East Midlands MEPs urge residents to beware when buying property in Spain

As Spain’s development minister Jose Blanco launches a campaign to encourage British people to invest in Spanish property, local Conservative MEPs Emma McClarkin and Roger Helmer have warned people to beware some of its aberrant planning laws which have seen thousands of Brits robbed of their houses and nest eggs.

The development ministry launched its Europe-wide campaign in the UK. It is aimed at promoting the ‘transparency’ of Spain’s housing market and the ‘soundness’ of its property legislation. However, the Ministry is unlikely to highlight the thousands of British families that have invested in homes in Spain, only to have those properties seized by the state because of retrospectively applied planning laws, often resulting in the owners being forced to pay substantial sums for demolition or to rent the land that they have already bought.

The European Parliament’s petitions committee has heard from dozens of victims, and in 2009 the parliament passed a report calling on the Spanish authorities to rethink their laws. To date, the Spanish authorities have ignored the call.

Roger Helmer said:

“The Spanish Minister has a bare-faced cheek to promote Spanish real estate here whilst thousands of British people have lost their homes. Minister Blanco is trying to whitewash his country’s abysmal record.

“I would suggest that the minister sits down with some of the victims who I have met over the years and see what they think of his claim about the transparency and soundness of Spanish property legislation.

“Some of the stories that I have heard are devastating and show that the plethora of human rights conventions, declarations and courts are completely futile when it comes to actually helping people pursue justice.”

Emma McClarkin added:

“Over the years I have heard heart-breaking stories from local residents who invested their savings into a holiday or retirement home in Spain, only to lose everything. Spain’s planning ‘laws’ are unjust and completely disgraceful.

“We will continue to campaign for Spain to bring its planning laws into the 21st century. In the meantime I would advise people to steer well clear of this roadshow.”