15 Aug, 2009 @ 00:01
1 min read

Axarquia pressure group is in need of support

A PRESSURE group set up in the Axarquia to fight against ‘illegal’ homes being demolished is appealling for new members.

Save Our Homes Axarquia (SOHA) is fighting for the hundreds – possibly thousands – of homeowners who believed they had the correct licences in place for their homes.

The group hopes to put more pressure on the authorities after numerous town halls gave them licences only to discover that their homes were apparently illegal.

“We are defending the interests of members against this ridiculous injustice and providing whatever advice we can,” said a spokesman.

“What is obvious is that we need more members and supporters to demonstrate to the establishment what a farcical legal system is in place.”

“We need more members and supporters to demonstrate to the establishment what a farcical legal system is in place.”

Contact Leslie Nash on 951242110 or email [email protected]

Jon Clarke (Publisher & Editor)

Jon Clarke is a Londoner who worked at the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday as an investigative journalist before moving permanently to Spain in 2003 where he helped set up the Olive Press. He is the author of three books; Costa Killer, Dining Secrets of Andalucia and My Search for Madeleine.

Do you have a story? Contact [email protected]

6 Comments

  1. Good luck in your stand for justice.
    You have a David and Goliath battle on your hands.
    The system works very slowly and seems to protect the guilty not the innocent.
    Building permissions obtained from Town Halls should be considered sacrosanct unless bribery and corruption can be proved.
    By the time a just decision is made by the authorities , previous court orders are carried out and properties are put under threat of demolition, or even worse in some cases, demolished.
    This cannot be just.
    Dennis Lewis.

  2. Did these homeowners actually receive a ‘licencia de obra’ from their local ayuntamiento or simply a ‘bueno vista’? If the latter, then final authorisation was still required from the local Delegación of the Junta de Andalucía, especially if the proyecto involved building on rural land or suelo no urbanizable. There is a default ban on such proyectos in Andalucía which most people are aware of.

    There are homeowners in the same position all over Andalucía and the sad fact is that in the majority of cases permission to build was in fact never granted. The key document is the licencia de obra and if the document from the ayuntamiento does not clearly display these words at the top then I’m afraid that no permission was ever granted for the construction of any building. In many cases of course a licencia de obra was granted but not for a dwelling but only for a nave or casita de aperros or some such outbuilding for storage but not for living in.

    Usually, waiting a number of years solves the problem and permission for a ‘vivienda’ is granted. However, unless such permission is obtained, the property is illegal and can in theory be pulled down.

  3. Infomed sources recognise that the Spanish Legal system in practice does not work properly. Incompetence, willful ignorance and blatant corruption are rife. It seems that demonstating is the best option but this takes large numbers of people all educating themselves about the law; being co-ordinated and expressing their intolerance in a way that Spanish Administration understands.

    The Junta should be providing funding for the initiative for better execution of the law and for justice. Most pensioners cannot afford any more money to play legal games. Not do they have the time.

    SOHA, you are a doing a fine job, but perhaps it would be useful to drop the large subscription fee and call for all exploited individuals to join freely in a very visual campaign. The time is right for this. Spain is to take presidency of Europe in a few months’ time. But it cannot manage its own home crises!! Time to illustrate this now.

    Citizens’ Advocacy is happy to offer you some ideas for such a campaign.

    Christine A. Ferguson

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Previous Story

Nerja sleeping gas robbery

Next Story

Fight over Algarrobico goes on

Go toTop