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ARCHIVED - Living the nightmare: an in-depth look at the British expats forced to live without water or electricity in Murcia
The homes of 200 expats in Gea y Truyols, Murcia were built without planning permission and have been deemed “illegal”
For countless Britons, Spain represents the retirement dream and UK travellers flock to the sun-drenched Region of Murcia each year, renowned for being one of the happiest places in the country. But for some 200 older British expats who bought plots of land in the Gea y Truyols area of Murcia, this dream has become a nightmare as they continue to wage a two-decade-long battle to access the simplest of amenities.
This cohort of expats, mostly pensioners, bought their sites back in 2002 believing that they had been built according to Spanish law. However, unbeknownst to the buyers, the developer hadn’t applied for planning permission, essentially meaning that their homes are illegal. Many of the Britons claim that they were reassured by lawyers that the rural plot of land was “zoned to be urbanised” and that they would be issued with the proper Escritura, or deeds, once their properties had been built, but this never materialised.
The shady builder also disappeared in the middle of the construction project, leaving the urbanisation half finished without proper roads, paths or facilities.
Lawyer Gerardo Vazquez explains the legal implications:
“To get access to utilities you need what’s called a First Occupational License, which is a document given by the Administration to say the house has been built with planning permission, what has been built is in accordance with the planning permission, it’s got the services.
“Therefore, it can be used, and you can connect to services like electricity and water, but those houses don't seem to have that.
“What they have is an undivided share, so they have a share of a big piece of land, so that is what they can sell.”
For 20 years, the expats have been living in their ‘dream’ homes without essential basic services; some have installed solar panels at their own expense to generate electricity, while others siphon water from nearby agricultural land, which isn’t fit for human consumption. Unable to sell on their illegal homes individually, the Britons are stuck firmly between a rock and a very hard place.
“We’re in bloody Europe!”
73-year-old Linda House bought her Murcia home with late husband Vic, who has tragically passed away without seeing any resolution.
“There is no point in worrying in Spain. You never know what is going to happen,” she said.
“It just seems crazy to me. When you watch British TV, you see the adverts for WaterAid and it just makes us laugh.
“Send your money to Africa because they haven’t got drinking water.
“Well, we’re in bloody Europe and we haven’t either. It’s ridiculous. It is an absolutely ludicrous situation.”
Murcia Town Hall has remained silent on the matter, although back in January a local councillor did meet with members of the dedicated residents group set up by the expats, AUN Murcia. The talks ended in bitter disappointment for the Britons, however, who reported that the officials were ill-informed about their plight and offered no solutions.
With little resolution in sight, lawyer Pedro Rivera has made a fresh appeal to the powers that be to grant the residents deeds to their homes and access to utilities.
They bought their homes in good faith, he said, pay their taxes each year and yet “some of them have died without seeing this problem resolved. I appeal to the sensitivity of the local authorities so that these people who paid for their houses can have access to the public services that any urbanisation has.”
Images: Linda House
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