Buying a property in Spain can be one of the biggest decisions and projects of many peoples in their lifetime and in order to avoid any problem or unpleasant surprise it is very important to have the advice of certified lawyer from the first moment, even before finding the right home and signing a reservation contract.

We have all heard terrible stories about people who have lost all their money by buying illegal homes, off-plan homes that were never built, or homes with foreclosures. At Imont we have defend at court many clients going through all that kind of situations because they did not use a lawyer at the time of the purchase, they used the services of the lawyer of the builder “, or even worse they used a solicitor that end up not been a real lawyer, or just a translator. The best way to prevent these situations and avoid litigation is to have the advice of a qualified and registered lawyer from the beginning, but you must be aware of intruders posing as “Spanish Solicitors” “legal advisors” “legal assistants” “legal experts” “conveyancing experts” ….. or even as I saw the other day on a flyer at Orihuela Town Hall, translators offering a service that covers all legal paperwork (conveyance, wills, inheritance…)for one third of the price, but obviously without any guarantee  because  only by using a certified lawyer you can get full protection and guarantee for legal advice.

Since February 2019, the Orihuela Bar Association is developing a campaign against professional intruders, which is supported by our law firm, Imont Legal Services, which reads: “DON’T MAKE A MISTAKE, GO TO SEE YOUR LAWYER”.   The purpose of this campaign is to raise awareness among consumers of legal services, as well as real estate agencies, intermediaries, consulates, embassies, and consumer associations, mainly from other countries, that lawyers are the only professionals qualified to guarantee their rights, interests and assets.

The Statute of Spanish Lawyers reserves the title of Lawyer exclusively for those professionals who, being in possession of a degree in Law obtained or homologated in Spain, belong to a Spanish Bar Association as practitioners, and dedicate themselves professionally to provide legal advice and defend the legal interests of others, public or private.

Performing the acts of lawyers without meeting these requirements is professional intrusiveness and is a crime under our Criminal Code.

The key is to get the registration number of the lawyer at the Bar Association by asking the lawyer for this information. In addition, the General Counsel of Lawyers make available to all interested parties the Census of Lawyers, which is a tool that through a link allows you to enter the name of the lawyer and instantly verify that he or she holds such status.

https://www.abogacia.es/servicios-abogacia/censo-de-letrados/

At Imont Legal Services, all our lawyers are members of the Bar Associations of Murcia and Cartagena, we are experts in Real Estate Law, with more than 16 years of experience defending real estate cases in the Courts, and above all focused on legal and tax advice for international clients to ensure the satisfaction and guarantee of the process of buying and/or selling a property in Spain. More than 5,000 satisfied clients over 15 years support us, and our legal services appear on the recommendation lists of both British and Belgian consulates. Our motto: Trust us & Relax

But do we know what the difference is between tourist apartments and houses for tourist use ( alojamientos vacacionales) ?

According to the new decree 174/2018 Tourist apartments will be considered to be the accommodation units offered, by means of a price, for rent on a regular basis and duly equipped with furniture, installations, services and equipment for immediate temporary occupation for holiday or leisure purposes. These tourist apartments are classified in the categories of one, two, three, four and five keys.

And according to article 30 of the previous Decree of 2005, still in force, will not have the legal consideration of tourist apartments, but of vacation accommodations (alojamientos vacacionales), isolated units of apartments, bungalows, villas, chalets and similar, offered for rent by the operating companies or person, for vacation or tourist reasons, and that meet the specified requirements.

The key therefore lies in the number of dwellings belonging to the same owner or operator that are offered for holiday use. If there is only one unit offered, it will be a holiday home regulated by Decree 2005 and if there are several, it will be tourist apartments regulated by the new Decree 174/2018.

Focusing on the holiday homes that are offered by most of our customers, there are no different categories, but there is a single category. However, these “alojamientos vacacionales” share some of the requirements of tourist apartments.

Thus, the operators of  these vacation accommodations will be obliged to:

1. a) Maintain accommodation facilities in a condition that guarantee its proper functioning.
2. b) Inform users in advance about the system of services offered in the establishment, the conditions for providing them and their price.
3. c) Provide users with a contact telephone number of the responsible person.

On the other hand, the price of the accommodation must include the following minimum services and supplies:

1. a) Permanent cold and hot water.
2. b) Gas and/or electric energy.
3. c) Cleaning at the beginning of the stay.
4. d) Change of linen once a week.
5. e) Television.
6. f) Collection of rubbish, or where appropriate, the existence of containers in accordance with municipal ordinances.

As well as the operators of the tourist apartments, the operators of  holiday homes must register all travellers who pass through their home, must have complaint sheets available and announce their existence to the public in a visible manner and expressed in Spanish, English and two languages of their choice.  Owners must have a civil liability insurance and the advertising they develop must specify the type of tourist accommodation to avoid confusion to the customer.

As for the beginning of the activity, the companies operating holiday accommodation must notify the competent Ministry of Tourism prior to the start of the activity. The communication will be accompanied by a responsible statement ( Declaración responsible) and will be accompanied by a series of documents for the purposes of registration of the same in the Register of Companies and Tourist Activities of the Region of Murcia. It is forbidden to offer and market the property without having previously made the communication.

The damage caused by DANA in the Vega Baja of Alicante and Murcia has been many, and very substantial.

We ourselves have been affected by its effects and effected after its passage.

The last floods suffered by the Spanish Levante have focused on Insurance and its tools to alleviate the dramatic situations generated by these phenomena.

For this reason, Imont Legal Services wish to contribute a little to help all our affected neighbors, letting them know of the first steps to take in order to claim against the Insurance Companies and the Consortium of Insurance Compensation for the terrible damage suffered.

The Consortium of Insurance Compensation, has issued an announcement indicating that it will compensate the damages produced to the PEOPLE or in the PROPERTY, indicating the Requirements that must be fulfilled to be able to opt for these compensations.

One of the great virtues of the Consortium is that, in the event of a catastrophe being declared, the risks of the insured property are maximum.

In other words, the Consortium is in solidarity with the most affected areas by the catastrophe, contributing funds from other non-affected areas to support those most affected.

We hope that if it is finally declared a ‘catastrophic zone’, it will give:

– Aid for personal injuries.

– Financial aid to individuals for damage to their habitual residence.

– And aid for basic necessities.

For this reason, it is very important that you document and be able to prove the damage suffered. So, the more graphic information, videos or written evidence or any other type of evidence you are able to provide … the simpler the process will be, and the sooner you will see your claims addressed.

You can download this press release at the end of the article. Here is a summary of these requirements and a series of recommendations, you can find more information on the website of the Compensation Consortium.

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• NEW DECREE THAT REGULATES THE TURIST APARTMENTS IN THE REGION OF MURICA. During the past month of August 2018 came into the new decree that regulates the tourist apartments in the Region of Murcia (Decree nº 174/2018 of 25^th July 2018), which derogates the previous decree from 2005 except in its chapter 5, articles from 30 to 35 in reference to the properties with touristic use which continue to remain enforceable until a new legislation regulating this specific issue comes into force. Both the owners of the properties of touristic use and touristic apartments will have the legal obligation to register every customer who stays there as well make available complaint forms written in Spanish, English and another two languages to be chosen at discretion. The owners will need to have insurance for civil liability and any marketing must reflect the condition of tourist apartment clearly as to not cause any confusion amongst clients.

It is forbidden to offer or rent the property or apartment without having previously done the official Communication to the “Consejería de Turismo”-

• CHANGES IN THE PAYMENT OF MORTGAGE EXPENSES. The final months of 2018 have been full of changes and controversy surrounding the person who should assume the payment of expenses related to the mortgage, whether the bank or the person who took out the mortgage. The conflict made headlines on all of the media sites in the month of October, when the third chamber of the Supreme Court ruled that the tax on legal documented acts should be payed by the bank.

This ruling brought so much controversy that the own Supreme Court, called a vote in plenary session by which it changed the original ruling, stating that the burden of the tax on legal documented acts derived from mortgages was to be paid by the client and not the bank, as determined by law.

Few days later the Spanish Government approve the Royal Decree 17/2018 establishing that the bank is liable to pay the aforementioned tax, however only for mortgages signed after the decree came into effect, 10^th of November 2018.

Hence, after the 10^th of November 2018, the banks are liable to assume all expenses related to the signing of a mortgage with the exception of the appraisal which for which the client is till liable. In essence, the bank has the obligation to pay for the cost of the dead, administration and notary, while the client remains liable for the appraisal of the property to be purchased and any copies of the deeds they may request.

• NEW LAW ON PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION AND GUARANTEE OF DIGITAL RIGHTS (LOPDGDD). The new LOPDGDD in force since 6^th of December 2018, counts with ninety seven articles with the objective of integrating into the Spanish legislative system the Regulation (UE) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and Council of the 27^th of  April 2016 regulating personal data protection and

complete its provisions.

Among other issues, it gathers the obligations to confidentiality, the need for express consent by the person for the use of personal data, the principle of transparency that falls on the right of the affected to be informed on the use of their data and the right to delete such data at the request of the person.

• CHANGE IN THE DRIVING REGULATION – CHANGE IN SPEED LIMIT. On the 28^th of December 2018, the Royal Decree 1514/2018 was published in the BOE ( Spanish Official Publication), by which it modifies the General Circulation Regulation and with it the speed limits in the following classification: 

o    Vehicles, motorcycles and auto-caravans with a maximum authorized weight below 3500 kg and pick-ups: with a speed limit of 120 km per hour on highway and 90 km per hour on conventional roads.

o    Trucks, tractor trucks, vans, auto-caravans with a maximum authorized weight above 3500 kg, articulated vehicles, vehicles with trailer and the rest of vehicles: with a speed limit of 90 km per hour on highways and 80 km per hour on conventional roads.

o    Buses, vehicles for tourist use and mixed adaptable vehicles: will have a top speed of 100km per hour on highways and 90 km per hour on conventional roads.

• RENTALS REFORM. The royal law decree 21/2018 of the 14th of December 2018 introduced urgent matters in the issue of leasing which saw implemented a series of changes among which were the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (Law of urban leasing) and Ley de Propiedad Horizontal ( Law that rules the community of owners).

o    In relation to the urban leasing (long term leases), the main changes implemented by the reform are the increase in the duration of the leases (which go from 3 to 5 years or 7 in the cases where the landlord is a company). Limitation of the deposit (up to a maximum of two moths rent), elimination of the payment of the stamp duty tax by the lease holder and an increased protection of eviction for those families considered vulnerable.

People with disabilities and older than 70 years of age will also have increased protection, as the reforms of the properties in terms of adaptability will derive from the reserve fund of the community of owners and will be mandatory of the Public Administration finances 75% of the cost of such.

o    In relation to touristic leases, the Royal Decree has introduced a change in the law of horizontal property, by which the community of owners of such can prohibit the use of touristic leases in such properties by means of an agreement approved with a majority of 3/5 of the owners and quotas, agreement which can never have retroactive effect. Communities will also have the ability to increase the fees for special expenses or common expenses for this type of housing whose destination is tourist rental, with a maximum of 20%.

However, in January 2019 the Congress of Deputies has not validated this Royal Decree 21/2018 by having the vote against the majority of political parties. The validity of the same therefore has been short-lived.

La Comunidad ha introducido rebajas en el Impuesto de Sucesiones durante los dos últimos años. En principio rebajó este tributo al 99% pero sólo para la transmisión de empresas familiares. Posteriormente se introdujo también una exención del 99% en las herencias o donaciones, pero solo para las familias numerosas especiales que tienen más de cinco hijos. Y ya, para este año 2018, esta reducción del 99% se aplica tanto para sucesiones como donaciones, beneficiando a los cónyuges de la persona fallecida y a los herederos de toda la línea ascendente y descendente (hijos, nietos, bisnietos, padres, abuelos, bisabuelos), dejando fuera a parientes como hermanos, primos y sobrinos.

Con esta reducción del Impuesto al 99% se termina con la situación injusta que han vivido muchas familias de tener que pedir un préstamo para liquidarlo o renunciar a una herencia que, con gran esfuerzo y dedicación, obtuvo en propiedad la persona fallecida.

Según los cálculos que maneja la Consejería, y a modo de ejemplo, para una herencia de 180.000 euros (cantidad que según el consejero se corresponde con el precio de mercado de una casa), un heredero solo tendrá que abonar 240 euros, cuando antes de 2014 la cantidad a pagar era de 24.000 euros

Pero ¿quién puede beneficiarse de esta reducción?

En el caso de la herencia, es necesario que el fallecido tuviese su residencia habitual en la Región de Murcia en los cinco años previos a su muerte. En caso contrario se aplicará la regla general.

En el caso de las donaciones intervivos, se beneficiarán los donatarios que residen en la Región de Murcia, aunque el donante viva en otra comunidad autónoma.

Para el resto de las herencias en las que el fallecido no fuera residente en Murcia, o donaciones recibidas por personas que no residan en Murcia, se aplicarán las reglas nacionales donde la bonificación del 99% no existe.