We probe the rise of the far right in Spain
Banderas and our guide to Semana Santa SEE PAGE 9
SEE PAGE 6
PLUS don’t miss the coast’s Property coolest Property Magazine FREE ROCK STEADY INSIDE be Ma st lag ma pro a’s ga pe zin rty e
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Issue 28
April 2019
remarkable centre could win Spain PLASTIC FANTASTIC: How this architectural prize, See page IV
important
WOAH: Emerging from the rock, this stunning home in Valencia is trademark Fran Silvestre, a Spanish architect who is continuing to make his mark in the architectural world. See Fran-tastic page XVI
T
grown for HE average property price in Spain has in a decade. two consecutive years for the first time from between The national average house price rose 3.9% to 8.4%, according to various sources. the islands, where most Along the Mediterranean coasts and on been 4.06%, according foreigners buy, the average price hike has company. to Tinsa, Spain’s leading property appraisalup for the big drops But the figures have mostly not yet madethe exception of the during the long six year recession, with
Prices rise for two consecutive years, while mortgage values continue to grow
Balearic Islands. the recovery began, “Prices have been rising most years since and nowhere near but nothing like they did in the boom years, the bust,” explained reenough to claw back the ground lost in Property Insight. spected analyst Mark Stucklin, of Spanish
data suggests that the However, he added ‘at the very least, the year.’ Spanish property continued to grow last was up 6.1% in Mortgage lending to home buyers meanwhile to the Association of January to 19,390 new loans, according Spanish Notaries. had a value of €135,616, The average new loan made in January as mortgage lending for an increase of 0.9% in a year. As long as it has done for residential acquisitions continues to increase, market is set to grow. the last few years, the Spanish property
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Leisure island
Gibraltar has announced a major new £300 million development. Victoria Keys will create up to 60,000 meters of new land from reclamation. The project will be made up of housing, leisure, community, retail and commercial space.
Power grab
SPAIN’S PP party has set out audacious plans for a power grab to take back control from Andalucia and the other autonomous regions. Leader Pablo Casado announced his commitment to strengthen the central government’s role in the run up to national elections in a fortnight. He insisted that such a move would prevent corruption and lead to a drop in taxes. It comes as the party attempts to see off the threat from an insurgent Vox Party, whose leader has described the Junta and other autonomous parliaments the ‘cancer of Spain’. Under the plan, the PP wants to increase resources for regional government delegations and paralyse any further transfer of power to the regions.
Supremacy
The supremacy of the National Police and Guardia Civil over regional security bodies would also be enshrined under the proposals advanced by PP. Casado insisted the move would see Spain being administered ‘more effectively’. The election hopeful stated that his party would carry out a sweeping review of how the regional authorities operate looking at ‘efficiency and equity.’ Spain’s quasi-federal political system of ‘autonomous states’ was added to the constitution in 1978. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, whose party drafted the constitution, strongly opposed the plan, insisting the PSOE would defend ‘tooth and nail’ the principal of regional self-government.
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Vol. 13 Issue 315 www.theolivepress.es April 10th - April 23rd 2019
Homeless expat’s desperate plea after tenant refuses to pay rent or leave his home
Get out of My home BATTLE: (Above) For home and (right) Patrick with proof of ownership
Tel: 952 147 834 See page 31
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AN expat has been made homeless after his British tenant refused to move out and allegedly ‘threatened to kill him’ if he returned. Patrick O’Loughlin, 72, is appealing for help after being forced to sleep rough after finding himself unable to afford the cost of a hotel. The British pensioner, from London, has
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been dossing down on benches at train stations and Malaga airport. Despite having evidence that he owns the property, the Londoner says he has had little help from the cops and that his case is making its way too slowly through the courts. “My wife left me that home when she died eight years ago and I can prove it,” O’Loughlin - who suffers from high blood pressure - told the Olive Press. “My tenant agreed to move out in February but she is still there and now there is a huge man living in my bedroom and they won’t leave. “They both owe me at least €1,500 in rent.” www.eliteglasscurtains.com O’Loughlin said when he calls po-
lice to the home in Fuengirola, his tenant, a British woman, manages to ‘sweet talk’ the cops with her fluent Spanish. He also believes the tenant - who the Olive Press exposed several years ago in a furniture scam - has used his bank account to pay for the internet and other items. “She has totally conned me,” the fatherof-one continued. “She under-paid her first month’s rent and asked me for my bank details to pay me the rest. “Stupidly I gave her them because I trusted her, and now there’s a string of strange charges on my account.” The Olive Press has seen bank statements which appear to back up O’Loughlin’s claims. The expat, who has lived in Spain for decades, has asked Olive Press readers for help. “If anyone can offer me a place to stay for a few days or can offer any legal aid it would be brilliant, I need all the help I can get to get. I just want them gone.” O’Loughlin’s son, who asked not to be named, showed messages to this paper, from the tenant, threatening to kill his dad if he tried to enter his home again. The Olive Press visited the property this week but the tenant was not available to comment. Email newsdesk@theolivepress.es if you can help