Spanish Supreme Court Rules Against Barcelona’s Tax on Empty Properties

2 July 2019 – Richard D. K. Turner

The Third Chamber of the Supreme Court dealt Ada Colau a setback, ruling against a penalty on empty dwellings in the hands of financial institutions. The Supreme Court upheld the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia’s ruling stating that the Barcelona City Council does not have the power to impose such a tax.

The municipal ordinance had set a rate of 633 euros for each case opened upon discovering an empty flat and 286 euros for each additional requirement in cases where the owner failed to comply with the municipal order.

Original Story: El Confidencial – Elena Sanz

 

The Land for Spain’s Largest Commercial & Leisure Centre Goes on Sale

21 February 2019 – El Economista

The Madrilenian neighbourhood of Valdebebas is going to become home to the largest commercial and leisure complex in Spain. The first steps to make that possible have been taken today, as the Valdebebas Compensation Board has granted Savills Aguirre Newman the sales mandate for the land on which this new commercial and entertainment space is going to be built, to the north of the city, according to confirmation provided by sector sources speaking to El Economista.

The land has a buildability of 145,790 m2 for commercial space, in addition to a plot for offices measuring more than 35,400 m2 and green areas spanning another 24,500 m2.

The land that is going on sale now has historically been known as the Commercial Block of Valdebebas. Initially, a large shopping centre was planned for the site, but the Compensation Board designed a new plan to build more social housing units and a school. That new plan, approved by the Town Hall of Madrid in 2014, was subsequently appealed and overturned by the Supreme Court, and so the land has been returned to its original use.

According to explanations provided last year by the President of the Valdebebas Compensation Board, César Cort, in an interview with this newspaper, several investors have approached the Compensation Board interested in this plot, however, the Board wants “to carry out a transparent process that is completely secure legally”.

In terms of the price, Cort said that it will be “a high figure”. “When this same product was sold to Metrovacesa and Riofisa, the price amounted to more than €200 million, but it will not necessarily be the same figure”, explained Cort, who assured that “we plan to sell the land during the first half of 2019”.

Residential activity

Currently, around 18,000 people live in Valdebebas and the population is expected to double to around 35,000 inhabitants over the next three to four years.

Besides the launch of the commercial block, the Town Hall of Madrid has already started to grant building permits in the residential market. In this way, there are plans afoot for the construction of 48 residential developments, which will result in the construction of 3,800 homes in total, which represent one third of the 11,400 homes planned for the Valdebebas area.

During the first few months of the year alone, more than 20 developments will obtain licences to begin the construction of 2,000 homes.

Original story: El Economista (by Alba Brualla)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Spain’s Banks Must Pay the Mortgage Tax from Now On

10 November 2018 – Expansión

The Royal Decree approved by the Council of Ministers last Thursday, which modifies the Law governing the Tax on Property Sales and the Documentation Registration Tax (ITP and AJD), comes into force today, following its publication in the BOE. The Decree establishes that the banks, and not the customers, are responsible for paying those taxes.

From today, the purchaser of an asset or right, and in his/her absence, the persons who initiate or request the notarial documents, or those in whose interest they are issued, shall be subject to the tax. When it comes to loan deeds with mortgage guarantees, the bank shall be considered the taxpayer.

In terms of new features, the Royal Decree introduces a new article in the exemption section, which means that “loan deeds with mortgage guarantees, in which the borrower is one of the persons or entities listed in section A) above” shall not be subject to the tax.

Those entities include the State and regional and institutional Public Administrations and their organisations for welfare, culture, Social Security, teaching and scientific purposes. Financial institutions will not be allowed to deduct this payment from their Corporation Tax charge from 2019 onwards, given that tax changes are applied to complete fiscal years. The tax that the banks will have to pay will amount to €2,500 on average per loan and will, according to the Minister for Finance, María Jesús Montero, contribute to the collection of €2 billion every year for the regional coffers.

The Government justifies the “urgent” need for “regulation” to dissolve the “legal uncertainty” created by the Supreme Court following its ruling to force banks to pay the tax, before resolving a few days later that it was returning to case law and therefore obliging citizens to pay it. “This succession of events has led to a situation of legal uncertainty, which affects the mortgage market as a whole, and which must be addressed immediately”.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

FAI: More than 8,000 Mortgages Paralysed by Supreme Court Ruling

26 October 2018 – Eje Prime

Real estate companies are warning of the impact of the legal battle over mortgages. The Federation of Real Estate Associations (FAI) estimates that more than 8,000 mortgage operations have been paralysed across Spain as a result of the decision taken by the Supreme Court that it should be the banks that pay the Documentation Registration Tax (AJD).

Similarly, the body has warned of the consequences generated by the delays and has asked entities to act “responsibly” towards their clients, given that “they may incur breaches in any “contratos de arras” they have already signed because of the delays in the signing of the mortgage loans”, according to Europa Press.

In this sense, the President of the FAI, Nora García Donet, stated that in light of the “uncertainty” generated, “the banks have delayed more than one third of the signings planned for the coming days”.

The FAI, constituted in March 2013, comprises twenty regional and local real estate associations from all over Spain. Currently, the entity groups together more than 850 real estate agencies and 3,730 professionals.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Spain’s Regional Gov’ts Clamp Down on Tourist Apartments

28 January 2018 – El Economista

Spain is breaking records in terms of visitor numbers and, in the age of the globalisation of communications, many people are wanting to make money from renting out their homes. This trend has forced autonomous governments and town halls to introduce legislation so that the so-called collaborative economy does not end up turning into unfair competition.

The tourist housing sector has been calling for the homogenous regulation of its activity for some time now, but for the time being, it has had to make do with the regulations approved by certain autonomous governments and town halls, above all those in the most central neighbourhoods, which are seeing their resident populations emptying out in the face of rising rental prices.

The latest to join the regulation train is the Town Hall of Madrid, which has approved a one-year moratorium for the granting of operating licences for all kinds of accommodation in residential buildings exceeding 90 days.

The moratorium will result in the suspension of licences for the opening of new hotels in the centre, a paralysis that in the case of tourist homes also extends to the districts of Chamberí, Salamanca and Arganzuela.

The Community of Madrid is also preparing a decree to regulate homes for tourist use, which will require owners to have a certificate of suitability to guarantee that their properties fulfil the conditions necessary and which will define digital platforms such as Airbnb as “tourist companies”, liable to fines of up to €300,000.

One of the pioneers in regulating this activity was the Town Hall of Barcelona, which prohibits the opening of new accommodation of this kind in the centre of the city, but does allow the closure of existing ones in the outskirts to be compensated, provided the new units are located in exclusive buildings and have not been used for residential purposes.

Moreover, it has strengthened the detection and sanctioning of illegal tourist apartments and, in the application of Catalan law, has fined operators that publicise them.

The Balearic Islands’ Government is also fining people who let their apartments to tourists up to €40,000, and in the case of real estate agents, tourism brokers and the digital platforms that publish them like Airbnb and HomeAway, it is levying fines of up to €400,000.

In fact, last month, sanction files were opened against Airbnb and Tripadvisor for their illegal supply of rental apartments in the Balearic Islands.

Meanwhile, since 2016 in Andalucía, the Junta has obliged homes used for tourist purposes to be recorded in a register, in order to avoid fraud, intrusion and unfair competition against hotel establishments (…).

After a great deal of controversy with tourist associations, the Canarian Government regulated the use of holiday rentals in 2015, and although the High Court annulled the article that prohibited holiday rentals in tourist areas, the law is still valid because the Executive filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, which has not ruled yet (…).

Any apartment offered through a digital platform in the Community of Valencia must be registered with the Valencian Tourism Agency and is subject to governing regulations in terms of safety and quality.

Murcia, meanwhile, has implemented a specific plan to reduce the current mismatch between the regulated and unregulated supply, putting a stop to intrusion and reinforcing the fight against employment on the black market, which is typically precarious and exploitative.

By next spring, the Community of Castilla-La Mancha will have drafted a law that will put an end to the legislative vacuum in this regard and which, according to the regional Government’s calculations, will allow it to shed light on between 1,500 and 2,00 tourist homes that are advertised on several online portals, but which offer no guarantees for clients and generate no tax revenues for the administration.

In Euskadi, last month, the Basque Government approved a draft decree that seeks to regulate the most tourist aspects of homes, providing guarantees to advertisers, neighbours and tourists, given that the decision to grant licences lies with the town halls, such as those of Bilbao and San Sebastián, which account for two thirds of the almost 2,500 tourist apartments in the País Vasco (…).

In March 2017, the La Rioja Government approved a general tourism regulation, which distinguishes tourist apartments – those that contain three or more accommodation units in the same building – from homes for tourist use, including those that are advertised online.

Last year, a decree entered into force in Asturias to regulate tourist apartments and, according to the most recent available figures, 640 registrations have been recorded and 159 sanction files have been opened (…).

Finally, the Junta de Extremadura is working to reform Law 2/2011, dated 31 January, governing the Development and Modernisation of Tourism in Extremadura, which will materialise this year and which will offer new instruments to help in the fight against fraud involving tourist apartments.

Original story: El Economista

Translation: Carmel Drake

Madrid’s Town Hall is Blocking 105,000 New Homes in SE of the Capital

11 December 2017 – Idealista

Madrid has the potential for a large urban development at its disposal in the form of the PAUs located in the southeast of the city, covering a surface area of almost 37 million m2 and with the capacity for the construction of up to 105,000 new homes over the next 15 years. The plans have already been sketched out, and they have been approved by the Supreme Court, but clashes between property developers/landowners and the Town Hall led by Manuela Carmena have frozen the permits and licences for completing the development of the area and, therefore, the construction of affordable new homes, which are so necessary and so sought-after in the city.

The most worrying thing is not that the future of so many thousands of homes is up in the air, but rather that they are homes that would go to middle-class families and vulnerable groups: primarily young people and people with limited purchasing power, through social housing schemes, and with prices ranging between €160,000 and €240,000. Los Berrocales, Los Ahijones, Valdecarros and Los Cerros, known in the real estate sector as land destined for the construction of the most affordable housing in Madrid, are PAUs that find themselves on this journey through a desert. And the impasse has already lasted for more than a decade.

The strategy for the southeast started to take shape with the PGOU of 1997, under the PP Government when José María Álvarez del Manzano was the mayor, with the intention of joining together all of the potential in the towns to the south of Madrid, such as Getafe, Leganés, Alcorcón and Móstoles, with the Corredor del Henares.

After completing the PAUs policy in the north of Madrid, with Sanchinarro, Montecarmelo and Las Tablas, and also the PAU of Carabanchel in the 1990s, the municipal border of Madrid was reaching its limit in terms of developable land capacity. To the north, expansion had already reached Alcobendas and San Sebastián de los Reyes; to the west, the buildable land in Madrid was already bordering on Pozuelo and Majadahonda; and in the south, the PAU of Carabanchel already reached Alcorcón and Getafe. The only free area left in the capital was to the east.

And so the initiative to develop the southeast of the capital was launched, although it has been suspended for years by the courts and has been held back by the economic crisis. But now, when the economy has started to recover and the Supreme Court has approved the project, the building work has come up against a new problem: the position of the Municipal Government.

What is the problem?

(…) The Town Hall believes that the urban development proposal for the southeast does not meet the current needs of the city. The first main stumbling block is over the number of homes to be built.

Although the Supreme Court gave the green light in September last year to the plans that involve the construction of 104,737 homes, of which approximately 53% would have some degree of protection (subsidy), as well as to the building of offices and industrial warehouses (35% of the surface area will be destined to those developments), Manuela Carmena’s team considers that the capital will not have sufficient demand to justify the construction of so many homes (…).

Specifically, the Town Hall calculates that the city will have demand for approximately 6,000 homes per year over the next few years – that figure is well below those forecast by other researchers in the market. The IESE business school, for example, estimates that the Community of Madrid will need more than 25,000 homes per year until 2025, at least (…), a figure that falls to 12,000-13,000 in the case of the capital itself (…).

Another reason that the municipal government cites against the progress of these urban developments is that the city still has a significant stock of empty homes. But, again, research and official figures exist that call into question its claims (…).

The discussions are set for the long-haul.

A 10-year paralysis that could go on for another 10 years

(…) “Regardless, if we suppose that we obtain the necessary licences and that construction starts immediately, the first homes would not be ready to be handed over until 2022-2023. If to that timeframe, we add the years needed to change the General Plan (PGOU), in the end, we are going to be talking about another decade gone to waste”, said Javier López Linares, Manager of the PAU for Los Cerros (…).

Original story: Idealista (by Ana P. Alarcos, David Marrero and Alejandro Soto)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Andalucía To Draft New “Land Use Plan” For Western Costa del Sol

5 September 2017 – Inmodiario

Following the cancellation by the Supreme Court of the Land Use Plan (POT or ‘Plan de Ordenación del Territorio’) approved in 2006, the Governing Board of the ‘Junta de Andalucía’ has started the process to prepare a new POT for the Western Costa del Sol.

As well as addressing the formal questions behind the legal ruling, the document will update and adapt to the changes that have been seen in the region in socioeconomic terms over the last ten years. The aim is to establish a new framework for urban and land development in the area, which comprises nine municipalities and has a population of almost 400,000. In addition, the plan will set objectives and supra-municipal organisation criteria for infrastructure, green spaces, and areas of growth.

To prepare the plan, the formulation decree approved by the Board establishes the creation of a drafting committee, which will comprise representatives of the central and regional administrations, as well as from the Provincial Council and the Town Halls in the district.

In general terms, the POT identifies those areas that should be protected from the urbanisation process due to their environmental, scenic cultural value, and those that should be allocated to the development of economic activities and the location of supra-municipal equipment and facilities, given their strategic value. All urban plans and public and private initiatives must adhere to these guidelines.

The POT for the Western Costa del Sol includes the following municipalities within its scope: Benahavís, Casares, Estepona, Fuengirola, Istán, Manilva, Marbella, Mijas and Ojén (…).

Original story: Inmodiario

Translation: Carmel Drake

Núñez i Navarro Doubled Its Profits In 2016 To €33.1M

5 September 2017 – Eje Prime

Núñez i Navarro recorded a good set of results last year. The company, the largest unlisted real estate company in Cataluña, saw its profits soar in 2016 to €33.1 million, up from €12.9 the previous year. In this way, the group has returned to growth and is getting closer to its best result ever, recorded in 2007 when it generated a profit of €48.6 million.

The group attributes the increase in its net result to an improvement in its recurrent rental income, a recovery in the value of its assets, which had depreciated during the crisis, and income resulting from a ruling, confirmed by the Supreme Court, which obliged Endesa to indemnify the company for the purchase and sale of real estate in Palma de Mallorca, according to Crónica Global.

By contrast, Núñez i Navarro’s turnover fell in 2016. The company recorded revenues of €110 million, down by 5.1% compared to the same period a year earlier, when its sales amounted to €116 million. The company’s consolidated own funds rose to €595 million.

The group’s business lines include property development and the operation of real estate assets, in particular offices, retail stores, homes, car parks, industrial warehouses and hotels.

The group’s Board of Directors still comprises members of the founding family. It includes Josep Lluís Núñez Clemente, his wife María Navarro Obón and their sons Josep Lluís and Josep María Núñez Navarro.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Nadal & Matutes Jr To Build Madrid’s Most Expensive Homes

9 June 2017 – El Confidencial

Another deal has just been signed in the luxury housing sector in Madrid, which will bring to the market some of the most expensive and most luxurious apartments in the capital. They will surpass even the homes that Pimco and Lar Real Estate are marketing a few metres away from Paseo de la Castellana on Calle Lagasca. The businessmen Abel Matutes Prats (…), Manuel Campos and their partners, including the tennis player Rafael Nadal, have just purchased a building opposite the Supreme Court, which is going to be converted into the most elitist residential property in the city. Even more so even than the Millenium Building opposite Puerta de Alcalá.

The building will house 11 homes, nine of which have already been sold at prices that take your breath away: between €15,000/m2 and €20,000/m2. To date, the record prices were held by Lagasca 99, the project being promoted by Pimco and Lar, where the average sales price to date amounts to €16,000/m2, and where the most expensive home ever sold in the capital is located: a duplex penthouse flat measuring 700 m2, which has been sold for €12.5 million, in other words, for a whopping €18,000/m2. Interestingly, the only two units still to be sold in this new luxury development are the two penthouses.

The acquired building is located on Calle General Castaños, in the Justicia neighbourhood and was constructed at the end of the nineteenth century. It has a surface area of almost 5,000 m2, distributed over five storeys. Sources consulted by El Confidencial said that the transaction price could amount to €25 million. (…).

The neighbourhood of Justicia has become fashionable in recent months amongst buyers with a high purchasing power. According to a study compiled by the luxury estate agency Engel & Völkers, the profile of buyers in this specific area of Madrid is cosmopolitan, middle-aged, looking for a pied-à-terre, as well as young couples with children and foreigners from the UK, Germany, China and Venezuela.

Moreover, according to data from the agency, Justicia is by far the most expensive neighbourhood in the Centro district, with maximum prices of around €7,800/m2 for the most exclusive, newly built homes (…).

Complete renovation

With a classic style and a protected façade dating back to 1895, the property is classified for residential use and currently comprises 36 homes and 12 warehouses spread over five floors and a basement. (…). According to the sources consulted, the new owners want to renovate the building and recover its past charm, to position it as the most exclusive building in Madrid.

The transaction has been completed, after a long year of delays, through Mabel Real Estate, a business whose registered administrators include Abel Matutes and Manuel Campos, but in which other partners participate, such as Rafael Nadal and his family. (…).

Original story: El Confidencial (by E. Sanz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Valdebebas: Carmena Cuts 160 Homes & Insists On Social Housing

16 February 2017 – El Confidencial

Fewer homes and no unsubsidised properties. That is the condition that the Town Hall of Madrid has put on the table to unblock the “commercial pill” of Valdebebas, the last plot of land in the area that is still waiting to receive the necessary administrative and legal blessings before the cranes can move in.

On Tuesday, the Town Hall presented its buildable surface area and density proposals for the area, where 1,000 homes were going to be constructed on a plot that was initially going to house the largest shopping centre in Europe.

As expected, the Town Hall has reduced the buildable surface area, although by more than initially expected. Specifically, it has reduced the space allocated to residential use by 18,000 m2, an adjustment that affects almost all of the 14 plots (around 16,000 m2) that Pryconsa acquired from the Compensation Board last year.

The direct consequence of this change is that the company owned by the Colomer family is going to have to recalculate its figures and construct between 140 and 160 fewer homes. This represents a reduction of just over 15% compared to the number initially proposed, all of which were going to be social housing properties.

The other major loser under the Town Hall’s proposal is Premier, the owner of a plot of land allocated for unsubsidised housing, with a buildable surface area of almost 11,000 m2. The Town Hall has said that it must now build in accordance with some kind of protected housing scheme, as well as reduce its buildable surface area by 2,000 m2.

By contrast, the Joyfe College and the Valdecam Cooperative, which acquired land on which to construct 65 social housing properties, will not have to make any changes to their plans (…).

Next steps

After its meeting with the Town Hall on Tuesday, the Valdebebas Compensation Board, which represents almost 5,000 owners in the area, will present the Town Hall’s proposal to its governing board. That body, in which only large landowners participate, may opt to take a decision or may refer it to the assembly, so that all of the owners, and not just the large ones, take the decision.

The problem that the Compensation Board now faces is that it has to reduce the price at which it sold its plots to Pryconsa and Premier, given that the use and buildable surface area of those plots has been modified. This means that it will have fewer resources to allocate to all of the social service works – healthcare, education, sports facilities – that are required in the area. (…) This new proposal emerged after the ruling from the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) last year, which overturned the special plan for the area.

It is possible that the Compensation Board will reject the Town Hall’s plan and wait until the Supreme Court makes its ruling regarding the TSJ’s ruling. The problem is that, if it endorses the existing ruling, it will return to the initial situation, in other words, no homes will be built at all, given that the 109,000 m2 in this area were initially designated for the construction of a large shopping centre.

That would mean having to start conversations with the Town Hall from scratch, whereby further delaying the resolution of the problem. It would also have to deal with land buyers invoking clauses that allow them to break contracts and deprive the whole neighbourhood of a new school that the almost 10,000 residents are anxiously awaiting, given the lack of educational provisions in the area.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake