Author: Remedios Campos Meizoso
The VPO (Viviendas de Protección Oficial, or Officially Protected Housing) are the dwellings that are promoted by the Public Administration and are at a lower price than their equivalents in the market, which facilitates the access to them to disadvantaged people; but in order to be able to access them it is necessary to fulfil certain requirements.
The disqualification of VPOs is the procedure by which the legal protection regime is extinguished, so that the dwellings would be subject to the general regime of the common legislation.
Disqualification can occur in three different ways:
- Automatic: it is produced by the passing of the time established for the extinction; therefore it is not necessary to carry out any procedure, as it is carried out automatically. The period of duration and the possibility of voluntary disqualification depends on the type of housing and the aid granted.
- Voluntary: at the request of the interested party who owns the dwelling, whereby the dwelling loses its protected status before the period stipulated by the Law.
- By sanction.
What requirements must be met in order to request this disqualification?
The Administration will proceed to the concession if the following requirements are met, as long as it does not imply a detriment.
- If it is a VPO of Private Promotion under the Royal-Decree Law 31/1978, of 31 October; it can be requested since the definitive qualification.
- If it is a VPO of Private Promotion under RD 2114/1968, of 24 July; it can be applied for at any time.
- In the case of having required a qualified loan for the dwelling, that this has been fully amortised or has been novated into a free loan, that is to say, that there has been a change in the condition of the loan.
- In the case of having received direct financial aid, the interested party should have paid back the full amount of the aid and, if applicable, have paid back the full amount of the tax rebates or exemptions with legal interest.
What is the duration of the legal regime of public protection?
- If it is a VPO of Private Promotion under the Royal-Decree Law 31/1978, of 31 October; the duration is 30 years from the definitive qualification.
- If it is a VPO of Private Promotion under the RD 2114/1968, of 24 July; the duration is 50 years from the definitive qualification. In this case, by art. 1 of RD 727/1993, of 14 May, on the price of privately promoted subsidised housing, these dwellings are liberalised in terms of sale and rental prices, that is to say, the control of these prices has been eliminated.
What documentation is necessary for the application?
- Copy for the Administration of the Tax 7803 of form 030, once it has been paid.
- Copy of the title deed or public deed of acquisition of the property.
- The definitive VPO/VPP qualification file number, or a copy of the definitive qualification certificate if it exists.
- If there is a representative, the original written authorisation signed by the owners.
- In the event that there is more than one owner, the appendix containing their details and an original sworn statement signed by all of them, stating that they are not causing damage to third parties with the disqualification.
- A copy of the DNI/NIF of the owner/s of the property.
Deadlines and Administrative Silence:
In the Community of Madrid, the deadline for responding to the application is five months, counting from the date on which the application entered the registry of the competent body; if no deadline is specified, it will be understood to be three months. If no notification of the decision has been received after these deadlines, the application will be considered rejected, without prejudice to the suspension of the processing period (Art. 22 Law 39/2015, of 1 October, LPAC).
“Article 22: Suspension of the maximum period for a decision.
1. The maximum legal deadline for resolving a procedure and notifying the decision may be suspended in the following cases:
a) When any interested party must be requested to remedy deficiencies or to provide documents and other necessary elements of judgement, for the time that elapses between notification of the request and its effective compliance by the addressee, or, failing this, for that of the period granted, all without prejudice to the provisions of Article 68 of this Law.
b) When a prior and mandatory ruling must be obtained from a body of the European Union, for the time that elapses between the request, which must be communicated to the interested parties, and the notification of the ruling to the investigating administration, which must also be communicated to them.
c) When there is an unfinished procedure within the scope of the European Union that directly conditions the content of the resolution in question, from the time that the interested parties are aware of its existence, which must be communicated to them, until it is resolved, which must also be notified.
d) When mandatory reports are requested from a body of the same or a different Administration, for the time that elapses between the request, which must be communicated to the interested parties, and the receipt of the report, which must also be communicated to the interested parties. This period of suspension may in no case exceed three months. If the report is not received within this period, the procedure shall continue.
e) When technical tests or contradictory or determinative analyses proposed by the interested parties are to be carried out, for the time necessary for the results to be included in the file.
f) When negotiations are initiated with a view to the conclusion of a pact or agreement under the terms provided for in Article 86 of this Act, from the formal declaration in this respect and until the conclusion without effect, as the case may be, of the aforementioned negotiations, which shall be confirmed by means of a declaration made by the Administration or the interested parties.
g) When, in order to resolve the procedure, it is essential to obtain a prior pronouncement by a judicial body, from the moment it is requested, which must be communicated to the interested parties, until the Administration is aware of the same, which must also be communicated to them.
2. The maximum legal time limit for resolving a procedure and notifying the decision shall be suspended in the following cases:
a) When a Public Administration requires another to annul or revise an act which it understands to be illegal and which constitutes the basis for the act which the former is to issue within the scope of its competences, in the case referred to in section 5 of Article 39 of this Act, from the time the requirement is made until the appeal lodged before the contentious administrative jurisdiction is dealt with or, as the case may be, resolved. The interested parties must be notified of both the issuing of the request and its fulfilment or, as the case may be, the resolution of the corresponding contentious-administrative appeal.
b) When the body competent to resolve decides to carry out any of the complementary actions envisaged in Article 87, from the moment the interested parties are notified of the reasoned agreement to initiate the actions until they are completed.
c) When the interested parties initiate the challenge at any time during the processing of a procedure, from the time the challenge is raised until it is resolved by the hierarchical superior of the challenged party”.
Possibility of lodging an appeal
- Appeal: if the act is express, the time limit for lodging an appeal is one month. If it is not express, from the day following that on which the administrative silence occurred. The maximum period for issuing and notifying the decision is three months.
- Extraordinary appeal for review: the time limit for lodging an appeal is four years in the event of a factual error in the decision, or three months according to the regulatory regulations. The maximum period for issuing and notifying the decision is three months.
- Optionally, an appeal for reconsideration: if the act is express, the deadline for lodging an appeal is one month. If it is not express, at any time from the day following that on which the presumed act was produced. The maximum period for issuing and notifying the decision is one month.
- Contentious-administrative appeal: if the act is express, the deadline for lodging an appeal is two months. If it is not express, six months from the day following the day on which the presumed act was produced.
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