Spanish property legal help

The latest Spanish property scandal has left thousands of British residents in fear of losing their homes, and the money they invested, in the Almeria area of South East Spain.

Recently Almer­a's County Courts ordered the demolition of eleven houses. The issue of whether or not the building license had been granted was still in doubt. 

Jose Mari­a de Lorenzo and Mar­a Eugenia Navarro from law firm Irwin Mitchell visited Albox, the town in which the demolitions have been ordered, to provide legal help to a large number of house owners and investors who fear their Spanish properties will be destroyed.

Jose Mar­a who is based in Irwin Mitchell's Marbella office said "We offered to come and visit many of the people affected by the court orders to offer them urgent help on the legal steps they now may have to take in order to save their homes."

In association with Bob Naya, the president of the Association for Urban Development of Almeria (Asociaci³n para el Desarrollo Urban­stico de Almanzora), which represents about 2000 British residents, Jos© Mar­a and Mar­a Eugenia set up an advice clinic at the Albox town hall which was visited by over 100 people.

The houses in Albox, along with homes throughout the Almeria area, have been built on "suelo no urbanizable" (roughly translated as 'land designated not for urban building '). Those affected, which include thousands of Britons, may face losing their entire investment, estimated at ‚¬130,000 per property, a total of ‚¬300 million for the region.

Included in the properties currently under investigation is the Almanzora Country Club housing development where the building of 1,500 houses has been suspended by the Court until enquiries have been concluded.

Spanish property group action

Mar­a Eugenia Navarro said "This is a very complicated situation and each property needs to be considered separately. It is vitally important that each of these properties is considered carefully and we are currently considering all options for our clients including a group action."

Mar­a continued "If a Spanish property owner has already received notification from a local authority then they need to act very quickly. They should consult a specialist lawyer immediately as time limits given by public authorities are extremely short from the moment notification is given, in some cases as little as 20 days or less."

If you or someone you know has been effected by a similar situation, our experts can help. Visit our Spanish Services section for more information.