FINALLY!

Planning amnesty for 'illegal homes' across Spain's Andalucía stands after legal challenge dropped

The final barrier preventing the legalisation of hundreds of thousands of homes built across rural Andalucía has been removed after an agreement was struck between the Junta and Spain's central government.

Expats have been among the estimated 300,000 homeowners battling for decades to sort out the planning status of their homes in a saga that has trapped many in unsellable homes and without access to basic services.

Victory was celebrated in Sep 2019 when a decree was passed by the Junta to allow townhalls to give a special permission, called an AFO, to recognise irregular houses, a move that would finally give them legal status.

However the celebrations were soon dampened when Spain's national government said it would challenge the law in the Constitutional Court over 'legal discrepancies' and conflicts with the notorious Spanish Ley de Costas costal law.

But..... a deal has now been struck that will see the new decree bought into force with the exclusion of those areas that fall under coastal law.

A jumble of planning laws and disputes between municipal and regional authorities saw hundreds of thousands of homes declared illegal in the region, not only those which were built illegally by rouge builders and purchased in good faith, but also those which had the correct planning from the local council and were retrospectively declared illegal by planning authorities on a regional level.

Some people have lived for years with demolition orders over their properties and one such couple are still living in their garage 13 years after their house was demolished.

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