The Spanish government passed a law under which foreign buyers, whose homes have been built in Spain illegally, will be compensated. The law protects the rights of thousands of foreign buyers, mainly British, who have been deceived by unscrupulous developers buying property during the construction boom in Spain.
Thousands of homes were built without a building permit: many foreigners who have bought property in Spain, were shocked to learn that their homes are actually built illegally. According to the court a large number of illegal houses were bulldozed, but even if the house was not destroyed, buyers could not get electricity and water because of lack of proper documentation.
When the courts ordered the developers to compensate homeowners, many companies declared bankruptcy. Now the government passed a law prohibiting the bulldozing of houses without compensation to the owner, in case if the owner provides the evidence of that they bought house in good faith
Most of the affected customers - British pensioners who have bought property in Spain in the accumulation of their retirement funds. They have been campaigning against the demolition of housing for a several years.
One of the action teams, which made the greatest contribution to the fight against the demolition, AUAN, was established in Almanzora, where the number of illegal houses is to more than 12 thousand. AUAN inspired other affected owners all over Spain, and that's more than 300,000 homeowners. The next step of the action teams will be fight for the legal recognition of the buildings with the provision of adequate service lines.
Based on the materials of globalpropertyguide.com
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