More demolitions

Last updated on October 28th, 2019 at 04:39 pm.

Do you have a property extension in Spain without the proper building licence to go with it? Many people have built upwards and outwards without applying for a licence. Something they would never do in their home country. Town halls are cracking down on people who have risked doing this. At the moment it’s Orihuela Costa where four properties have recently been identified for demolition. The owners were given the option of demolishing the illegal building work themselves or having it demolished by the council.

Orihuela Costa is by no means unique in hosting a number of properties with illegal extensions, swimming pools and other home improvements. However, the council is taking action to do something about it. They are using aerial photographs and house-to-house inspections in order to identify properties that have completed illegal work without applying for the necessary licences.

The law has changed recently so that instead of there being an amnesty after only four years of the extension in Spain remaining undetected it is now up to 15 years. This means that some people who thought the risk of demolition had expired are back in the radar. They could be found out yet. Rather than waiting for the news that your extension has been spotted there is always the alternative of applying for a licence retrospectively. A much better option than receiving a notice to demolish you extra little bit of luxury.