During the property boom era, Spain witnessed (similar to other countries, but on a larger scale) a mass amount of corruption in ... relation to its planning laws.
It is rumoured that Marbella will be one of the first to announce amnesty for around 20,000 illegally built properties. Malaga is said to follow suit with its declaration of amnesty where it has been estimated that in the region of 40,000 properties were illegally built.
The move to call for amnesty resulted from the sheer volume of illegally built properties and the demolition of all illegal properties would not be practical or cost effective. However some local authorities have said that where properties are built on protected lands they will be demolished eventually.
In other areas of Spain, such as Mijas, property fines are no longer being issued to owners of illegal properties. They plan to pass a new town plan in the next year and a half that will make many of the properties in the area legal.
