PRESS RELEASE
Planning Department to Streamline Adoption of Urbanisations
Javea. Wednesday, 7 September 2011.
The Javea Town Hall Planning Department has assigned two technicians to oversee the adoption of urbanisations, putting an end to the existing backlog and attending to the problems of certain urbanisations on which many homes have not been able to obtain their occupancy certificate (cédula de habitabilidad), despite being lived in for many years. As Sapena explained, from now on, when a negative report is issued for the adoption of an urbanisation, this will also be accompanied by an assessment and deadlines for the correction of the defects. This way, if the developer has not taken the due measures within the allotted time, “the Town Hall will execute the works using for this the guarantee funds in deposit”.
Sapena stated that with these new measures, the Planning Department intends to streamline the process for the adoption of urbanisations and the granting of certificates of occupancy to owners. This measure will also increase revenues to municipal coffers with the collection of Council Tax (IBI) for the homes newly included in the land registry. The Councillor pointed out that in some cases the defects were as minor as a street lamp which, out of negligence, had failed to be installed by the developer. Until now, deadlines had never been established. In other cases where the development companies have ceased to exist, the Town Hall will now execute the bonds left in deposit and carry out the works, thus avoiding unnecessary and prolonged suffering on the part of owners who have bought their homes in good faith and are in the middle of a battle between developers and the Town Hall.
The Councillor in charge of the Foreign Residents, Oscar Anton, explained the details of these new measures to the neighbourhood association of Las Laderas. This association, the majority of whose members are British, invited the Councillor to their AGM to inform him of the problems in Las Laderas. According to the residents, the Town Council has delayed the adoption of the urbanisation so long that many homeowners there have been waiting over 10 years to obtain their occupancy certificates (cédula de habitabilidad).
The meeting, held in English, was very fruitful. Anton provided an update on the status of the urbanisation’s file in the Municipal Technical Office. In March 2010 this urbanisation received a list of defects to be remedied prior to its adoption, along with the payment of the required fee by the developer to connect the sewage to the collector of Cansalades -Umbria Sector. With the new measures now in place, the urbanization could be adopted in just a few months.
