Spanish expats to sue Spanish councillor

Spanish Property

The Spanish councillor caught up in the centre of the Spanish expat property row is to be sued by an expat group following inflammatory remarks she made last week.

Last week Josefina Cruz made remarks blaming the actual expats caught up in the property storm, she said: “a group of people who are not of this country, who have settled here illegally in our territory are now demanding us to solve a problem that they have been responsible for creating.”

These comments have been met with outrage from the expats they wereaimed at, and the organisation Abusos Urbanisticos Almanzora No (AUAN) is now suing Ms Cruz for alleged discrimination.

The president of AUAN, Maura Hillen, said: “The members of our association who have made this complaint are victims of the chaotic planning system in Andalucia, which has clearly failed and continues to fail. They were assured that everything was alright when they bought their homes and now find themselves immersed in legal proceedings that could result in the demolition of their house. In some cases it is actually the regional government who challenged the building license granted by the town hall. In other cases the town hall or the promoter is subject to a criminal investigation. In none of these cases is the homeowner considered to be at fault.”

She added: “Because of this, and because of the situation in which thousands of people find themselves, the plaintiffs cannot let the remarks of the consejera pass because they are offensive and discriminatory and give completely the wrong impression.”

This latest twist in the Spanish expat property suggests that the situation will not be resolved any time soon.