City officials collected nearly 1.5 million for violations during a period when the number of incidents declined after the department was strengthened.
According to Palma City Council, in the first six months of this year, the Department of Urban Planning Management has imposed a total of 64 sanctions for unlawful or unauthorized work. These sanctions, which amount to almost 1.5 million euros, are far below those of the same period in 2021, when the numbers skyrocketed and Cort imposed 105 sanctions for non-compliance with urban planning regulations in the first half of the year, amounting to almost 4.5 million euros.
The figures for the first half of this year are similar to 2020, when 104 fines totaling 1.2 million were imposed during the 12-month period. The 200 percent increase in fines and 500 percent increase in collections over the past year is due to regulatory changes that "encourage compliance," according to city officials.
It is recalled that after the above change, which was accompanied by a strengthening of the Department of Urban Planning to improve its efficiency, there was an increase in sanctions, which this year has returned to the usual level.
Previously, the fine was reduced by 95% if an unlicensed work was legalized within two months of the initiation of proceedings. After the amendment to the Land Code requested by the City Council at that time, the reduction of the fine for bringing construction works into compliance with the law was limited to 50%. "With this control by the administration, it is not so profitable to carry out works that do not comply with the regulations," the city council said in a press release.
Penalties
In this sense, they also stressed that in case of non-compliance with demolition orders for illegal structures, the territory can impose up to 12 penalty fines equal to 10% of the value of the project, with a minimum of 600 euros, until the owners discard the project. According to the same sources, 195,000 euros in fines were imposed in this way this semester, while 450,000 euros were collected in this way last year.
Author:
Dr. Dominic John Patrick Porta, LL.M.
Attorney at Law (Düsseldorf Bar Association n° 52954)
Abogado (ICAIB n° 6645)
dominic.porta@anwaltmallorca.eu
www.anwaltmallorca.eu
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