Property development in Spain - new law

A new Spanish law is to be brought into force on the 1st July to help clean up the Spanish Property industry and help regain its reputation which has been tarnished after several public scandals over recent years regarding the legitimacy of planning permissions and corruption in the allocation of permits to build new homes.

The new law covers three main areas; The Land Legal System, Property Valuation, and Citizens Rights and Duties which between them have the potential to change the way the Spanish property industry works.

The law specifically addresses the issue of the growth of cities and urban sprawl in Spain and having planned growth which can be sustained and managed; and the protection of the environment in the country which attracts many of Spains millions of annual visitors.
The law aims to add transparency within the planning system as it will now be against the law not to make public who will benefit from land which has been reclassified as available for building.

This is also intended to ensure that public officials who have ties to the property industry, a property developer or a particular piece of land will be obliged to disclose this publicly as part of the planning process.

Isabel Perez Blanco based in the Marbella office of law firm Irwin Mitchell Abogados said If the law is adhered to then the levels of corruption which have gained the Spanish property market a bad reputation should be significantly reduced

The impact of the new law extends beyond those who are landowners. It expressly rules on ownership rights, landowners obligations and the right to have a decent home and to the right of citizens to participate in urban planning proceedings.

Ms Perez Blanco continued It appears that, in the most part, the new law will alleviate many concerns that people have surrounding buying a property in Spain.

There seems to be a general consensus that the proposed land law is a positive move from the National Government. As with all Spanish laws, people have the right to appeal particular parts of the law. At the time of writing, there are no appeals in the pipeline and with days to go until the law gs live it looks like this law will be the first land law to come into force without any objections.