|
Costa del Sol |
![]() |
|
|
Property harassment on increase in Malaga
• 03 May 2007 •
THE shadow of property harassment is extending all over Malaga.
A consumer rights spokesman, Francisco Gutiérrez stated that cases of property owners who pressure their tenants, who have old and cheap rental agreements, to abandon their dwellings so that they can refurbish or demolish them and then sell them at a higher price, grow every day.
Gutierrez has a total of 25 cases he is currently investigating of ‘frightened old women’, some cases having arrived only recently. Most of them refer to buildings in the old part of town and the surrounding areas, including the Capuchinos area, La Trinidad, El Perchel or La Malagueta, but according to Gutierrez, the phenomenon also exists in areas further outside like El Palo.
The Public Prosecutor has recently opened proceedings in two separate cases. One in the calle Mariscal, where two women have been living without running water for more than a month and the building is in a very bad state of disrepair. The landlord also owns a second property which is also in a similar state.
The second case refers to the area of Felix Cantalicio, where around twenty families live in what can only be described as derelict houses where rats and vermin run rampant.
Near to this second area, on calle Parras, other families live in a similar state of existence and are also victims of this harassment.
According to the residents, the owner promised to renew the block but until now he has only put some scaffolding in place.
Another case is in the calle Constancia, near to the old bullring. Six families live amongst rats, patched walls, cracks and propped-up ceilings.
Rosalina Rando has lived there since she was married. A month ago, part of the ceiling in her kitchen fell down while she was preparing lunch. She told the landowner but “he said he wouldn’t do any repairs here”, explained Rosalina. She continued, “This is unbearable. Last week a rat came in through the window.”
Her neighbour Ana, aged 73, has also encountered the rats. “Not long ago I put down some cardboard with glue on it and I caught 13 in one week, and another four in the house next door,” she affirmed.
Her main problem is in the floor in the middle of the living room, which has caved in and the ceiling in the bathroom has been destroyed by dampness.
All of the affected residents have displayed protest messages in their windows for the attention of the Urbanism authorities, but there has been no reply.
“We would be satisfied if they gave us another place to live and rent - anywhere,” adds Rosalina.
Gutierrez says, however, that in at least five cases, a solution has been found that satisfies both owner and tenant – a ray of hope for the other families, victims of property harassment. |  Return to Top
Home Page
Send by Email |
|
Share on Facebook
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
![]()
| Birthdays |
| |
Malcolm Young - 55 - Australian guitarist (AC/DC),
Van Dyke Parks - 65 - American singer,
Patty Loveless - 51 - American singer, |
|
| |
more... |
|
 |
|
