An attempt by the Spanish government to encourage Brits to buy property in Spain has been criticised by action groups representing Brits caught in legal battles over the funding of their Spanish property. The Guardian reports that a leading MEP has written to the Spanish authorities over the issue and is advising Brits to avoid buying property in Spain until the issue is tackled.
Six nation tour to encourage buying property in Spain
The Spanish public works minister, José Blanco and housing minister, Beatriz Corredor, have visited Britain as part of a six nation tour designed at encouraging individuals and institutional investors to buy some of the estimated 1 million new homes lying empty in Spain.
A Spanish government spokesman said: “We must revive the holiday housing market to speed up the ‘digestion of stock’ââ¬Â whilst minister Blanco said the roadshow will “highlight the strengths of our economy [and] transparency and legal certainty of our planning legislation”.
The Guardian reports that the publicity events in Britain ââ¬Ëwill be followed by similar exercises in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Scandinavia, with Russia later in the year.ââ¬â¢
Protest groups criticise Spanish property show
The newspaper reports that protest bodies including the Spanish Bank Guarantees Petition are organising online petitions calling for the roadshow to address long-standing grievances on the alleged refusal of Spanish banks to honour bank guarantees. In recent years, the groups claim that many banks have allegedly refused to honour the guarantees of several thousand British property buyers.
Michael Cashman, a Labour member of the European parliament, has written to the Spanish government. “What about those that have already invested and who have found absolutely no results through the Spanish legal system?” he asked, adding: “I would not advise any investment in Spanish property until this problem is resolved.”
