Home owners associations meet Andalucian parliamentarians

REPRESENTATIVES of the associations SOHA (Save Our Homes in Axarquia), AUAN (Association of those affected Almeria) and the Confederation CALU (Confederation of those affected of Córdoba) met with representatives of the political groups in the Andalucian Parliament in Seville yesterday, June 8, in order to clarify their positions with respect to the amendments to the LOUA (urban planning law of Andalucia) concerning the parcellations on non-urbanisable land.

Philip Smalley, President of SOHA, was optimistic after meeting with representatives of the political parties; Ciudadanos, PSOE, Podemos, Izquierda Unida and Partido Popular, who understood the situation, and have seemed  willing to work on the amendments and discuss them in Committee  next Tuesday, June 14.

“It’s a job we have been doing for more than eight years, and on this amendment in particular, we have been working two years, and finally we see that it will be voted on, in Parliament in July.” he added.

He went on to explain that the problem is that while buildings  on non-urbanisable land can eventually be regularised,  buildings on the same type of land which has been parcelled for building purposes can never “prescribe” (i.e. they can at any time be denounced and subjected to demolition procedures.)

“Therefore we call on Parliament for the adoption of this amendment,” he concluded.

The associations SOHA, AUAN and CALU, representing thousands of homes in an irregular situation with respect to the regulations in Andalucia, submitted their amendments on March 9, 2016.  Later, at the end of May, the associations formed a working method to collaborate with the Junta de Andalucía to facilitate the processing of these amendments.

SOHA is a non-profit association, made up of mainly foreign residents, whose mission is; to promote the protection of the rights of residents in the Axarquia region, according to article 8 of the European Convention on human rights, to help other residents to protect their homes through legal action or other actions, and conduct active campaigns to promote amnesty to homeowners of the Axarquia.

SOHA was established in 2008 with the sole purpose of saving their homes through peaceful means.