Good news for coastal property owners

AMENDMENTS to the controversial Spanish Coastal Act that will extend the concession for thousands of coastal properties and developments in Spain were approved by the government this week.

The extension will come as good news to Costa del Sol property owners affected by the law.

The new regulation will extend the permit on the home from 30 years to 75 years, meaning the possibility of demolition of homes built in the coastal public zones and protection zones won’t arise until 2063. Houses, hotels, bars and restaurants on the Costa del Sol faced the prospect of demolition because they were built in the ‘public zone’ in close proximity to the seafront. The Coastal Act of 1988 gave a 30-year concession on such properties – of which there are an estimated 24,000 homes alone in Spain – and was due to expire in 2018. This new extension to the concession now gives costa homeowners an additional 45 years of security and will ensure that businesses catering to tourism will continue generating money for the region.

Though properties in the coastal zones will not get permission for extensions, owners can improve or sell their properties during the period of the concession. The Coastal Act – designed to protect the integrity of the Spanish coastline – has been the subject of much debate since its introduction and left property owners with homes close to the shoreline facing the possibility of seeing their homes demolished. Time was nearly up for homes and developments built prior to the introduction of the law, and this latest development will mean Costa del Sol property owners can breathe a sigh of relief. However, an additional annual fee of six per cent of the cadastre value of the property is set to be introduced.