ILLEGAL HOME JAIL SENTENCE
Authorities toughen up on unlicensed buildings
By Oliver McIntyre
A RECENT COURT CASE HAS HAMMERED HOME THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE PROBLEM OF ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTION ON THE COSTA, AND THE MEASURES THAT ARE BEING TAKEN TO CRACK DOWN ON IT.
Many Costa town halls, particularly in rural inland areas such as the Guadalhorce Valley and the Axarquía, have for some time been issuing warnings regarding the illegal construction of homes or other structures on land designated as 'rural'. For anyone who thought those warnings were empty or the laws they refer to toothless, proof comes from Alhaurín de la Torre that this is not the case.
PRISON SENTENCE
Last week the Town Hall announced that a resident of La Barriada de Santa Amalia has been tried and found guilty of building a home in a flood zone. He was slapped with not just a 2,160-euro fine and the razing of the house (at his own expense), but also a six-month prison sentence.
The case goes back to 2000, when Town Hall inspectors detected the illegal home - built without municipal permits or building licenses - on a 2,500-square-metre plot designated as a flood zone. They filed a report with the prosecutor's office, which handled it as a penal case, according to local and regional laws. The Town Hall reports that its inspectors have recently filed 10 more reports on illegal buildings, in addition to several that are already under judicial investigation or at trial.
GET OFFICIAL INFO
Citing the recent sentence as an example of the seriousness of the land-use laws and the potentially severe consequences of breaking them, Alhaurín Town Hall issued a clear warning for rural-land owners or those looking to acquire a property. "Anyone who owns or wants to buy a rustic property that is not classified for construction, and who is told by a developer or real-estate seller that there is no problem building a small home or shed, should ignore such advice and solicit information at the municipal Urbanismo office." In the event of infractions, "ignorance or lack of knowledge, even in good faith," will not excuse offenders from penal responsibility, says the Town Hall.
