What happens if you receive a notice of expropriation?
Your SL has a plot of land next to your warehouse and the Town Hall has informed you that it needs a part of it to build sports facilities. Are you obliged to to support the expropriation?
See how to proceed and whether the price offered is correct.
What is expropriation?
The law of compulsory expropriation and its Regulation of the Law of Compulsory Expropriation allows the Administration to make privately owned land its own (expropriate it) for public purposes or in the social interest in exchange for a fair price -called justiprecio- (as compensation for the loss of the property and rights that were held on that land).
However, the public utility of the property to be expropriated must be sufficiently justified or you may oppose the expropriation.
How the law on compulsory purchase works
Public utility
First of all, the Town Council must make a declaration of public utility or social interest with respect to the property to be expropriated; that is, it must determine and describe the reason why it is necessary to take part of its land in order to build a municipal sports facility.
To this end, the Town Council must:
- Formulate a concrete and individualised list of the expropriation, with a description of the expropriated property and its material aspects (dimensions, quality of the land…) and legal aspects (who is the owner, if there are encumbrances…).
- And justify the need for expropriation with objective data (for example, because there is no other similar facility in the municipality -or the one that exists is insufficient-, because there is no other more suitable location and in addition only the fair and necessary part will be expropriated…).
Arguments of the expropriated party
If you do not agree with the expropriation dossier, you have the right to challenge it by presenting the appropriate allegations within 15 days of notification of the declaration of utility.
The grounds for challenge must be based on the declaration of utility, alleging that the Town Council has not correctly delimited the social interest that justifies the expropriation (for example, that the file contains errors in the description of the property, the public utility is not correctly justified, there is the possibility of occupying other properties…).
Resolution
Once your allegations have been reviewed, the competent body has a maximum of 20 days to take a decision.
The decision must state the reasons for the need for the occupation (i.e. why it is necessary to occupy your land and not another) and why there is a need for the sports facilities in your municipality.
Otherwise, you may challenge the decision and it may be declared null and void and the expropriation proceedings cancelled.
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Leer másHow is the fair value assessed and paid?
Valuation
They will have to offer you an amount based on the value of the land and any property rights or interests that may exist (easements, plantations, livestock exploitation…), in short, based on whether you use this land and for what purpose.
This is calculated with an appraisal.
If you disagree, proceed as follows:
- Challenge the valuation and submit a counter-offer (include an expert report by a technician justifying the value you have given).
- If no agreement is reached, you can go to court to have a judge decide the most appropriate value for the property.
Payment of the expropriation
The compensation may be paid in cash or in kind (e.g. with another similar piece of land), and the municipality has six months to make the payment.
From the sixth month onwards, interest will accrue and, if the delay exceeds four years, you can demand that the property be revalued.
This payment is exempt from costs and taxes, although you will have to declare the gain or loss in your IS and issue the corresponding invoice, which in this case is subject to VAT (as it is a plot of land).
Expropriation must always be justified in the public interest and you have the right to have this interest established, to receive a fair price for the property and to challenge the expropriation, cancelling the file, if your rights are violated.
