You are thinking of buying a home in Spain? A good decision. But before signing or paying, we recommend you to inform yourself.

Specially you should be aware of the problems involved with a falling market, that we mention in the last article in this section, current up to January 2007. You should also read the report from the investigating commission of the European Parliament, and the recommendation of Ciudadanos Europeos on "Urbanistic Abuse".

Geography of Spain

Spain is the second most mountainous country in Europe, second only to Switzerland. The amount of significant flat land is therefore very limited and tends to be concentrated on the coastal strip alongside the Mediterranean (apart, of course, from the high plains - the Meseta - that dominates the centre of Spain).

It is the mountains that play a major part in the climate of Spain. Whilst most people think of Spain as a hot, dry country, it has, in fact, a very varied climate. Madrid, for example, suffers from extremes of temperature with hot summers and freezing winters whereas in the north on the Atlantic coast, the climate will be very familiar to the visitor from Britain.

However, most people looking for a home in Spain are drawn to the Mediterranean coast. It is here that they get what they want - warmth - and it is here that they experience the true Mediterranean climate - hot, dry summers and warm, wet (but not too wet) winters.

You should study and take into account the reports on the global warming and its possible effects on Spain, since you are making an important investment in a dwelling to be held for many years. Will you be able to live in it if the temperatures increase substantially? Will the dwelling be affected by the higher water level predicted due to the melting of the glaciers?

The three main coastal areas are Catalonia at the northern end (principally the Costa Brava), Andalusia at the southern end (the Costa del Sol and Costa de la Luz) and Valencia in the middle (the Costa Blanca) with Murcia squeezed in between Valencia and Andalusia.

For those who prefer the island life there are the Balearic Islands (Majorca, Ibiza and Menorca) in the Mediterranean and the Canaries (Gran Canaria, Tenerife and Lanzarote) in the Atlantic, off the Moroccan coast.

The climate

The climate in the Mediterranean area is remarkably consistent in all the coastal areas. In summer, the average minimum temperature will rarely dip below 65° Fahrenheit and will usually be up in the mid 80s at the hottest time of the day. In winter, of course, it is cooler. It will usually be around 60° on average at its warmest but will rarely dip below the low 40s (though the Costa del Sol does have warmer winters than elsewhere).

For real winter warmth you will have to go to the Canaries. There you can expect it to be in the 70s and only to fall to the 60° Fahrenheit mark at the cooler times of the day.

The one thing that Spain does seem to bring to the climate is a lack of extremes. Although it can get hot, it is never too hot and although you can get a number of chilly days, it is rare to find frost on the coast (although Majorca can c1aim to have had some heavy snowfalls, much to the surprise of the inhabitants). It is this lack of extremes which led Javea on the Costa Blanca, north of Alicante, to be chosen by the World Health Organisation as having the most acceptable climate to the average Western European. It was chosen on the basis of this overall average - it is never too hot and it is never too cold, it is never too humid and it is never too dry.

What you can buy

Today the legal restrictions for foreigners buying a property are almost non-existent. Except for certain military areas, especially close to the borders, you are, as a foreigner, free to purchase any private property.

We stress the word private property. The reason is that there are also state-subsidised dwellings for sale in Spain. A foreigner can only buy such a subsidised dwelling (called VPO - Vivienda de Protección Oficial) if he is, or firmly intends to become, a resident in Spain. There are several limitations as to income and family situation, as well as to resale of such dwellings.

The offer of Spanish properties can be grouped as follows: An apartment: Easy to maintain if you are not staying permanently in Spain, low maintenance costs, but also less privacy and often more noise.
A semi-detached bungalow: More privacy, less noise, but with slightly higher maintenance costs.
An individual villa: Highest degree of privacy and very quiet if you are not on a noisy road, but higher maintenance costs and a higher risk of being broken into when you are away.
A farm or a village-house: Normally low price and low maintenance costs. In a village you may have noisy neighbours, but you will learn Spanish from them!

If you buy a second-hand property, it may be worthwhile having a technical survey made before buying. Older houses were sometimes built with inferior materials (like iron water-pipes) or need rewiring before you can get a new contract with the electricity company. On the other side second-hand properties often come cheaper than similar new ones.

Inspection trip or not

Many foreigners have found their dream house at a moderate price by taking part in an inspection trip organised by sales organisations abroad. Some have found their Shangri-La by going south on their own and comparing urbanisations and offers.

Some buyers have been defrauded by foreign sales agents organising their trip, others have fallen into the hands of sharks operating in Spain.

So, both methods can be used, but great care should be taken in any event.

If you go on an inspection trip arranged by a foreign sales organisation, you should first investigate their credentials.

Secondly, you should ask them for documents showing their investigation of the properties and promoters they recommend: What is the name of the promoting company; their share capital; their registration in the Spanish company-register and the names of their directors?

You must investigate in the same way if you go it alone. Do not sign any papers or part with any money before you have all the facts at hand. Also, before signing when you think that all the facts are on the table, take legal advice. A legally trained mind or a person with knowledge about the local scene can detect problems you have overlooked.

Before going on an inspection trip, you should ask for a copy of the contract or reservation document they eventually will ask you to sign. It should be in a language you fully understand, the actual contract in Spanish with a translation in your language. Make sure that the original and any translation corresponds. Always have any paper to be signed, vetted by a lawyer or by FIPE.

If you want to use a lawyer for the transaction, it is important that you are able to communicate with him in a language you dominate. On the other side the lawyer must be conversant with Spanish legislation and the real estate scene in Spain.

Are you protected if you use a registered real estate agent in Spain? Some of them are very correct and conscientious; others are more interested in a fast sale than in happy clients. Always ask around in the area where you want to buy to find the "good apples". Foreign owners will know them, as they have also been buyers.

Buying a finca rustica

A "finca rustica" means an agricultural farm or a piece of land that is not classified as building land. Some of the building plots being offered to foreigners in Spain are, in fact, fincas rusticas, and after the purchase of the land you may find out that you will not be permitted to build.

If you want to buy something outside the town centres and the urbanisations, you should be aware of the following:

• You have no public guarantee of services for water, roads, electricity or sewage, as you should have on an urbanisation.
• A water-channel next to the land does not necessarily mean that you have any rights to use the water. Water in a well in April does not guarantee you the same well will have any water in August.
• Road rights must also be mentioned in the title deed. Do not get into a situation where, after the purchase of a finca, you are forced to buy additional land for road connection.
• A nearby electricity line is no guarantee that you will be able to tap it. It may be a high tension line. A transformer for only one dwelling may be too expensive.
• Each region has a minimum size requirement before issuing a building permit on agricultural land. You must find this out from the town hall, and you must make absolutely sure that the plot offered has the minimum required.
• It is easier and more economical to get a license to repair an existing building than to construct a new one. If you can restore an existing building, you may not need complete architect's plans, but only a sketch, to obtain a license for "obra menor" (minor work). Consult the town hall beforehand.

Ask yourself the question: Am I the right type for living under rural conditions in the Spanish countryside? If the answer is not resoundingly affirmative, you should delay the purchase until you have become convinced. Maybe it is better to start with a small property on a planned urbanisation first, and take the step into rural Spain after you have become more acquainted with the country.

Buying a plot

Before buying a building plot, you must be sure that you can build on it. Even in an urbanisation with many houses already built, you may find there is no planning permission and that the houses have been constructed illegally, or that you will be the first one to be refused a building license. You must investigate in the town hall and get a written confirmation that you can build on the plot in question.

You may also ask the vendor to guarantee in the sales contract for the plot that you can build a house of so many square metres on the land and get your money returned if building permission is not granted.

When buying a building plot in an urbanisation, you should have all services to the border of your plot, like water, electricity, sewage and paved road. The cost for this is included in the plot price. The only additional cost to you should be for the installation of meters for water and electricity.

On a building plot there are certain limits to the height of the construction, the distance from the house to the road and any neighbours. Find out if you can get the house you want in the position you want before you buy.

The following points must be kept in mind when buying a plot for construction of an individual villa:

• Do not accept a purchase document that does not clearly indicates the urbanistic qualifications of the land - whether it is a building plot (finca urbana) or agricultural land (finca rustica).
• Do not make a final purchase until you have written confirmation from the town hall that you can use the land for the purposes you intend, or have the assurance that the plot has been zoned and approved for construction.
• Do not sign before you know there are no high tension lines, old rights of way, water pipes or any similar obstacles on the land that may influence the construction.
• Do not buy before you have made sure that there are no major roads, factories, discos or similar irritants planned next to the property.
• If you buy the land from the same person or company that will also construct the house, first demand the title deed to the land upon payment. Then start the construction, and later write the house into the land escritura (declaración de obra nueva).

Buying a second-hand property

If the property is older and you are no great expert on buildings, you can use a surveyor to investigate the house. Some owners sell their house at a cheaper price because they know about a new road, factory or disco to be built nearby, or because the maintenance or community fees are too high.

The first thing to ask for if you want to buy a house or apartment from a private owner is a copy of his title deed (escritura). There you will see if the vendor is the owner, and the registration number of the property in the property register. You can then visit the registry and ask for a "nota simple". The "nota simple" tells you if the vendor is still the owner, how big the property is and if there are any charges or encumbrances registered on it. There may also be debts not registered in the property register, you better ask in the town hall if there are any unpaid taxes or charges, and in the Community of Owners if there are any outstanding debts.

Property Market:

Going from green to orange

40 years of closely monitoring the Spanish property market has learnt us: There will always be upturns, with plenty of buyers, taking the property off the hands of the promoters on the planning stage, even at increasing prices. But there will also be downturns, where the buyers for one or another reason vanish, forcing the promoters to try new methods of sales, and even reducing prices.

For 5 years we have had a sales boom, where all lights have been on green. More than half a million dwellings have been built every year since 1998, representing 40% of all constructed in the European Union.

For some years we have been warning our members that no boom will continue into heaven, and told them to be prepared for a change in the market. Already at the end of 2004 came the first sign of a slow down in sales. This trend has continued and strengthened during 2005.

If you are a buyer

Should you be a potential buyer, the present situation offers some interesting possibilities: First of all we are now changing from a sellers market to the buyers market. You are able to negotiate with the promoter, for instance what shall be included in the property bought, and even the price and payment conditions. We estimate that the prices can be negotiated down 10% over last years. The down payment may be very reduced, and the financing stretched to the limits. Residents are offered 100% financing (in some, maybe not so serious, cases even more), with payment terms over 40 and 50 years and several years grace from paying back the principal.

But in such a market situation it is more imperative than ever that someone buying a property on plans gets the guarantee of finishing the project, in accordance with law 515/1989. Remember that this guarantee must be issued by a bank or insurance company, not the promoter himself. With less buyers in the market, some of the makro-developments with thousands of houses and a gold course may never be finished as planned, and it should not be you who are loosing the money.

 If you are a vendor

In case you already owns a property and are thinking of selling it, it may be wise to do so while the lights are still on orange and the real estate agents can find you a client. If/when the lights switch to red, there may not be any takers for your property for a period of time at a price acceptable to you.

You should not let any buyers move into the house after paying a small down payment, but insist that the full sales price be paid before keys are handed over, based on a contract where the buyer accepts knowing and accepting the actual state of the property.

And you should not accept any agreements, not with a real estate agent, nor with a client, that bind your hands for a longer period, and hinder you in selling to another, better client.

If you are a content owner

If you are happy with the property you own in Spain, that is fine. Then you should only look into 4 possible problem areas:

1)      Have many years passed since the last revision of the fiscal values (valores catastrales) in your municipality? Ask the local town hall or IBI-collection office if a new revision should be imminent. In some municipalities the fiscal values have gone up several hundred per cents, increasing taxes.

2)      Are there any plans for new developments or urbanisation plans in your area, that may affect your property or your purse negatively? You may ask the town hall for an “informe urbanistica”, but you better also talk with some better informed Spanish neighbours.

3)      Calculate what the Capital Gains will be if you should for one reason or other be forced to sell the property, taking into account the intention of the authorities to bring the declared value in new escrituras up to market value (See the information on Capital Gains on our web page www.c-euro.org).

4)      Calculate what will be the inheritance taxes for your heirs. If you are in doubt, send us a e-mail with information about the value of the property, the owners in the escritura, if you (and your spouse) are residents or not, and who are the heirs, and we shall give you an estimate.

Do not depend on letting income

As a buyer, or as an owner with increasing taxes and costs, do not depend on a letting income guaranteed, promised or calculated. The only exceptions are if you are letting out on a year long lease (but then you must remember the 5 plus 3 years of automatic renewal for the lessee – see our information on Renting and Letting), or if you buy or own an apartment registered for tourist letting.

To stimulate lagging sales some promoters try to be inventive in their marketing, including furniture in the sales package, extended financiation, free membership in a golf club…..or a rental “guarantee”. The rental is sometimes just a calculation of the letting income, if the buyer let out the dwelling over the summer (easy to calculate, without any guarantee).  Sometimes it is a guarantee given by a rental company (that may fold or be folded at any time).

Last year we had occasions to warn against basing oneself on a letting income from short term tourist letting over the summer and Easter, since such letting is illegal. The hotels, losing more and more clients, are on the war path against the “intrusion” in their market, and as the strong lobby they represent, forces the authorities to take more

active steps to hinder the tourist letting. The Valencia government have decided to impose fines of up to 90.000 Euro for illegal letting, and calculates that 84% of the beds in such “illegal” apartments escape their control

From orange to red?

We are expecting a fall in property prices of 20%, and that the market then flattens out and stay on that level for some time. But we do not exclude the possibility that the fall will be even stronger, and that the lights will switch from orange to red.

Much depends on the property developers, that to a great degree have lost touch with reality, and are projecting an important number of developments with several thousands dwellings, and a golf course. The developer Polaris World had projected an urbanisation in Alhama de Murcia with 28.000 dwellings, that seems to have been definitely stopped. The company have based the sale on the international market, setting up a number of own offices in Spain and abroad, but the number of sales have been low.

 It also depends on the local politicians, that see the financial salvation of their municipalities in getting the greatest possible number of vacation dwellings built as soon as possible, earning on the urbanistic agreements when approving the plans, on the issuing of the building licences and later on the local property rates. The regions fomenting the massive construction on their coasts, have their piece of the cake over a part of the income tax, from the tax on private sales as well as the inheritance tax

European focus on urban fraud.

Town planning irregularities, illegalities and frauds have, over the last weeks, dominated the Spanish Press and politics. Every day there are new revelations and several newspapers have published maps showing areas affected. Leading newspaper “El Pais” said, in an editorial comment, “The avalanche in cases of town planning corruption starts to provoke an open social alarm among the Spanish..” The article goes on to mention cases in Madrid, Tenerife, Orihuela, Torrevieja and Alicante.

The socialist party has proposed a program to combat the corruption, which includes, asking the municipal council members accused of corruption to withdraw from their posts or be expelled and not proposed for re-election. President Camps in the Valencia Region has refused to take any “extraordinary measures”.

The courts are filled with corruption cases, with some public prosecutors going against town halls, council members or promoters. The list of such cases is too long to reproduce here. In other cases politicians or promoters, who have been named,  have gone to court in an attempt to defend themselves. “Paco el Pocero” has taken the mayor of Seseña (where Paco is constructing 13,508 dwellings on arid land without firm guarantees of water) to court for defamation and is demanding 500,000 Euro in damages.  He has just bought a 72 meter yacht (a bit longer than that of the King) for which he paid 60 million Euro, in cash….

Public pressure and an initiative by the national leadership of the socialist party has forced the PSOE mayor of Pilar de Horadada to remove 5,500 dwellings, which are outside the general plan, from the municipal agenda for construction. This is in addition to two other planning permissions for 1.000 dwellings, which had been approved.

The Spanish stock exchanges are setting new historical records each day as land speculators and promoters are starting to dispose of their property assets to join the share boom, while other property companies are going public to spread the risk. Are the rats leaving the sinking boat?

During the last summit meeting of the leaders of the EU states, Russian President Putin, who was an invited guest, was criticised by the Spanish President of the European Parliament, Jose Borrell, for the lack of respect for human rights in Russia. Putin answered by referring to the mayors who are in prison in Spain for corruption!

Some members of Ciudadanos Europeos have proposed to recommend foreigners not to buy a property in Spain until the authorities here have cleaned their stables. A proposal to be seriously considered.

 CASHMAN CONTINUES FIGHT FOR JUSTICE AGAINST LAND GRAB ABUSES

 Michael Cashman, Labour MEP, received the unanimous backing of all political groups in the Petitions committee to continue the European Parliament's work looking into the "land grab laws" in Valencia.

 

Mr. Cashman, on behalf of the Socialist group (PES) proposed to the Petitions Committee that the Committee draw up an Oral question to the Commission to be debated at the start of 2007 asking the Commission to provide an update to the European Parliament on the current state of play in the Commission's assessments of the LUV law.

 

Speaking during the meeting he said:

 

"I'm suggesting this course of action because we committed ourselves in the Fourtou report to closely monitor developments in Valencia. We are all aware of the on-going problems in Valencia but I am also concerned that this problem seems to be spreading to other regions and areas of Spain" said Michael.

 

Michael Cashman continued:

 

"In October the Commission published a "reasoned opinion" against Spain which clearly demonstrates that the Commission remains concerned about alleged abuses in Valencia under the LUV law".

 

"Given the Commission's continued concern and given that this issue was originally brought to the Commission's attention via petitions submitted to the petitions committee of the European Parliament, I welcome the support from the other political parties for an oral question so that we can ask the Commission for its assessment of the situation on the ground over a year after the Fourtou report. Such action will show our citizens, especially those affected, that we are resolute in our search for a just conclusion to this problem. It will ensure the EP keeps up the pressure on the Commission to hold Spain and Valencia accountable in relation to her EU legal obligations".

 

MEP Cashmans proposal was agreed unanimously.

 

1.   PROPERTY PRODUCTION UP – SALES DOWN

In its yearly report, that was presented in the end of January, OECD maintained that prices for dwellings in Spain were 30% overvalued. The respected economical organisation expressed worry over the consequences also for all other parts of the economy that a bursting of the “property bubble” may produce.

580.000 dwellings were built in Spain during 2003 (169.000 in the UK the same year), in 2004 the number jumped to 739.000, and in 2005 to 780.000. To the end of 2006 will probably be built 800.000. It is the greatest wave of home building in history, comparable only to the reconstruction of Germany after the last war.

The market absorbed it all, even if a great part has been bought by smaller or bigger investors, now trying to rid themselves of the unproductive investment. The saving bank CAM has reported they are sitting on 30.000 dwellings along the Mediterranean coast, that they want to sell, preferably to foreigners. The capital is now flowing into the stock market, the IBEX setting new records.

The big developers have in a number of new urbanisation plans already approved, another 1,5 million dwellings to be built in the coming years.

Sales falling

For some years it has been obvious that the foreigners purchase of Spanish properties have been shrinking. The clients from countries like Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Belgium and Holland have become scarce. And over the last year, also the Irish, British and Norwegians are disappearing. Sale to foreign buyers has gone down 50 to 70% over one year.

Developers and sales agent have over the last years compensated for the weakening of the foreigners market, by a strong sales drive among the Spanish. The government granted deductions in the income tax on buying a dwelling. The banks gave mortgages of up to 100% of the sales price (sometimes even more), at initially very low interest rates, for up to 50 years.

The government has now taken away the tax incentives for buying or financing new dwellings. Together with 15 increases in the interest on mortgages during 2006 and the extortionate prices from the promoters, this has halted the sale to the Spanish market. A great part of Spanish families are sitting with mortgages eating up an increasing part of their income.

Temporary drop?

Promoters and sales agents are hoping that the drop in sale is temporary, and that the market will recuperate. We do not share their hopes. The high prices do not allow for any value appreciation, and has driven investors into the stock market or to other countries where property and life is still cheap. The massive construction program with building cranes everywhere is not attractive to retired people seeking tranquillity. The urbanistic abuses against small landowners, promoted by the LRAU and LUV-laws, have scared many buyers away. Greed and corruption has damaged the reputation of the country. Spain has lost much of its attraction.

All signs point to a deepening and prolongation of the crisis on the Spanish property market. The clever promoters have already smelled the rat, they are taking their companies to the stock exchange, spreading the risks on a greater number of shareholders. Some of them are selling off land, not starting up already approved urbanisations. The banks are starting to reduce their financing of new projects, making the future difficult for smaller promoters. During the last months can be seen that the builders are starting to lay off workers. This is especially evident in the province of Alicante, where the construction sector increased unemployment by 15,5% during November 2006. The first building projects are stopping up, and some buyers will certainly be caught without a bank guarantee for the finishing of the dwellings they have bought. 80% of dwellings bought off plans do not have such a guarantee, contrary to the stipulations in Law Decree 515 of 1989.

The situation today is becoming more and more similar to the crisis in the property sector of 1990, that we described in the article “The worst case”.

The president of the federation of construction companies in Alicante province, Ramon Jerez, has in a statement to the newspaper “Informacion” on the 9^th of January admitted a “desacceleration in the construction sector from April last year, that will provoke a loss of  5.000 jobs and 1.500 small companies over the next 4 years.” He reaffirms that there is a decrease in demand and that “the boom has terminated”. He recommends the companies to consentrate on reform work on older buildings and construction of social dwellings.

Will illegal dwellings be demolished?

There are an estimated 100.000 dwellings built illegally in the tourist areas of Spain, meaning outside approved general planning and accepted urbanisation plans. Many of them have also been built without a proper  building permit from the town halls, but mostly with the benevolent oversight of the mayor. We remind our members of two classical examples: Marbella, where 30.000 dwellings were built outside the general planning, and Catral (Alicante) where 1.200 houses have been built on farmland, without any planning and on plots much smaller than the 10.000 required for agricultural constructions.

Will the 100.000 dwellings be demolished, as foreseen in law? Hardly all of them, but certainly some of them. If the authorities do not use a hard hand against the flagrant illegal construction, it will continue and spread all over the country. Already the Andalucia government has demanded the demolishment in Marbella of 334 dwellings where already a court order exists, and another 5.000 that have been built on land foreseen for green areas or social installations.

And the “consellero” for urbanistic matters in the Valencia government has demanded that some of the illegal houses in Catral and in other municipalities be demolished. He has told that the authorities are now using aerial photographs to detect buildings built outside the approved plans.

Situation of present owners

If you already have a dwelling, that is not threatened by an “agente urbanizadora” or nearby gigantic urbanisation plan, you can be tranquil. If you intend to keep it and enjoy your life, there is no reason to be bothered about a drop in property prices. Experience tells us that the buyers will be coming back again after some years. If the promoters do not destroy their own market by continued overproduction of dwellings, the values may stabilize on a reasonable level.

You need to sell? For a couple of years we have recommended anyone in that situation to try to sell at once, while the prices were still good. If you place your property on the market today, you must be prepared to sell below the market price of the last years. If you bought at a lower price more than 5 years ago, you may still get your money back, with a modest interest.

The properties still moving are the very cheap ones (below 120.000 Euro) and the special luxury dwellings in the price class over 500.000, in the first beach line or with spectacular sea views.

New buyers

There are not so many buyers any longer, and most of our members are owners, not buyers. But since you may have a neighbour or friend still entertaining the idea of a home in the sun, please give him the following warnings:

-         Now, more than ever, do not buy a dwelling off plan, unless you are given the bank guarantee of finishing, in accordance with law 57/68, reinforced by law decree 515/89. Do not run the risk of buying into a development that never will be started, or that will stop due to financial problems of the promoter.

-         Do not buy a house on one of the many “urbanisations” that never had a proper urbanisation plan approved and complied with, and that may be the object of an “agente urbanizadora”. Always ask in the town hall for an “informe urbanistico”.

-         Especially, one must be warned against buying a building plot or a finished house in an area not classified as “finca urbana”, maybe constructed illegally. There are 100.000 such illegal dwellings along the coasts, many of them for sale.  Ask for an “informe urbanistico” from the town hall.

-         Shy away from the big building projects with thousands of dwellings, even if they are approved. In the best of cases, you will be living the rest of your life on a building site, in the worst the approval will be cancelled by the regional or national government, for instance due to a lack of guaranteed water supply. (In a trend setting ruling by the Valencia Supreme Court, a big urbanisation plan in Parcent (Alicante) has been cancelled because there were no firm guarantees for the water supply).

-         Do not buy a property with promised letting guarantees. No one can guarantee that tourists will want to rent. Experience has shown that calculations, promises and even guarantees evaporate when the tourist market breaks down.

Where does that leave someone wanting to buy? Almost nowhere. The lack of restraint and control on behalf of the authorities, refusing the proposed moratorium on new building plans, has left to the buyers to impose their own “moratorium” on the purchase. We recommend letting a dwelling in sunny Spain!

In a sensational opinion research by the daily newspaper “El Mundo”, 53,3% assured they believe there is corruption in the municipality where they are living. Only 34,2% were sure that no corruption existed. 76% felt that corruption has increased and 72,4% said that all parties were corrupt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Raise price of water!

Spain is the country in Europe with the gravest water problems. It is the only country on our continent with an expanding desert area and 70% of its surface in danger of desertification. The greatest part of the agriculture (in relation to value of the products) depends on water transfers and artificial irrigation. The expansion of industry and settlement of humans are conditioned by availability of water.

At the same time, the inhabitants of Spain (including ourselves) are among the highest consumers of water.    According to the National Institute of Statistic,  11.5% of all water is used in the homes, with 171 litres per day per person, however, the European Water Association (EWA) calculates water consuming in Spanish homes as 265 litres per day per person. Could the discrepancy between the figures be that,  the first measurement is from water meter readings, whereas the other includes water diverted into leaking pipes serving the fast increasing number of urbanisations and settlements?

If we use the measurements of EWA, the inhabitants of Spain top the list of countries with the highest water consumption in the home, with its 265 litres per day and person. The French consume 164 litres, the Portuguese 161, the Swiss 160, the Finns 150, the Germans 127, the Dutch 126 and the Belgians 107 litres per day and person.

The cheapest water

At the same time, the water in Spain is cheaper than most other European countries, at an average price of only 1.28 Euro per 1,000 litres. The Portuguese are paying 1.36 Euro for the same amount, the Germans 2.30, the Belgians 2.41, the French 2.86, the Dutch 2.89 and the Swiss 4.13 Euro per litre.

The higher consume of water in the southern tourist countries like Spain and Portugal is easy to understand, where often swimming pools and Jacuzzi’s are filled with drinking quality water, where showers and bath tubs are used very frequently, where gardens and an increasing number of golf courses need large quantities of water survive.

The low price for water in Spain is not comprehensible and not acceptable and is an inducement to higher consumption. The only way to reduce consumption is to raise water prices. 

The Ministry of Environment has proposed a law guaranteeing 60 litres of drinking water per person per day at an accessible price and increasing the tariffs considerably for higher users. This is a sensible proposal and we shall support it.   However, the tariffs must take into consideration the hundred of thousand of dwellings used as “second homes” over week-ends by Spanish owners, or only over certain weeks by non-residents. Some tariffs foresee a flat rate billing, which would include a certain amount of water, whether it has been consumed or not. However, it is envisaged that in such cases owners may be over consume, since they have to pay for the water in any case.

The change of climate

Historians at the University of Bern have found that the average autumn temperature in Europe this year was 11 degrees Celsius, an increase of 1.8 degrees over the average for October and November.   Taking only November, the increase was 2.5 degree over the average temperature.    This year was the warmest autumn for 500 years.

The Government reports that 2006 was the hottest year in Spain since meteorological measurements started. The four hottest years in Spain have been recorded since 1995.

All of us are personally registering the changes in climate. We flee our homes in Spain over the hot summer months, we are surprised by the temperate weather in our northern European countries, we are shocked by reports on television about the rapidly melting of the glaciers around the poles and in the mountains.

We all have to admit we are into a drastic change in the world climate with an accelerating global increase in temperatures affecting all countries,l peoples, animals and plants. While some years ago, the effects due to accumulation of hot house gases in the atmosphere, was something theoretical and in the distant future, we are today feeling the changes.

Scientists are warning us that if  immediate measures are not taken, the glaciers may, over the next 10 years melt so much that lower lying areas will be flooded. In many places throughout the world dikes are being built or reinforced to avoid catastrophes.

What consequences for us?

The answers are many and complex, they cannot all be contained in a short article at the end of the year 2006 to our members. May I be so free to recommend everyone to see the documentary film by former US Vice President Al Gore now being screened in most countries. In Spain it is known as “Una verdad incómoda”. It is an authoritative and human message to us all.

Moreover I recommend you visit  a web page promoted by the consumer organisation OCU, the ecologists in WWF/Adena, the Trade Union CCOO and the Ministry of Environment.   On this Spanish language page there is more information on the change of climate and how everyone can contribute to halt or stop it.

All of us have a responsibility; all of us have possibilities to do something. In addition to what is proposed on the web page mentioned, we add the following suggestions to you as foreign property owners in Spain, affected by the water situation:

-         If you are living close to a flat beach, you may consider moving to higher ground.

    -    If you are living in an area with continuous water supply problems,         

         you may consider moving to another area.

-         If you or your Community of Owners have a swimming pool that needs to be emptied from time to time, you should ensure the water can be re-cycled.

-         If possible, you should consider a system for collection, storage, cleaning

and re-use of rain water and grey water.

-         Maybe you should remove the Jacuzzi and the big bath tub, using the

shower instead and make sure that all taps in your house have water saving equipment fitted.

If we all participate and take responsibility, we shall have a better and happier 2007.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The greatest citizens movement

The Association “Ciudadanos Europeos” has for some time warned its members and other Europeans contemplating buying property in Spain, or who have already done so, that a crisis in the property sector was approaching. Whilst still recommending people from Northern Europe to invest and settle in Spain we have more and more strongly warned against buying at any price and under any conditions.  We have been attacking planning, resulting in over density; crude commercial practises from many developers and sales agencies and perverse legislation (read LRAU and LUV) which assists speculative urban activities which are to the prejudice of many small landowners.

The Association “Abusos Urbanisticos NO” and our Association have been criticised for mounting a public campaign against the perverse urbanism, and for taking the problems, which the Spanish authorities would not solve, to the European Parliament. The criticism has come from the property sector, politicians on the pay roll of the developers and is echoed by the publications, which rely on the adverts from the developers and sales agents.

Public resistance movement

Hundreds of associations and groups (citizen’s resistance movements) have been formed over the past year to resist property over development, urban abuse and the practice of leaving town planning in the hands of the speculators. In many local municipalities they now represent the majority of citizens and may have an important impact on local elections in May 2007.

We are proud European citizens were pioneers in this citizen’s resistance movement. We are happy and content now the Spanish citizens themselves have taken the lead and are swelling the ranks in the many local initiatives, that has become the greatest citizen’s movement since the introduction of democracy in Spain. The impact of the resistance can be seen in some political parties who are placing the resistance against the urban speculation on their banners.

However, the leadership of the movement cannot be left to the political parties. Most of them are parts of the urban corruption that has swept the country and left an increasing number of mayors and councillors behind prison bars or before the judges.

Leading and independent newspaper “El Mundo” has put the record straight by selecting urban corruption as “Enemy of the Year”.  The newspaper “El Pais” has named the investigators in the corruption courts as the heroes of the year 2006.