Uproar Over Land Grabs In Spain

Hi everybody:

I'm new in this forum, so first of all I should introduce myself. I'm a 28 years old Spanish lawyer, consecrated to planning and environmental issues since I've done a specialisation Master. Now I work in an architectural society in Madrid.

About the question proposed, and very superficially:

In my opinion Spanish economy depends excesivement on tourism, building and consomation. The problem was originated during the 60's, when somebody thought that tourism would be a good first industry in Spain. With that premise, all mediterranean seaside was built with tall skyscrapers, and as economic system changed, population started to move to big cities leaving the country more and more abandoned. A big lack of territorial policies is noted during that time, when cities like Madrid growed in an unsubstainable way destroying quite a lot of historic buildings and natural heritage. The country in which the word "URBANISM" were invented, needed a Land law to allow a fast developement of housing and infrastructural facilities after the civil war. The main responability in land transformation was focused in mayors and Town Councils which in too many cases, rather than measuring the needs of its populations, were seduced by the idea of changing land calification to make grow its price and have a part of it as an "exchange" to serve the needs of future inhabitants, and a part of the profit obtained by the owner, which had the obligation to install all services and new streets. Obviously, seashore towns and small villages near big cities were the most affected.

Of course, the system chosed by Spanish Law was an open door to corruption, but also it was a system which maked houses much more expensive than ever: to obtain rentability with the urbanistic operation it's needed to sell resulting houses at higher prices than in self-promotion. That was even worst when farmers and agricultors realised that building their rural properties was much more interesting than keeping their traditional cultives and explotations. Rustic land prices started to grow, as the 1956 law had an intermediate "urbanisable" calification between "urban" and "rustic" to make prices grow. After all this years situation isn't better. The main difference is land and planning are now competence of the new "Autonomous Communities" a sort of federal states which limited to make a simple copy of the old national law. Only land calification, methods to obtain the sole and value it remained in the State, together with the sectorial infraestructures (calified installations, coasts and docks, rivers and some others)

Despite all the changes and land laws, corruption is still blocking the system. People uses their house to finance primarly needs and whims through a too soft (and eternally engaging) mortgage system. Consequence: we have not a real housing problem, but a social one. People needs more buildings to invest, even if they never will live in it, to have a "lifeboat" better than stocking exchange, insurances and banks. Young people without savings find a too expensive house market and families from a less wealthy background are continuously at the risk of morosity with their home as the only guarantee for the bank. Also, renting a flat is not a good option as prices are similar to those of a mortgage. A "law of empty flats" failed to born and that miscarriage keep builders in a safe status.

Now tourism is not as overwhelming as it was. People prefers cheaper destinies and buy properties without the permanent risk of a public expropiation, due the "growing needs" of the town council. Even when the trade would suppose an economic advantage for them, propietors use to love their goods and roots and Spanish confiscatory system is quite discouraging. To atract new investors and tourists new resorts and golf courses are purposed as an alternative to tall buildings. It makes sense, but it needs much more space and, over all, water, a primarly resource in which Spanish west coast is not very rich.

Last year, European Union smashed Valencian Autonomous Governement and gaved them an ultimatum to change their Land law. At a national scale, also a new Land Law was issued to tackle house prices, without taking count of the much deeper problem behind that. The phallacy of "social housing" dominates also the debate, as the rate of limited price houses is just an excuse to promote electoral campaigns. Spanish Urban Planning and Territorial Policy is still needing a deep reform. But society first.