities by way of tax reliefs, reduced interest rates in mortgage loans, etc. They were aimed for people with less financial possibilities. In some cases these were really good flats, big and with good quality (my parents raised me in one of these, I know what I am talking about!).
In most of the cases it was possible to sell these VPOs and the transaction was completely valid (there are plenty of rulings from the courts supporing this point), but the vendor was fined for selling over the maximum price fixed by the regional government. In order to avoid the fines, the general (mal)practice was to declare on the deeds the maximum price allowed by the authorities and to pay the outstanding amount in cash, also called black money. This was probably your case?
Another option was to disclassify the VPO by refunding the subsidies granted for the purchase, so that the VPO was freed from the limitations which rose from the VPO legislation and became a normal property.
This situation changed dramatically 4-5 years ago, when new laws were passed in order to put restrictions to many abuses (there were people who owned 2 or more of these properties and lived in none!). Now the situation in Andalucia is the following:
a.- In most cases the Andalucian Goverment has to authorise the transfer before it happens, so that the Notary cannot grant the Deeds unless the authorisation is in place. This means that before selling the property, the vendor AND the purchasers have to request this permission, and the purchasers even have to prove that their income situation is the one that makes them eligible for a VPO. This gives rise to awkward situations, for instance daddy and mummy have fallen in love with the property but they are not eligible as they earn more than 40.000 yearly, but... what about their young daughter, who is still studying?? and in the end the parents put the money but the daughter becomes the new owner...
Please note that there are exceptions to this, but these exceptions depend on the applicable regulations in each case depending on the type of VPO were are dealing with.
b.- In contrast to the former situation, the transaction made without this permission is not valid.
c. - The fines are much higher than before. Furthermore, the Andalucian government has in some cases a right to opt for the preferential right to purchase the property - of course, at the price they fix - so that the purchaser takes the risk of being deprived of the property after purchasing it.
d.- There are more restrictions to disclassify these properties. For instance, one of the restrictions in some cases is that in order to disclassify the property it is necessary that the applicant proves that he has been living there for a period of time, i.e. 5 years.
I am afraid it is not possible to give general rules as there are many tipes of VPOs and the applicable regulations are different. Anyway, as you mention the 5 years issue, I personally think that in your case you are thinking of disclassifying the property and therefore you have been requested to prove that you have been living there for the last five years. At the moment the Andalucian government considers that this is so provided that you have been registered at the padrón - town hall registry - for the last five years as living in that property.
In the event you needed help to assist you in this matter, I would be glad to offer you my services. My e-mail is info@fairwaylawyers.com
Yours sincerely,