BRITISH expats in Spain have blasted the EU’s response to their “dreadful” living conditions, branding the bloc a “complete waste of time”.
A group of around 200 retired British nationals living in Spain have issued dramatic warnings after their homes built without planning permission have still not been granted the necessary protections. Many of the expats, like 72-year-old Linda House, were sold land 20 years ago and were advised that pending planning permission would be fine and it was “safe” to build on the land, only to find their new houses were deemed “illegal”. A toxic mix of historic planning failures, Spanish bureaucracy and a lack of help from the government has left them in a very precarious position. The elderly Britons claim they are being “punished” after their access to water and electricity was allegedly cut off by the local authorities. The pensioners, who live in the tiny area of Gea y Truyols in the Spanish region of Murcia, say that two decades after moving to Spain their dream homes are still not legal. In a letter to Murcia Town Hall sent earlier this year, and seen by Express.co.uk, the group claims they have been waiting 18 to 19 years to get their properties legalised.
The expats write that they have had an “extremely stressful time” and that they are living in “third world country” conditions due to their lack of access to water and electricity.