The area in the Almeria province where the houses are built is not regulated for homes and lack a valid building permit.
The junta de Andalucia in Seville have no possibility to legalize the 98 homes in Albox, Almeria
Photo: Wikipedia
The illegal homes in the El Romeral-La Aljambra area was built between 2004 and 2006 are mostly owned by the British expats and the public prosecutor has now indicated that the homes will be demolished.
Thousands of homes have been built illegally in Andalucia in rural areas that were never intended as living space. Bureaucrats and politicians in a number of municipalities have accepted bribes from contractors who have been given permission to build housing estates in areas that were not regulated for settlement. Homebuyers have then bought new construction in good faith from brokers and real estate developers unaware that the home did not have the necessary building permit. Around 2005 the courts started investigating corruption in Andalucia and several scandals stared to unveil, the most famous is the so-called malaya case where the mayor of Marbella municipality along with several of his closest politicians and counselors as well as a number of contractors were arrested and prosecuted for corruption in connection with the issue of illegal building permits. In the wake of the Malaya case, several municipalities have been investigated and more and more corruption scandals were uncovered along the Costa del Sol.
Subsequently, the Junta de Andalucia attempted to assess whether all these illegal listed homes should be demolished or not. Many of the homes have been issued with the necessary paperwork afterwards, while many homes have been demolished.
Two brothers who operated through the construction companies “Proyecto y Construcciones Almanzora SL”, “Procoal Villas SL” and “Empire Villas Sl” did not follow the order to halt construction of the housing project on the non urban land and went instead on building more homes.
None of the 98 homes fall under the Junta de Andalucia policies to legalize homes that have been built without lawful building permits. The case is still in the court system. A date for the trial is yet not set and the property owners must continue to live in uncertainty while awaiting the court’s decision.
Please remember that if you are buying a property in Spain, it is important to use a legitimate broker and obtain evidence that the home is built in a regulated area.