Is La Marina urb classed as "residential"? - Page 2

Thanks, I'm a great believer in karma. It amazes me how some people think they are above the law and can get away without paying their due taxes etc - I was laughed at by some people when I asked them if they'd paid their non resident tax this year. They said paying it was for mugs. I only bought a place last year so I'm still learning about the rules and regulations of owning a little place in the sun. There's lots the agents don't tell you and it's a responsibility on us all to educate ourselves to stay legal. Loving the place so far but the rose tinted glasses have long been discarded! 

Colin L I totally agree. Karma is real and why not pay correct taxes in Spain. If you don't do so eventually you WILL get caught same as Spain.

These days with social media and the internet it is easier to get caught.

Be honest and good things come to you.

There are Yorkshire Lass but we don't brag about paying as don't need to. People would rather talk about what they can get away with. Somehow I think they feel it is something to look up to.

Ego I guess.

Sad

Yes Andrew, it is sad for the people who have bought a home in a residential community then discover they are living next to a holiday rental.

We have a legal holiday let, got our license in 2015 - and we vet the guests as much as possible in advance.  Owned for 12 years and paid tax on the rentals in Spain (also declared in UK as UK resident).  I am aware that while we have been paying our taxes we have more than one British neighbour who has been pretending to live in the UK but actually living full-time illegally in Spain and not paying tax in Spain!  

It is the smaller apartments that will struggle most to get licenses now they are doing inspections as the rooms sizes (particularly kitchens and bathrooms) will be too small to qualify.  A lot of converted underbuilds will fail inspections due to low ceiling height or lack of windows/small windows in rooms advertised as bedrooms.

Advertising as 'license in process' still leaves the person open to fines as not actually licensed.  Advertising even on facebook without displaying the license number is still falling foul of the legalities.

Town halls now have the right to limit the number of licenses in their area, or to refuse to issue the compliance certificate on any property that is required before the owner can even apply for the license.

So if you are looking for a property that can be licensed make sure you check out the local situation, take a tape measure and ensure the agent and your solicitor know that the property must be able to comply with current requirements, and in an area where Town Halls are still issuing compliance certificates, before making any decision.  Also put it all in writing to both the agent and your solicitor (use an independent one that also handles license applications) that the purchase is subject to checks regarding the above before committing, ensuring that if you pay a deposit your solicitor holds onto your deposit (and refuses to pay it over to anyone else) until those checks are made.

Non-residents declare and pay tax every quarter on the rentals, residents declare it on their normal annual tax return.  If you are non-resident then your non-residents tax is reduced pro rata by the the number of days the property was let in that year.

Hope that helps.

Excellent advice, it's great to know at least some people are doing things by the book. Frankly, it all seems like too much hassle and I'm rapidly going off the idea, despite some people telling me to ignore the rules and just jump in and do it. I'm aware through my job that technology is increasingly being used to cross reference bank/tax and property details, so those people living under the radar will no longer have a hiding place. The laws on "unexplained wealth" give immense investigatory powers across Europe and there's a day of reckoning coming for a lot of people! 

And not before time IMO.

Coming on top of the issues generated by Brexit there must be a multitude quietly pooing bricks.

Agreed! 

The problem in our area are expat Brits complaining about other expat Brits teenagers and their friends using the pool area, yes a little noisy at times but I think some forget they were kids once.