Views: 2

The Balearic Parliament has just removed positive administrative silence in the legalization of buildings on rural land. The GOB attributes this to the appeal that was filed at the time before the Constitutional Court. Uncertainty now arises regarding the works that may have been legalized using this mechanism.

Legal uncertainty

As will be recalled, in May 2024 the Balearic Government approved, by Decree-Law, the legalization of works carried out on rural land. This legal text was full of favors for offenders and resulted in a major increase in the property value of constructions erected illegally. One of the most striking aspects was the introduction of positive administrative silence for legalization requests.

In practical terms, if a legalization project for an illegal construction on rural land was submitted, the corresponding town council had six months to respond. If no response was issued within that period, the request was deemed approved. This does not apply when requesting any intervention on a legal building, where citizens who have complied with the rules must wait for an explicit municipal response. This created a comparative grievance, as the Government treated those who infringed the law more favourably than those who complied with it.

With the support of numerous organizations, the GOB promoted a legal analysis of the Decree-Law and sent it to several parliamentary groups in Madrid. These groups took up the initiative and filed an appeal before the Constitutional Court, which admitted it for consideration.

Now, more than two years later, and alongside a new omnibus law of urgent measures for so-called “strategic projects,” the previous legal text has been amended, and positive silence has become negative. Legal experts believe that this correction by the Balearic executive and legislature is based on the fear of a Constitutional Court ruling that could annul the former positive silence and generate uncertainty over the projects that benefited from it.

In light of this, the GOB calls on political groups represented in local councils to request information on how many cases of positive administrative silence have been used to legalize works on rural land. It also asks that the most scandalous cases of legalization of large villas on rural land be identified, so that the public can understand the consequences of legislating in favour of offenders.