Resolving the illegal home nightmare
Regional town planning director spells out the steps that have to be taken by homeowners
DIRECTOR general of town planning in the Valencia region, Vicente García Nebot held a video press conference with members of the international press on Wednesday to answer questions about the new process for legalising homes built without proper licences on rural land.
Sr García Nebot admitted that town planning in the Valencia region had developed a bad reputation outside Spain in previous decades – something that they aim to turn around.
One of the most important parts of this process is the legalisation of countryside properties, many of which were bought in good faith by foreign buyers.
This can be done via the MIT licence which, as well as legalising their homes, is designed to minimise the impact that properties – built without any sort of official town planning input – have on the environment.
Sr García Nebot gave the example of homes that do not have drains, which are polluting the subsoil, something that ‘has to be prevented’.
For this reason, amongst others, the MIT licence is an obligation as well as ‘right’ – so town halls that are failing to process the licences can be forced to do so via the courts.
However, the regional government is trying to ensure that this does not have to happen, by providing town halls with information and advice. Sr García Nebot also assured that once they have a MIT licence then homeowners can get an occupation licence for their properties.
Regional commissioner for expatriates in town planning matters, John Kirby also took part in the meeting and highlighted that some homeowners have been asked to pay up to €7,000 for the drawing up of a MIT report.
Sr García Nebot and Mr Kirby agreed that this was ‘outrageous’.
Mr Kirby has offered to carry out the procedure for
free ‘to illustrate how cheap and simple it is to do’.
Any reader who wants to take up this offer should send an email to the address at the end of this article.
How many?
Sr García Nebot reminded that they established that 194,000 homes have been built illegally on rural land in the Valencia region alone.
He admitted that in previous decades they had gone up ‘like mushrooms’.
Only a very small number of them cannot be legalised, he noted, and the remainder can take advantage of the MIT process (see more on p5).
Sr García Nebot also thanked Mr Kirby for the ‘great job’ that he is doing explaining town planning issues to English-speaking residents in the region.