The huge lemon tree on our patio in the Albayzin district of Granada is, and always has been, ecological and entirely natural. And just as in the human population people are made in all shapes and sizes, so it is with lemons! In the photo there are a few of this year's plentiful crop. Most are round, the shape associated with lemons, but some are e

We had been thinking for many years about retiring to Spain and each year we spent some of our holidays visiting different areas.  Les was born and grew up in the West Indies and wanted to get back to warmer weather than that of England.  Auds is from the Emerald Isle and a sun lover.  We have two children, both with commitments in E

On 12 May 2016 a decree enacted in 2012 (Decree 28/2012) comes into force. It has important bearings on people who rent their homes or parts of their property for holiday lets on a daily or weekly basis. This affects many of our clients. Under this decree all persons who let their properties in this way will be required to register the activity. Th

In a recent legislative amendment the national government has empowered local authorities to reduce the amount of IBI payable according to the energy efficiency of a property. There is a sliding scale of reductions ranging from 4% for a class E property to 20 % for a class A property. But don’t get too excited. Firstly, of all of the properties we

Last week I met an English resident of rural Andalusia who, around a year ago, went to see his local GP complaining of chest pains. It was diagnosed as bronchitis but, three weeks later, when it hadn't go away he returned to the surgery. A second doctor immediately arranged for him to have tests at a hospital. Guess what? The result was that he had

Imagine you are a Spanish home owner unable to meet your monthly mortgage repayments. You have two choices: either sell the property, pay off the loan and pocket whatever difference remains or sit tight and do nothing until the bank eventually obtains an order to evict you. In countries such as the United Kingdom the lender takes the risk that the

Each time a property is transferred from one person (physical or legal) to another, the transaction attracts an Impuesto Sobre Transmisión de Patrimonio (I.T.P.). Or, in English, Tax on the Transfer of Wealth. This tax is payable by the buyer and is levied by the Autonomous Region level of government. In the case of Andalucia it is the Junta de And