Building permssion for Shed/extention

[katy]

Tina, you make a point that Spanish laws are meant to be broken. Isn't this why many British have been left with illegal homes as they were told to do it the spanish way?

I do think some Ayuntamientos move the goalposts when dealing with foreigners.

[julian]

if you had seen callejeros on cuatro last night you would realise it´s not just the foreigners affected by the moving the goalposts whenever convenient

[geegee]

Ok guys, many valid points made, both legal and of practical experience, but it is just a shed we are talking about here...

Acen, what sort of size shed/extension are we talking about in relation to the size of property? How long has it been there and can the vendors prove this? Is it visible from the public highway? Would you buy the house without this outbuilding? Even if built last week and is a carbuncle, unless the extremely remote worse-case-scenario possibility of having it knocked down would seriously be detrimental to the property and your enjoyment of it, go ahead and buy, keep your head down and be nice to your new neighbours - the tradition here is to take a small gift and introduce yourself, no matter how atrocious your Spanish it will be appreciated. Look around you - most of the constructions you will see in neighbouring back patios are 'illegal' and everyone is pretty relaxed about it.

[Campo Kenny]

In the real world what Geegee says is absolutely spot on.

Well said that person.

Kenny

[Beachcomber]

It depends on what you want to use it for. I know someone who bought a rural property with an unregistered shed which he was quite happy to do at the time.

He converted it into another bedroom and is now bemoaning the fact that it needed a certificate of antiquity so that it could be included in the mortgage valuation for a prospective purchaser and added to the escritura!

[Campo Kenny]

Know what your saying Beachy, I guess I'm just making the point that when we're over there the actual feelings of the people living there, plus the attitude of the townhall, gestors, abogados etc. is a million miles away from the doom and gloom filled worrying posts that are brought up continually on internet fora............in real life it just ain't as bad IMHO.

Sure the Vera case has been catalyst for millions of posts but hey, that's life I'm afraid..In the real world most people I know can sort gliches out with no trauma or loss of sleep, (well maybe a bit )

Cheers,
Kenny

[Beachcomber]

Many Spaniards, though not all, are in total denial of what is happening in the real world. They just do not want to believe that their country is on the verge of self-destruction.

[ICCSL]

Tina, you make a point that Spanish laws are meant to be broken. Isn't this why many British have been left with illegal homes as they were told to do it the spanish way?

I do think some Ayuntamientos move the goalposts when dealing with foreigners.

I am not suggesting that you go out and a build a house. The start of this thread was about a shed - just a shed.

[ICCSL]

Many Spaniards, though not all, are in total denial of what is happening in the real world. They just do not want to believe that their country is on the verge of self-destruction.

I agree. However, what is very hard to get across to them is that the people who have these illegal houses did not know that they were illegal at the time of purchasing. I have spent many hours in my bar explaining to them how this has come about. One of the problems, of course, is that not many Spaniards use lawyers because they believe them to be people who take money for doing nothing or if they do something it is never right. Hence there is a lack of understanding of the basic culture of us Brits which is that we almost always use a lawyer and we trust the lawyers in the UK. How could anyone possibly know that lawyers in Spain are not bound by the same code of ethics as those in the UK? I have asked many times "if you can't believe your lawyer, who can you believe?" The normal Spanish response to that would be "no one but especially not a lawyer"

In terms of the "self destruct" issue I know that all the PP members in our area are pretty much aware of it. The PSOE members don't seem to be, although some of them appear to be wavering at present. My personal opinion and that of my partner is that the situation is very serious indeed and although there might be lots of people running around putting a brave face on, it doesn't take a genius to work out that this country is in crisis. What worries me is where that crisis will lead.

However, this thread is about a shed. Hence my vote would go to ignoring the shed, as long as it is just a shed.

[Beachcomber]

Yes, my view of Spanish lawyers is much the same as that of the Spanish people!

I agree about the shed but if they then decide to make it into a bedroom or an annex that is the point at which they should consider making it subject of a certificate of antiquity.