The Cabildo of Lanzarote, through the Housing Area, continues to work on finding a definitive solution that allows the legitimate owners of the 70 homes in the Valterra neighborhood to finally access the deeds of their properties.
The Island Housing Councilor, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, has held several meetings with representatives of the Neighborhood Association and with the interested parties themselves to request documentation that proves the legitimate ownership of each of the homes, as an essential prior step to be able to advance in the process.
"From the Cabildo we are absolutely committed to this procedure. Our objective is clear: that those who have lived for decades in these homes, as legitimate owners, can obtain the deeds that correspond to them. We are working in a coordinated manner with the administrations involved to unblock the legal obstacles that prevent the transmission," said Miguel Ángel Jiménez.
A situation entrenched since 2022
It should be remembered that the situation of the Valterra homes has its origin in Law 10/2022, of June 14, whose Additional Provision Second authorizes the Social Institute of the Navy (ISM) to donate these homes to the Cabildo of Lanzarote within a maximum period of one year, as stated in the BOE of June 15, 2022.
Although the Neighborhood Association had already requested financial aid during previous legislatures (2010-2015) to initiate the regularization, the ownership still belonged to the ISM at that time, and the Cabildo limited itself to offering technical support in the processing. Subsequently, on May 31, 2023, the Proposal for Agreement to issue the instruction of the administrative procedure for determining the beneficiaries was drafted, a document that was approved by the Island Government Council on June 26, 2023.
However, a legal condition has been introduced in the process that has generated an obstacle: according to the approved instruction, the transmission can only be carried out when the homes are registered in the Land Registry in the name of the Cabildo and included in the Inventory of Assets and Rights as patrimonial assets, which contradicts the original intention of the law.
"In fact, it is precisely this point, ratified both by the Land Registrar of Puerto de Arrecife and by the Dean of the Notaries of Arrecife, that has paralyzed the transmission," says the Housing Councilor, Miguel Ángel Jiménez.
"Faced with this situation," adds the councilor, "from the Cabildo we are working with the Social Institute of the Navy to modify the agreement approved in 2023, so that the spirit of the state law is respected: that the Cabildo acts as an intermediary in the transmission, without the homes having to be integrated into its assets."
"We are clear that this situation cannot last forever. We are doing what is in our power to correct the legal errors and be able to guarantee the legal security and dignity that the residents of Valterra deserve. It is a matter of justice and institutional commitment," remarked the Housing Councilor.
