Lanzarote Property Owners held their second meeting on Wednesday 19th September.
The president of the LBA, Daniel Trigg, opened the meeting with a brief explanation of why the LPO project was formed and the connection it has with the Lanzarote Business Association. He then introduced members of the commission Kevin Roper, who heads the commission, and Nick Brumby. Apologies were given for the other commison members John Sheriston and Ian Fox who were unable to attend.
Kevin Roper then continued the meeting, and a brief outline of the meeting follows:-
Kevin explained that several points need to be considered when dealing with the topic of the legalization of property in Lanzarote:
There are 3 areas categorized as “touristic” in Lanzarote: PB, PDC and the Teguise area, which includes CT, Famara and La Graciosa. In order to be able to also have rural properties categorized as “touristic” new regulations will be needed.
The first step is to get as many properties as possible registered with the Association. This will enable the members of the Commission to have the actual figures and statistics that they need to support them when having discussions with the authorities. It is vital to the success of the project that properties are registered and can be included in the figures given.
There are 7 councils in Lanzarote, plus the Island´s governement, Cabildo de Lanzarote, which has its own authorities and areas of decision. The Canarian goverment is then above them.
All of them have to be taken into account when developing strategies to fight the case: the general view is that the majority of property owners want to be legal and be able to advertise their properties for rental.
Most of the European residents on the island and many local people are well aware of the importance of independent visitors for the economy of the island: Many busineses depend on them to provide income and employment.
The first aim of the LPO Commission is to make all the authorities aware of this situation – we have worked hard on that and other issues during the month of July, and we are continuing to do so after the administrative holiday in August.
It is essential for the success of our efforts and the project that the number of members of the LBA continues to increase. Acting as a united group of owners is the kernel, the central core of the strategy.
There then followed a question and answer session.
The next LPO meeting will be in October, date to be announced.