Introduction

Recognising that the 2002 regulations governing urban planning (known as LOUA: la Ley de Ordenación Urbanística de Andalucía) were too restrictive and based on an outmoded way of thinking, the Junta de Andalucia set about creating a more flexible model and this was brought into effect in June 2022. The new regulations are known as the LISTA: la Ley de Impulso Para La Sostenabilidad del Territory de Andalucía.

What Are The Possibilities?

There are two possible ways to buy a property that has a loan outstanding attached to it:

Introduction

If you own a property in Spain but are not fiscally resident in the country, that is if you spend less than 183 days per year in Spain, you are considered to be non-resident. Non-residents will normally need to justify to which tax authority they pay their taxes. Governments don't like citizens to be non-resident everywhere! Your tax residence is important as it affects what type of taxes you pay and how much. These are the taxes to which non-residents are subject:

Income Tax

Non-residents in Spain are generally subject to a flat tax rate of 24% on income earned in the country. This applies to employment income, rental income, and other sources of income generated in Spain. Income generated outside Spain is taxed in the country in which you are fiscally resident.

What is the Spanish Digital Nomad Visa?

Recognising the significant rise in people's ability to work remotely, which was strengthened by the recent Covid pandemic, and a widespread desire to experience living in various locations, the Spanish government introduced at the end of 2022 a visa which would enable such people to reside temporarily in Spain. The government's motives were not altruistic. They were aware that such nomads are often highly paid professionals and Spain would benefit from both their spending power and their taxes. Spain is a very attractive location for people who are able to work remotely: the climate, excellent communications, fast internet speeds, low cost of living relative to most European countries, availability of coliving facilities and the friendliness of its people.

Who Is It Aimed At?

Photo: El Independiente de Granada

Last Saturday, I sat in the car for ten minutes trying to get to my garage, having entered the Albayzín via Calle Pagés. What the hell was going on? So much traffic leaving and trying to enter the barrio. It didn't help that the pilonas (bollards that restrict entry to residents only) had been removed at the end of August and should have been replaced by end-September by more efficient models. There was unrestricted vehicle access to the Albayzín. Crazy.

That area of the Albayzín was also thick with pedestrians, milling around and through the traffic, some of whom were in fancy dress and all of whom were noisily enjoying themselves. I had chanced on a procession I knew nothing about, despite living here for more than twenty years.

Each Autumn there is a fun gathering and procession for the little toe. Not just any toe. The severed little toe of a man named Chemi Márquez. Twenty-nine years ago he was in a traffic accident while riding his motor bike in the centre of Granada. His little toe was severed. With the compensation, he bought a house in the Albayzín (now named after the toe) and decided to preserve it in formaldehyde and keep it in a niche in the house. Each Autumn the 'uncorrupted little toe' is taken out of its crypt and paraded in its glass casket on the shoulders of four bearers, with music, song and banners. This year arorund 400 people helped celebrate showing the toe to the sky.

Wonderfully absurd. Just one of the reasons I love living here.

What is the Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa?

The Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa is a means for non-EU citizens to live legally in Spain. It is aimed principally at retired people who have income arising in their home country (or elsewhere) with which they can sustain themselves while living in Spain. Buying a property in Spain does not give an automatic right to a Non-Lucrative Visa. Holders of the Non-Lucrative Visa are required to live in Spain for a minimum of 183 days per calendar year.

Benefits of the Non-Lucrative Visa

What is the Spanish Golden Visa?

The Spanish Golden Visa is a residency-by-investment program that grants non-European Union (EU) citizens the right to reside in Spain by investing in the country's real estate market (or other qualifying assets). Established in 2013, this initiative has gained popularity among non-EU nationals looking to live permanently in Spain.

Investment Options

A new draft law states that civil servants can lose their positions if they fail an evaluation of their ability to work. A radical change from the existing system of jobs for life. One you've passed the competitive oposiciones exam and secured your first position, you have a job for life, regardless of your level of incompetence, something the current government is attempting to redress.

A Controversial New Law

The regional government in Andalusia has recently unveiled a €133m plan for eco-housing. Dubbed the “Ecovivienda Plan”, it will generate €133.5m for refurbishing homes and buildings, emphasising energy efficiency across the region. 

More than 25,000 Andalusian families are expected to benefit, claiming aid of up to 80% for the total cost of improving energy efficiency. The plan aims to cut emissions within residential areas by 30%. 

The Andalusian government has launched the so-called Ecovivienda Plan, which will mobilise €133.5 millions for the refurbishment of homes and buildings, with the emphasis on energy efficiency and sustainability. The programme, which includes funds from the European Next Generation programme aims to benefit more than 25,000 families in Andalucia with subsidies of up to 80% of the total cost of energy saving improvement. The higher the energy saving, the greater the percentage of subsidy. The overall aim is to reduce emissions in the Andalusian residential stock by 30%.

Various types of improvement will be covered by the scheme, for example: insulation in façades and roofs by installing new windows and doors, installing renewable energy systems such as photovoltaic panels, solar panels for hot water, aerothermal energy, biomass boilers or more efficient lighting systems.

Just twenty minutes drive from the Albayzin is the lake at Beznar formed when a dam was built across the rivers Torrente and Ízbor as well as several streams running down from the western end of the Sierra Nevada.

A great place to picnic with large expanses of grass and very few people. There is also a chiringuito (bar) that serves drinks and you can hire kayaks and pedalos from €10/hour for a kayak and €15/hour for a four person pedal. It's a wonderful feeling to be out on the water in such a quiet environment with fantastic mountain views, and so close to the city.

In Spain secondary school runs from 12 - 16 years old, four years split into two cycles of two years. After this students can either leave school or opt for one of two paths: academic (choosing between four bachilleratos: Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities or Art) or practical (formación profesional) for a further two years. At the end of the this time, in the academic path, a series of external exams are taken (selectividad) which, together with the average of course work marks for the ten subjects studied, forms the basis for entry into university.

The curious element of this sytem is that it is based not as a percentage but as a mark out of fourteen, which is particularly strange given that the bachillerato course comprises ten subjects.

The travel magazine Viajar has just published an article entitled The 15 Most Beautiful Districts of Spain.

At Number 1 is the Albayzin in Granada.

One of the benefits of owning a property in Andalucía is enjoying the astoundingly vast and beautiful natural surroundings. From the seaside to the mountains, one can choose from such a vast collection of different routes and paths that getting lost in nature every so often becomes part of normal life. Often we come across new wonders by accident, but are the days of such accidental discoveries over?

While our parents and grandparents used to tackle excursions with nothing more than a map and their intuition, we have become increasingly more dependent on new technologies to do something so simple as getting from A to B. The arrival of GPS drastically changed the way we navigate the world, both figuratively and literally. In fact, scientists are now arguing that the excessive use of GPS is actually modifying our brain structure, making our hippocampus, the special place in the brain dedicated to special orientation, much smaller. Consequently, we are losing our natural orientation skills. When we force our brain to calibrate, identify landmarks and find our path, it expands its network of neurons and promotes connections between them. However, when we look at our GPS and just follow directions on Google Maps, the brain does not need to form those connections, and thus it loses its ability to form them in the future.

Spatial orientation, an intrinsic human ability that has allowed us to evolve over the years, is now in serious danger. It is a vicious circle: the more we use GPS, the more we damage our sense of direction, and the more we need to use it.

But it is not only our spatial ability that can be affected by the modern habit of following GPS directions. Because the hippocampus is also responsible for storing our memories, not training it properly can also lead to memory loss and an impairment of our mental abilities later in life. The brain, just like any other muscle in the body, needs to be trained periodically, and Google Maps is the equivalent of taking an elevator instead of using the stairs: convenient but not too good for our overall health.

Granada is one of the most beautiful cities in Andalusia. It combines a vibrant city full of life with astounding natural scenery of Sierra Nevada. It is one of the favourite places for expats looking for a property in the South of Spain to retire or to work remotely. However, even though the cultural heritage in the city is extremely well preserved, some of its urban natural resources have not been so well taken care of. This is the case of its principal river, the Genil.

The Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) 'Montevilla Chorreao' from the Granada municipality of Montefrío is the healthiest in the world for its composition in fatty acids, bisphenols and oleocanthal (a natural anti-inflammatory present in it that causes the sensation of itching in the throat when tasting it).

Or so the jury of the international competition The World Best Healthy EVOO 2021-2022 (The 10 Best EVOOs in the world), one of the most prestigious in the sector, in which EVOOs from all over the world participate, whose decision was recently announced.

Montevilla Chorreao oil, from the San Francisco de Asís de Montefrío cooperative, won the gold medal in the healthy composition category, along with others from Spain, Greece and Portugal.

We are often asked this question by clients intending to buy property in Andalucia. Very often it is because they have been asked to pay for "furniture" separately from the purchase of property and to do so in cash.

Firstly let's deal with how much cash you can bring into the country. Law 10/2010, of 28th April, on the prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism limits the maximum amount of euros or equivalent in other currencies to €10.000 per person. Beyond this level each individual must make a declaration on entering or leaving. Obviously, if someone leaves with more than they enter, the supposition is that they must have earned/gained it while in the country, for which reason they may be liable to tax.

Secondly, within the territory of Spain there is a limit of €100.000 that may be moved in cash without need of declaring it.

Thirdly, in all transactions involving a professional (retailer, accountant, plumber etc.) there is a limit of €1.000 that may be paid in cash. This was established in Law 11/2021 of 9 July. Above this level, a bank transfer or credit card payment is necessary.

The Spanish long distance railroad network is known for its reliability and safety. Spaniards have embraced the train as one of the fastest and more convenient ways to move around the country. For Andalucía, the train is a vital infrastructure to ensure not only good connections with Madrid and Barcelona, the key business nodes in Spain, but also between the eight Andalusian provinces. Andalusia is the second biggest region in Spain by area. With 87,5 km2 and eight provinces, it has the largest population of any region in Spain, and thus it relies heavily on a strong train network.   

The first high velocity train route in Spain ran between Madrid and Seville. The AVE (which stands for Alta Velocidad Española, Spanish High-Velocity) was inaugurated shortly before the 1992 World Expo, held in Seville, Andalusia’s capital. It was a huge milestone for a country that was just recovering from an economic crisis, and wanted to show the world that it could get up to speed – both literally and figuratively. The route Madrid-Seville quickly became very popular and has already reached the milestone of 83 million passengers. 

Since then, Spain has been expanding its high-speed network which now extends to more than 4.300 kms, with a further 1.380 kms under construction, including seven routes in Andalucía. This positions Spain as the second country in the world in terms of a high-velocity train network. Only China has a more extensive network. 

There is another very popular train service in Spain, the AVANT, which is particularly useful for Andalusians. These trains, which are not as quick as the AVE but reach higher speeds than conventional trains, cover medium distances and Spaniards mainly use them for trips between neighbouring autonomous communities, or to travel to other provinces within the same region. 

The 34th edition of the annual International Tango Festival in Granada returns to Isabel la Católica Theatre next week. Fun fact: the festival has managed to run every year since the beginning of the pandemic. Not even Covid-19 has managed to silence tango it seems!

This year the festival kicks off with the opening event on Tuesday the 15th of March at Granada City Hall and continues with nightly shows at 21:00h in the above mentioned theatre from Wednesday the 16th through to Saturday the 19th and a final performance at 20:00h on Sunday the 20th of March. Tickets are on sale from 12 to 18 euros.

But Isabel la Católica Theatre is not the only place where you will find passion for tango this next week. There are a number of other events (some free and some paid) happening around the city.