New law will provide compensation to expats who were tricked into buying Spanish illegally built homes

Expats in Spain who were conned into purchasing illegal homes in Spain are celebrating after a decade long campaign to change the law was successful.

Before the crisis in 2008, hundreds of foreigners invested in properties in Spain, only to find that that their homes were illegally constructed. This meant that the houses could be demolished without any compensation being provided to the homeowners.

However, due to many dedicated years campaigning, the law has changed which means that, unless an owner receives a payout, their homes cannot be demolished.

AUAN president, Maura Hillen, who purchased an house in Albox in 2007 said that the authorities did not consider her home a house as it was built illegally. These kind of properties were considered ‘paperless’. However, since that time residents in Almanzora, where 12,697 homes are considered illegal, established the AUAN group to improve their situation.

AUAN estimate that there are around 300,000 homes in Southern Spain, which have been built illegally. Currently no one knows whether the law will provide any retrospective compensation.