Buyers of illegal homes in Catral, Valencia, have high hopes for the future thanks to the AECU.

As homeowners on the Costa Blanca face bills for infrastructure, a consumer’s association has stepped in to save the day. Torrevieja-based consumers’ association AECU has launched a bid to force the builders of 1,300 illegal homes in Catral to foot the bulk of the bill to install crucial infrastructure such as the installation of sewage systems and street lighting.

The AECU’s president Honorio Fernández say innocent property buyers should not be ones to pay up, stating that the people responsible for constructing the illegal homes should meet the costs. “Our way defends the buyers who are the victims in this, and not the builders,” he says. “We will be asking the mayor to fine the builders and in this way reduce the amount that the home owners have to pay.”

In 2006 regional councillor Esteban González Pons estimated that promoters had made €80 million in profits from the illegal building in Catral. To date no builder has been charged with any criminal offence over the construction scandal, but as Sr Fernández continues to speak on behalf of the unfortunate British buyers, this could be set to change.

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Damian George

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