Spanish laws make it a long process to enable a landlord to evict a tenant from a rented property.The process is lengthy and also costly.The landlord has to apply for an eviction order and if it is agreed then the tenant has 20 days to leave the property.If they choose not to leave the property then another eviction order has to be applied for and all of this takes time when more than likely rents are not being paid.

From December 24 2009 a new law will come into force.Under this legislation landlords and tenants can make an agreement that if the tenant leaves within 15 days of the eviction then they do not need to pay and the debt is cancelled.

Notification will also be different in that if the court cannot deliver the notice of eviction to the tenant directly then the notice will be published on the noticeboard of the local magisrates board.If the tenant does not turn up at court for a hearing then an eviction will be ordered for the tenant to vacate the property after one month.

Critics of these new laws say that it will still leave landlords out of pocket even though it is meant to release more property for rental.

The Spanish national Christmas lottery didn’t come the way of the Costa Blanca this year.Petrer saw three quarters of a million euros shared between people in Elda,Villena and Sax.

The first prize went to Madrid,a three million euro prize,each prize winner receiving 300,000 euros.The second prize was also in Madrid .This was a prize for a million euros.The same lottery outlet also sold a share of the fifth prize which was divided between twenty provinces such as Palma de Mallorca,Tarragona and Vegadeo to name a few.

Barcelona celebrated the third prize and prizes of some import were won in Zaragoza,Sagunto and Jaen.The wonderful thing about El Gordo is that so many people have the opportunity to win something.None of the prizes is massive.They could be life changing for many but not to the extent that the Euromillions might be a life changing experience.

The village of Lliber in the Jalon Valley is still reeling from the shock of arrests of six builders and town hall workers,including the present Mayor.The former Mayor and an architect are also amongst those arrested.In fact the total has now reached 16.

The most recent arrests include a notary from Javea and two lawyers.Five of the builders who were initially arrested have been released pending hearings.One of the builders named as Miguel M had a bail of 100,000 euros placed on him and that has been paid.

The only two retained in prison are the former Mayor  and former architect.The whole case revolves around the building of 300 illegal homes.Some of these homes cost up to 500,000 euros.Many are owned by expats and these are mainly Brits and Germans.Many were built on sites of less than 10,000 square metres.

The Spanish government has been leading Europe in the development of solar energy.Naturally this is because Spain has a lot more sun than most countries in Europe.

The target of the Spanish government is to have 12% of the country on renewable solar energy by 2010.Some estimates place this objective at 30%.With Spain being the 4th largest manufacturer of solar energy in the world it is exporting most of it to Germany.By the end of this year the total amount of solar power produced in Spain will increase from 2GW to 3GW.

The Spanish government in an effort to finance the solar energy and biomass installations is raising the cost of electricity by up to 7% to finance grants for this form of energy.The grant money doesn’t seem to be accessible to the man in the street,only to those who have the space for solar panels,companies and those who can afford the initial costs for installation .The system seems to help those who are more than capable of helping themselves financially.Most who qualify are at the high end of the income scale.The average consumer will find it very difficult to qualify for a grant.So it looks as though the low end of the income scale is actually financing the upper end of the income scale.

The whole system seems geared to the investor and not to the consumer.Consequently the consumer is voting with his feet and the grant system will be phased out in 2010.

The Spanish government has been leading Europe in the development of solar energy.Naturally this is because Spain has a lot more sun than most countries in Europe.

The target of the Spanish government is to have 12% of the country on renewable solar energy by 2010.Some estimates place this objective at 30%.With Spain being the 4th largest manufacturer of solar energy in the world it is exporting most of it to Germany.By the end of this year the total amount of solar power produced in Spain will increase from 2GW to 3GW.

The Spanish government in an effort to finance the solar energy and biomass installations is raising the cost of electricity by up to 7% to finance grants for this form of energy.The grant money doesn’t seem to be accessible to the man in the street,only to those who have the space for solar panels,companies and those who can afford the initial costs for installation .The system seems to help those who are more than capable of helping themselves financially.Most who qualify are at the high end of the income scale.The average consumer will find it very difficult to qualify for a grant.So it looks as though the low end of the income scale is actually financing the upper end of the income scale.

The whole system seems geared to the investor and not to the consumer.Consequently the consumer is voting with his feet and the grant system will be phased out in 2010.