A comment by a public work and housing councilor, Josefina Cruz Villalón, has caused a burst of outrage among expats living in Spain. According to her, expat homeowners have created the problem of illegally built properties and urban corruption in Spain themselves.

The statement was made, when she was asked by a planning spokesperson on how the Andalusian government would deal with the property situation in the Almanzora Valley in Almeria. Until now 12,667 illegal constructions have been identified in the Almeria area, most of them owned by British expats.

The president of the home-owner association Abusos Urbanisticos Almanzora NO (AUAN), Maura Hillen, expressed her displease with Cruz Villalón`s comment saying the it is unacceptable to be offered unsatisfactory solutions and on top of that being attacked by the regional government, which should have acted a lot earlier, namely when the homes were being built.

A small part of these illegal homes were built on specially protected land, were practically new or even incomplete and are now destined for demolition. The rest of the houses will be subject to a special legislation, on which the government is currently working on. With this decree, the homeowners will be granted an occupation license and will have access to services. However, it was emphasized that public funds will be not be used in order to solve the problem.

Source: telegraph.co.uk