“This is not a problem, it is a problem that has gotten out of hand in recent years,” warn the town councils in the south of Tenerife consulted by DIARIO DE AVISOS to describe the proliferation of an illegal phenomenon that is increasingly widespread in the region and that affects especially to the municipalities with the greatest urban expansion: the illegal subdivision of rural land to subsequently convert it into developable land through deeds.
Several mayors have expressed to this newspaper their “enormous concern” about the rise of “containers, caravans and wooden houses” on rustic soils, especially in the suburbs. In some cases, through parcel subdivisions and in others, directly on uncut land.
The pressure due to exorbitant rental prices and the unstoppable population growth have contributed to spreading this phenomenon throughout the southern part of the Island.
Some councilors warn that “many foreigners are being deceived” who are being sold protected land “by being told they can build.”
They recall that any building in a rustic space entails the opening of a disciplinary file, sanction and, predictably, demolition, “except in the cases allowed by law on rural agricultural land, such as tool rooms dimensioned to the extension of the land”.
In addition, they agree that the “avalanche” of this illegal activity, staged, in many cases, from the fencing of rustic land, supposes an added pressure on the territory and puts at risk the agricultural essence of the southern midlands of the Island. For all these reasons, potential buyers are recommended to inquire in advance at the town halls.
So far this year, the Agency for the Protection of the Natural Environment, in charge of controlling the urban and environmental discipline of the Islands, has opened a total of 1,434 infraction files, most of them (871) for illegal construction of houses .
This was indicated to this newspaper by Ángel Fariña, director of the agency, who highlighted a new factor that is influencing the proliferation of these irregular buildings along the medians.
palm effect
“There are people who have seen the wooden and container-type houses on La Palma and think that this can also be done on any rustic land under land protection and it is not like that, it is illegal and it is punishable with fines according to what is interpreted as a very serious infraction”, warned Fariña, who recalled the “extraordinary situation” of La Palma due to the volcanic eruption.
The Canarian Agency for the Protection of the Natural Environment already intervened last October, at the request of the Arona City Council, in an illegal subdivision of more than 150,000 square meters of rustic land for agricultural protection in the Lomo Negro area, close to El Fraile . In this case, the three parcels, owned by the same company, were sealed, and now it will be reported to the Prosecutor’s Office, assured Ángel Fariña, who warns: “Others may come behind this case.”
From the Agency, which acts in coordination with the municipalities, it is recalled that the responsibility falls on both the seller and the executor of the divisions of plots and the person responsible for the illegal actions that are committed on the ground. Not only will the sanction for the commission of an administrative infraction fall on them, but the obligation to restore the altered reality, which includes the demolition of fences and the regrouping of the plots, which, depending on the case, may be accompanied by plowing of roads, clearing or dismantling of services.
At the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Planning already announced among its priorities to act against these irregular practices. From the department headed by José Antonio Valbuena, it is recalled that the sanctions can reach 300,000 euros in very serious cases, as specified in the Law on Land and Protected Natural Areas of the Canary Islands.
The Government of the Canary Islands emphasizes that the correct path for the reclassification of land established by law is through planning and that any action aimed at converting land into developable land by way of facts supposes a “comparative grievance” and a ” injustice” with respect to people who act according to the law.
Also remember that, when a plot of rustic land is acquired because it is cheaper and it is illegally subdivided, serious problems arise related to the provision of roads and priority services for which sufficient spaces have not been provided for their installation. , such as health, school or sports infrastructures.
