Has anyone heard about an amnesty that allows you to "legalise" your building ? Speaking to someone in Tortosa on Saturday they mentioned that a friend had been throught the process recently, took two or three weeks and had to pay 3 or 4 € per sq meter ???

All seemed fairly detailed to me and didn't sound like a hoax.

Having legalised our house have since found out..It's not worth the paper it's written on ,because you still can't get a cedula which you need to get electric etc,never mind if you want to sell..!!!!That's another mine field.. :'(

Which adjuntament do you fall under? George and Mildred what paper work was required to get your building legalized. My finca house was registered at the time of purchase ...so what else is required to get the cedula.

Hmm, I would like to hear more details. A Cedula or selling aren't my worries. My biggest worries are someone turning up to knock my house down or landing me with a huge fine. If this legalisation process would stop that I'm in!
Bruixot

Mmm! an amnesty eh! waz that a pig flying by ?
how are all the solicitors going to earn a living if all the properties were legalized,
ive been waiting for nearly 5 yrs to find out what is going to happen  with my place,5 yrs holidays down the drain umpteen thousand euros and still the court case drags on,
you would think that a country that has gained tens of thousands or maybe millions of euros from unsuspecting incomers would realise they were onto a good thing and see sense and try to keep them here instead of chasing them away, >:(
it was their appointed officials that were also gaining from all these property deals and lets not forget the few dodgy estate agents ,who could forget them!the rotten apples in the barrel that have screwed it up for the decent agents that at least helped some people and who are still here trying to save what little business there is left to get.
god bless catalunya  :-/

Well I wish I could find the article I read that stated if you pay tax on your house and tax on your rural land you are entitled to live there. Which I do . Base also told me dont complain about paying your house tax(domicilia) tax as I am one of the few who have it and no one can stop me from living there. Also it increases the value of the land. Otherwise if your building(s) are not legalised your FORMAL valuation of the property equates the building as  only being worh 10% of the value fo the land.
What taxes are you paying @gyronut44?

hi ebrovoice, i registered my building with base back in 2006 or 2007 and have been paying 50 euros a year since then ,and have never used it in all that time,i was told not to go near it ,it was classed as an illegal build,its sitting deteriorating year after year and i am out of pocket to the tune of 250 euros or so for the tax,not to mention the cost of the land and a new built building,
this is the worst thing that has ever happened to me, all because i believed an estate agent,probably my own fault for being so trusting in the first place , :-[
now i have solicitors cleaning me out with no idea which way this is going to go,all i want is the use of the place, :(

We legalised ours 4 years ago .
Is now a vivienda and the tax.s are 400e a year,but we still can't have a cedula because it was built after 1984..

They now say we can legaly live there ,but we can never have electricity, as european law  states they should give all dwellings electric..That's not to say they will pay for it,You still have to pay for it yourself ,but without the cedula it's a no go..We have architects drawings etc all stamped and official..,but missing one vital piece..The building licence...


So ,there you go .
.That's a good enough reason not to give the cedula..As they will then have to supply certain services..

Whats so annoying is 3 years ago we could have walked in and got a cedula,but were told it was not nessecery..More advice from agents. >:(.Like they used to say.."look there's an electric pole on your land,that means you can just get it connected up"..I wonder were they got all she bull ---- from.. >:(

They also said Just get the roof on and finish it of .In 7 years it will be legal....Well, ours has been built for just over 11 years and no chance of getting anywhere.. :'(

So now,,,6kpoorer (thanks to paying legalisation fees and back tax's  and still in the same boat... :'(

Hi gyronut I have sent you a PM

Hi We just legalised our house. It took about 3 weeks and we also have the "cedula" so that we can sell. You won't have any problems doing it the way we did as long as the house is at least 6 years old and you haven't been stopped on any building.

Could you tell us what the proceedure is then ? What town hall do you come under ?

We were "stopped" during a reform but subsequently got permission after we proved we were not enlarging, just repairing.

Hi Nessie.
Could you give us more information, IE: is your property on rustic land, what authority are you under, was it a complete new build, did you get permission to build/reform.
Terry.

Hi,

If you have been stopped at all, you can't go through the same procedure. Our house is on rustic land, it was a complete new build but it's over 6 years old. We don't have permission to build anything else. That's a different situation. What we went through was just to legalise houses that were built with no permssion and that are over 6 years old. Basically you're paying the fine before it gets sent to you. It's a lot cheaper if you get there first and you get all the paperwork and the "cedula" which you're not garantied if you're fined.

How much did the process cost? Was it based on a valuation of the property? What would the fine have been instead approximately please?
Bruixot

It depends on the size of your house or how much your have built on to any of the original parts that were there before. It could cost between 3-5 thousand. It is quite a bit more if you get find. I'm not certain of the exact amount but if you get the fine you still might not have the paperwork.

Ok, still sounds good. How do you prove when the house was built? And which company did this for you please?
Bruixot

hi all, its funny but everybody has a different story to tell,
i guess it must vary from town hall to town hall,
i cant see ginestar legalizing properties in this way,
i assume i have no chance with mine,it has been up nearly 6 yrs but with an ongoing court case there is no chance of legalizing mine,anybody got any dynamite ?

We didn't go through the town hall so you could have a good chance if you have never been stopped.

Hi all I've had a stop and last week a letter from the generalitat to say take it down in a month or they will start fines. Two months ago I had a letter which said they were going to wait until I had been dealt with in the criminal courts. I'm in the tortosa area. My solicitors says not to worry, but how do you do that? I feel we are being victimised and we should come together. Check out amnesty int and human rights, a law that treats everyone different is not a law.

I can confirm that this procedure works. It is fairly painless especially if the Architect is familiar with the process.

I did not see the bit about not coming to the property, in my case it required an inspection of the house. I think the whole thing cost 400 euros.

I heard about an amnesty and have modified my campo building and sold my mobile home.  Now I have been told by the adjuntament that there is no amnesty.  I am getting desperate, as we could not afford to buy in a village or town now as the chances of selling it are very limited.   
I have found information on different parts of the country issuing amnesties, one area on almost half a million  houses.  But cant find anything for the Tarragona area.  The nearest was that the local government was discussing the amnesty.  I also read it was a Spanish government national amnesty and being left to individual areas to carry it out. 
I have a fifty square on half an hectare, and my fault I suppose but was told we could re form it as a house by the estate agent.  And after six years it could not be demolished. Why did I think they would be any different in Spain?  When we bought we were given a padron, but as we were not here full time we missed a renewal date, and a new mayor had been elected so we were refused to renew it.  Many who live in illegal house who were able to renew their padrons are still able to keep renewing them. 
We have a cedula and were trying to do the right thing and register with cadastral so we paid our fair share of rates.  We now officially live in someone elses house in the village, and as I am applying for cadastral asked if we could change the address.  The current mayor said if we want a padron on our own address she would be forced to check the legality of the house, but if we stayed at the address we have been using she would turn a blind eye.  I know she is covering her own back, but blackmail springs to mind.
Does anyone know what is going on or not with the amnesty.  If it is extended to our area do we need to retrospectively apply for planning permission as they do in France, or do we need to employ a solicitor to request the amnesty.  Pulling my hair out.  so if anyone knows please let me know.  It would be useful if those who have done it could let us know what route they took, whether they built from new as we did, and on what grounds they were allowed to legalise.  Also what adjuntament they come under.  We unfortunately have a new mayor who is determined to be a new broom, despite the odd shutting of the eyes to the rules. :'( :'(

There is an old 4 page forum discussion about this sort of problem and others it may help you glean a little more info remember the postings are old and may not be current. It was read over 11000 times so it looks like your not on your own.Best of luck  :)

http://www.tortosaforum.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1302034833/15

It sounds like you live in the Ginestar. I would advise you to go and discuss your problem with David Pique in Miami Playa.
I have not heard of any amnesty being given to in this area. However  " after six years it could not be demolished" I believe this is the case so long you are not in an area controlled by the Forrestals i.e forest area. If you are within forest area there is no mercy. My friend was ordered to demolish his beautiful house last week despite having permission after the forest people redrew the perimeter of their area. I am not a lawyer so better speak to Pique.

The 6 years and you're safe is old and out of date information. The law has changed recently and is now 25 years and they've grandfathered it too. I've heard nothing of an amnesty either.
Bruixot

The best advice I was given when we first came here was "would you try and do what you want to do her as if it was in England".

The answer is of course ....... yes because we are all led to believe that everything here is a bed of roses and no-one would ever try and con you.

Sadly the reverse is true and I have heard so many stories of people having their finger well and truly burnt and having no recourse because they didn't consult an architect etc. However .... there are as many so called respectable businesses out there as there are dodgy ones so who the hell do you trust?

Get a quote for work, not just from one or two firms but from 3 or 4. And ALWAYS ask your friends if they know this or that company.

Stop being so naive .. strap on a pair and ask for written quotations, stick to a budget but before anything has been agreed go to the town hall with your builder and get approval. If the builder doesn't want to go to the town hall with  you then it is a sure sign that they have something to hide.

In my experience the town halls (ajuntaments) are on YOUR side.

Good luck