The Government wants help with Red-Tape Reform!

Lawless Spain

I have just spoken to 2 families of purchases that live in the uk as I do, the first said tha complex looks like a rubbish dump the second who went over for a holiday in mid December, to find that the squatters in the apartment above had climbed down to the ground floor from the 1st floor and broken into the void window, removed anything that was of value like TV electric good etc. A great thing to find when you go out to Spain for a break.

The Spanish Police in the Village came to see what had happened but could do nothing as the goods stolen were not on the premises, foot prints on the wall and in the yard were not proof that these squatters were guilty. 

These squatters are using the community utilities and pay nothing, we are not able to disconnect the utilities because the squatters have children. lots of damage have been done to our lovely complex of 50 apartments and nothing can be done.

The squatters must have broken into the apartments they are living as all were secure in the Summer 2012. 

Spanish residents have moved out as they fear the antics of the squatters.

What can be done to protect our spanish homes when the police are not able to protect our property.

 If the Government wants help to catch up on tax get the community Presidents to have to disclose who rents their property.

Also, how can a town council expect to survive when there seems to be no link between the properties that have been sold and the IBI that gets collected.  Surely somebody could work out that, if 44 properties have been sold then IBI should be collected on all 44!

Their whole systems seem to need over-hauling and merging.

John,

Interesting points:

 If a property standing empty then there is no income for the local community, if it is rented  then there is. The tax which may be lost on a rental is more than compensated for by it being occupied rather than standing empty. If any action is needed it is to ensure than all properties are occupied, forget the tax.

Why should we forget the tax, so many properties are very well occupied throughout the year but do their owners pay any tax?  So many seem to conveniently "forget" 

All completed properties incur an IBI charge. All properties which change hands are registered in the town hall’s Property Registry office, thus the town hall always knows who any new owner is.

They may well know all the owners but, how to bill them?  Our own council just cannot get the address right for our comunitie, the poor post woman doesn't stand a chance.  Many owners just don't bother to go to the town hall to collect their IBI

As I explained you seem not to be aware how the system already works.

I am very well aware of how the system works or not as I frequently find. I own in Spain and am constantly amazed at how systems just don't seem to gel.  Not that the UK does much better sometimes.

Joddy

Why should we forget the tax, so many properties are very well occupied throughout the year but do their owners pay any tax?  So many seem to conveniently "forget"

Increasingly properties  are standing empty. Thus as I said, no income derived for the local town, shop keepers, restaurants etc, and also,  if let to residents, who are obliged to register on the padron,  then the town gets a fairly big subsidy from the Regional Gov.

 Many owners just don't bother to go to the town hall to collect their IBI

 It seems the Spanish government has no concept of cashflow, its ok have owed monies outstanding that will attract fines when the property is sold but if the income is delayed how do the government department carry on paying the bills for the services they provide etc.... Easy.. they borrow money to carry on functioning.... which has to be paid back with interest and so the world goes round until now, thats why we have the problems today because instead of  doing the job properly borrowed money has been used to aid cashflow, a bit like living on a credit card, governments should make the effort to collect taxes ontime by actively controlling and chasing due monies and not sitting thinking its not important because eventually you will have to pay anyway.

 Couldn't agree more.  

Yes this seems a good idea, however, as others have said, site will not accept NIE number, so effectively descriminates against those legally registered into the Spanish system. A case for the European Court?

It would seem the only way would be a collective submission as has been suggested.

So, the matter I would liked looked at is the disparity between the Mainland and the Canaries and then the same again between Las Palmas and Arricefe. It all looks to me like a method to double tax those of us living away from the "government island" and the Mainland.

There is also an indiscriminate application of custom dues on parcels that go through Madrid and  Las Palmas. A calender from Help4Heros was held up in customs and required my NIE in the address. This has been resent as requested so I await with bated breath as to whether it will be delvered without custom dues, as it should be.

D J Fraser

I substituted an 0 for the X at the beginning of my NIE and it worked!  Work that one out.

Property standing empty in Spain,

Apart from 2 legal residents in a block of 50 apartments a third of the properties have squatters. The complex completed in 2007 is still waiting for the local council to provide the Habitsation Certificate without which we are unable to get individual meters for our investment.

6 years taxes could of been collected for the apartments let by the builder or his sidekick, The builder went bankrupt in 2008 & failed to complete many areas he charge the purchasers for. He pays no community fee and still lets the properties which are on communial utilities.

The reason that not all the Spanish taxes are paid for all the apartments. they are not legal as we have no Habitation Certificates.