According to this we should not have been charged in January for Electricity

http://www.fuengirola.es/gestorFuengirola/RecursosWeb/DOCUMENTOS/1/0_2455_1.pdf

Does anyone know any more about this?

Hi Irene, if the "illegal" charge is 5.6% of 1 months bill it is hardly worth getting the form to reclaim it and as we don't have a postal service and don't have the bill it might be impossible anyway.

There has been no sign of work on the road so it seems like that was just another empty promise from Pinoccio Perla.

Hi all,

My sister is looking for an apartment to buy in Don Juan phase 1 or 2 , If you want to PM me with details I will pass them on to her.

Lorraine

Hi Davmunster

Thought this might be of some help. Found it in my emails from a few years ago.

Building Defects in New Properties 

Know Your Rights!

You’ve completed on your property and now you begin to wonder if the construction has been carried out properly and whether you have legal basis for claims against building deffects in the future. The Answer is yes, and its legal basis is in the following provision of the General Building Act (Ley 38/1999, de 5 de noviembre, de Ordenación de la Edificación ) Click here to view this law in Spanish

Ask your lawyer to claim for a good finish of your property, good power supply connections and for any major deffects you can rely on having up to ten years of legal guarantee.

The article in the General Building Act which specifies the legal action for different sorts of building defects is:

Article 17: Civil liability of the agents that intervene in the building process.

1. Despite their contractual liabilities, the individuals or companies that intervene in the building process will answer to owners and third purchasers for the entire building or for part of them, in case they have been divided, of the following material damages happened in the building within the established deadlines, counted from the reception date without reservation or from the rectifying moment:

a) For 10 years, of material damages caused in the building due to defects or vices that affect the foundations, supports, beams, floor structure, charging wall or another structural elements, that directly compromise the mechanic ressistance and the stability of the building.

b) For 3 years, of material damages caused in the building by defects or vices of the building elements or the installations that produce the breach of the habitability requirements of the provision 3,1,c.

The builder will also answer for the material damages by vices or execution defects that affect the elements of finishing of the works within a year deadline.

The habitability requirements set by this Act in artilce 3.1.c are as follow:

Article 3. Basic requirements of building.

In order to guarantee the safety of people, the welfare of society and the protection of the enviroment, buildings must be designed, built, maintained and conserved in such a way that will fulfill these basic following requirements:

The article lists a series of requirments under three different categories. We will cover those regarding habitability, as mentioned in article 17, but I can answer your questions if you want to know more on the other ones:

(a: regarding functionality)

(b: regarding safety)

(c: regarding habitability)

c.1) Higiene, health and protection of enviroment so that acceptable conditions of healthiness and comfort in the internal environment of the building and so that this won´t damage the close enviroment, guaranteeing a proper management of all kind of refuse.

c.2) Protection against noise, so that the perceived noise won´t put people´s helath at risk and will enable them to carry on their activities properly.

c.3) Saving of energy and thermal insulation, so that a rational use is made of the necessary energy for the adequate use of the building.

c.4) Any other functional aspects of the building elements or the installations that will enable a satisfying use of the building.

From : Sur in English

Language barriers are being broken down in the health sector in the province of Malaga. A new tele interpretation service has been launched by the regional Health Department and enables non-Spanish speaking residents to make health queries or book a doctor's appointment in their own language via an interpreter.

Residents who call the 'Salud Responde' number (902 505 060) to book an appointment or make a query, will be automatically put through to an interpreter who speaks his or her language, and a three-way conversation will be held between the caller, the interpreter and the Salud responde operator. The service is available in 46 languages, and a 24-hour service is available in eleven of these languages: German, Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese, Slovakian, French, English, Polish, Portuguese, Rumanian and Russian. In the case of the 35 remaining languages, the service is available on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The simultaneous interpretation service will cost 460,000 euros a year to run and will benefit some 3.2 million people.

 Someone in phase three has to be quite slim to enter his new apartment :)

The bricklayer took his job so seriously that he never noticed that he ran out of space :)

(p.s. to the future owner: the metal construction will no doubt be used to extend the concrete. You don't need to go on a diet!

Just spotted this on Sur in English:

Fuengirola

The Mayor, Esperanza Oña, announced this week that three of the four projects that have received grants through the “Plan Proteja”, a regional government scheme which is designed to support initiatives which will help generate employment, have been put out to tender. The projects will cover renovation and remodelling works in the Avenida Los Boliches, Pueblo López and a new roundabout in Carvajal. The emphasis is to create new jobs and this is an element that will be required in all the tenders. The final project for work in Calle Yunquera will be dealt with shortly. A total of just under 1.8 million will be spent on the four works.

Could this be the new roundabout that we are waiting on?

 As far as I know yes. That's why I predicted road works at the end of March in our area. I could be wrong though: work on infrastructure is usually carried out as expected, but the Carvajal area is a complex one.

Max

Hello all

A few people have PM'd me to suggest we get together for a drink or two over Easter. 

Maybe we could use this as a bit of a "bonding" session for one and all.

Just a thought but if anyone has any suggestions as to a date and venue feel free to comment.  The Carribean bar would be handy if it is open, any other suggestions?  What about the suggestion of Irene's below?

 We are over from the 8th to the 15th and I believe that quite a few will be over then.

Over to you

This message was last edited by srs on 3/10/2009.

 I'm all in favour of partying :) but I would prefer an event for all neighbours including the Spanish. We had a few get-togethers last year in the communal garden and they were quite succesful. Some food was prepared by neighbours and the drinks were bought. People were asked to donate a few Euros to the whole thing and someone even arranged for some music.

Maybe we can repeat that?

Max

Hi max even people on phase 2 the more the better bye irene

 Hi Irene,

I will see if I can find some Spanish neighbours who want to participate in the organization. That's the best way to get both groups together.

Max

Hi max great news sorry for keeping you busy on line max bye irene

THIS MAY HELP SOME OF YOU. YOU CAN SEND ME A CHEQUE IF YOU ARE SUCCESSFUL :-)

A British couple are celebrating victory after it was found that capital gains tax charged when selling their Spanish property was over twice the amount paid by Spanish residents. They will get a £10,000 refund. It is expected that thousands of similar cases will follow.

Until 2007, anyone not fiscally resident in Spain who sold property there paid 35% tax on the sale, whereas Spanish nationals paid only 15%. This was challenged by the European Union under discrimination rules, and the rates were rationalised to a standard 15%.

Do you have an expat tax return?

Mr & Mrs Roy were subject to this higher rate when they sold their property in 2004. Following their year-long fight they will be the first to have the overpayment refunded. At the time of writing, it is believed that six hundred cases are currently being pursued. There could be thousands more, each judged separately by the Spanish courts, which could cost the Spanish government millions of Euro.

If you believe you may be affected, do not delay as Spanish tax laws place a time limit of four years on tax refunds. The checklist below will help you to see if you could make a claim:

• The property has to have been sold between July 2004 and 31 December 2006


• At that time you must have been not resident in Spain for financial purposes


• You must have sold the property as an individual, not a company


• Capital Gains Tax must have been paid on the sale of the property

To proceed, you should contact a lawyer familiar with the case who will first of all ask you for a copy of the form completed when selling the property ("Modelo 212").