The Salobreña Town Hall has sent out a letter to the owners of rural properties to clarify where they are dwellings or aperos (store sheds).

A quick clarification on what are aperos: an apero is a permitted structure on irrigated or non-irrigated land as a place to store agricultural tools. Measurements vary and conditions vary between municipality from Almuñécar where you can build up to 25 sq/m with no partition walls (in other words, just one single room) to Otívar, for example where you can build up to 50 sq/m with no room limitations. The system works on a build percentage (quotient) on the total metres of the land.

As just about everybody knows, the system is abused and many people build aperos that are really dwellings; it’s a way of working around the system. It’s the same when it comes to albercas (open, water-storage tanks) which are really used as swimming pools.

Back to the plot! The reason that the Town Hall wants to know this is to conform with the Ordenanza de Recogida de Residuos Sólidos Urbanos.

Mayor Javier Ortega Prados later issued a public notice saying basically, “Don’t worry; be happy” and explained that property owners had until the 1st of March to avoid death by guillotine (just joking). The deadline was originally the end of last month.

Basically, Mayor Ortega said that the local tax department had noticed that several aperos were being used as dwellings but were not registered as such.

If you do come forward and admit that it is a dwelling the amount to be paid per quarter will be nine euros, regardless of the dimensions of the building.

Two final points; it appears if  you don’t reply before the deadline, your property will be classified as a dwelling and you will have to appropriate rubbish-disposal tax. Secondly, the refuse-collection service might not call at your door, but you still dispose of your rubbish by using a municipal rubbish hopper, therefore, you pay!

(News/Noticias: Salobrena, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)