The public prosecutor has charged a man in Las Pitas, Cordoba, with illegally building a 150 square meter house on land he owned. If found guilty, he could be jailed for one year, fined 3,300 euros and expected to meet the costs of demolishing his house. The land is on archaeological protected land near the “Medina Azahara” monument.

According to the prosecutor, the man, identified as 37 year old J.C.D.F., built his chalet on family land with no permits, despite knowing the land was classified as protected (B.I.C.) by the Junta de Andalucia, as well as being rustic.

The oral hearing will be held next week in Penal Court Nº1 of Cordoba city. This is the same court that issued Cordoba’s first demolition order, an order dating from 2007 in the village of Obejo. The order has been appealed against by the house owners and is currently in the Constitutional Court.

The same court also ordered, in a similar case, the demolition of a house in 2008 which was also built in Las Pitas. The owners of the house, a father and son, were sentenced to 18 months in prison and their home torn down after the court refused to accept their argument that they did not realise the land was protected.

Lawyers for the defence have argued that a number of illegal homes in the same area have been put up, but that only some home owners have been prosecuted.

Original Source – The Reader

Related Posts

• January 9, 2010 -- UKIP – Brits “tricked” into buying in Spain (5)
  The Reader has a really interesting interview with Nigel Farage, MEP and ex...
• January 9, 2010 -- AUAN Lay On More Buses For Illegal Property March (2)
  AUAN (Abusos Urbanisticos Almanzora NO) who are organising the march on Mon...
• December 30, 2009 -- Advances made in process to legalise properties in Chiclana (1)
  The owners of illegal properties are reported to have accepted the Town Hal...
• November 23, 2009 -- Expats fear years-long wait over illegal homes in Almanzora Valley (1)
  Many British owners are without water and electricity owing to the irregula...
• July 28, 2009 -- Owners manage to postpone demolition of their illegal home in Cártama (1)
  They refused to allow access without a court order for entry to the propert...