Friday, November 01, 2013

Making homes legal

The City Council of Orihuela recognises that many buyers were duped by builders into believing that their homes would be totally legal. In some cases, the builders had permission to build a certain number of houses but then went ahead and built more. Pam and I know of at least one couple who are in this situation. They rely on a connection to electricity courtesy of their neighbour. There is no threat of demolition because the house is not on protected land but without a certificate of first ownership, it is virtually impossible for them to get a connection to vital services.

The City Council are now attempting to regularise these illegal houses by creating micro urbanisations in other words small groups of houses rather than complete developments.  The first houses to be dealt with in this way are in Los Mazones.

Although these houses have a road with street lighting and connection to the sewerage system, they are having problems obtaining a connection to electricity. The cost of this regularisation, which is estimated between eight and ten thousand euros, must be borne by the owners. Apart from a resolution to the problem of getting a connection to electricity, the owners will be in a position to sell their properties once the process is complete.

No comments: