The 70 families of Valterra accuse the Cabildo of Lanzarote of "unjustified delays" in the transfer

The 70 families of the Rocar, Garavilla, and Ojeda homes in Valterra have demanded that the Cabildo de Lanzarote put an end to the "bureaucratic blockade" on their homes and hand them over immediately.

Despite the state transfer being approved by law in 2022 and the houses already being registered in the Property Registry in the name of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, the Association of the Negotiating Table for these homes has denounced that "the final regularization of the deeds continues to be delayed."

The affected parties have publicly lamented that the Housing Area of the Cabildo de Lanzarote "has now resorted to a new external legal report, unnecessarily prolonging an anguish that has lasted for decades."

The 70 families residing in the historic homes in the Valterra neighborhood have raised their voices jointly to demand that the Cabildo de Lanzarote put an end to the "unjustified delays" and proceed, once and for all, to formalize the transfer of ownership of their homes. The residents, families of humble origin historically linked to the local fishing sector, denounce that "they find themselves trapped in an administrative loop that perpetuates a situation of absolute legal insecurity."

Thus, they have recalled that the origin of the conflict dates back to the houses built in 1955 by the Social Institute of the Navy (ISM). After decades of historical claims, Law 10/2022 of June 14 authorized the state donation of these properties to the island council with the sole purpose that it would definitively transfer them to their legitimate residents. However, despite the fact that the island corporation has already completed the registration of the houses in its name in the Property Registry, the individual titles continue to not reach the hands of the neighbors.

"Last-minute bureaucratic twist"

The neighborhood discontent has worsened after it became known that the Housing Area of the Cabildo has recently commissioned an external legal opinion to re-examine the terms of the transfer and rule on whether the neighbors should pay any amount.

For the spokespersons of the affected parties, this move represents an unnecessary delaying tactic: "It is incomprehensible that what has already been ratified by law and by the institution's own plenary session is still being audited. We are not new assignees; we are the historical and legitimate residents who have paid the full price of the homes and who have been waiting for this recognition all our lives," they state.

The accumulated delays have led the residents to have to pay for private legal advice to defend their rights and try to break down the wall of institutional silence.

Immediate demands from those affected: 

• Absolute transparency on the results of the latest external legal report commissioned by the Cabildo. 

• Guarantee of free transfer of the homes, as dictated by the spirit of the original agreement with the Social Institute of the Navy. 

• Dissolution of administrative obstacles and direct attention to the maintenance needs of homes that are decades old. 

• Setting of a binding calendar for the final signing of property deeds in favor of each historical resident. 

The families recall that behind the files there are human realities, elderly people and vulnerable families who live under the constant fear of not seeing the patrimonial situation of their lives resolved. They warn that, if clear answers are not received immediately from the island president and his government group, they will intensify social protest measures and relevant legal actions.

If the Cabildo's government group attacks the property rights of the humblest residents of Lanzarote in this way, those who with their effort built up the island's fishing industry, it will be the residents who rise up against the Insular Cabildo's government group.