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24/05/07 - New Spanish
Law to Control Prices |
Come 1 July, Spain
will have a new land law aimed at part in curbing ‘exorbitant house
prices’, reports Fly2Let…
Passed by Spain’s upper house of Parliament, the Bill targets speculators
and planning corruption by requiring disclosure of all owners of land being
developed in the previous five years within official documents. Local
government officials will also have to list their land ownership.
There will also be tougher tests imposed on developments likely to increase
a town's population by more than a fifth. Meanwhile within major
developments, 30 per cent of new housing will have to comprise affordable
housing.
Some planning decisions taken in the last two years will be open to review.
Housing Minister Maria Antonia Trujillo said he believes the measures will
ensure a ‘soft landing’ for the property market.
Planning scandals forced Government’s hand
Introduction of the law follows a series of planning scandals in Spain,
notably in Marbella but also in other towns, worries about over building,
and, more lately, about the price of housing.
Gary Weston of Murcia specialist Weston & Dubois, which operates investment
purchase plans tailored to fly to let buyers, said the new law is a ‘step in
the right direction’ and a step away from corruption. Requirements for
social housing and availability of Government subsidised mortgages would
help younger Spaniards get a foot on the property ladder but other than
increasing confidence, would be unlikely to have direct impact on the market
for overseas investors, he said.
‘There has been oversupply of properties, especially in developments sold
specifically to investors who had no intention of completing. The result is
that hundreds of identical properties come onto the market at the same time.
‘My advice to investors is always to look for phased developments with
distinct differences between the properties in each phase’.
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