Change to Spain's Coastal Law, Ley de Costas
Change to Spain's Coastal Law, Ley de Costas
An amendment to Spain's Ley de Costas - Coastal Law - means that beachside properties built before the law was introduced can now be bought and sold. The law previously declared all homes built in beach areas to be public property and could not be sold on.
The Ley de Costas was introduced in 1988 and stated that the beach was public land to the point where the sea reaches in the worst storms, according to typicallyspanish.com. Any property in that area built before 1988 was taken into
state ownership and liable to be demolished. As the homes were declared public property, the owners were told that they could not sell or alter them.
However, an
amendment to the law has now been passed and the reform will affect an estimated 45,000
villas in Spain. The law now states that coastal properties can be bought, sold and passed on in inheritance, provided they were legally built before 1988.
Although the Ley de Costas was introduced over 20 years ago, it has only recently started to be enforced by Spain's minister for the environment, Carmen Narbona. The law is reported to have been on the receiving end of a barrage of
criticism from Europe, including complaints from the British and
German embassies.
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