North East Lib Dem MEP calls for an end to Spanish 'land grab'

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 29th Mar 2010

North East ex-pats and second home owners in Spain continue to be in danger of having their homes bulldozed due to an unfair interpretation of Spanish law.

The 1988 Coastal Law was designed to prevent over-urbanisation of the Spanish coastline but had not been properly implemented because of the need for development and foreign investment.

In 2008, the Spanish government decided to retroactively implement the 1988 Coastal Law due to perceived over-urbanisation. But in practice the law, which applies to Spanish homeowners as well as to other nationalities, has targeted property owned by foreign nationals, including buyers from the UK.

Commenting on last week's meeting of the Petitions Committee in the European Parliament in Brussels at which the matter was further discussed, North East Lib Dem MEP Fiona Hall, who has been contacted by a number of North East residents who have been affected, said:

"This issue has been going on for years and people have become increasingly desperate.

"Whether they bought their house as an investment, a holiday home or for retirement, European citizens are being faced with the prospect that their property could be taken away from them or their ownership limited to 30 years. There are serious doubts as to the adequacy of the Spanish government's offers of compensation.

"Although the Coastal Law was passed in 1988 it is now being implemented retroactively and, it seems, quite arbitrarily. For example, as one man explained, the law is now being implemented to cover houses built in the 1960s along man-made sea water canals.

"The fact that Spain currently holds the Presidency of the EU has given a fresh impetus to efforts to get injustices redressed, and at last week's meeting in Brussels Liberal Democrat MEPs were able to confront the Spanish Minister in person.

"Although not yet positively resolved in the way we would like, at least the case is going to remain open and the Commission has to go away and look at the new position post Lisbon Treaty.

"Meanwhile, my advice to potential buyers of properties along the Spanish Costas would be that the law remains unclear, so it is a case of 'buyer beware'."