The spokesperson for Con Málaga, Nico Sguiglia, has voted against the purchase of 77 protected homes in Soliva Este for 3.4 million euros, considering that it must first be determined whether the developer, InmoCaixa, breached the conditions of the land granted.
The spokesperson for Con Málaga in the Málaga City Council and councillor of the Municipal Housing Institute (IMV), Nico Sguiglia, has voted against the allocation of 3.4 million euros for the acquisition of the homes in Soliva Este, owned by InmoCaixa. He believes that the governing team intends to close a multimillion-euro deal without having previously fulfilled the agreement approved by the City Council itself to determine whether the entity breached the conditions under which it received the municipal land on which the development was built.
The operation, which was approved by the IMV board on June 30, involves the purchase of 77 protected homes that were built on land ceded by the City Council to the Obra Social de La Caixa. However, Sguiglia reminds us that in March, the Commission for Social Rights approved a motion that committed the City Council to carry out the necessary reports to detect possible breaches of the award specifications.
Breaches that could prevent payment
The March agreement established that, if such breaches were confirmed, the legal services should promptly initiate the necessary administrative and judicial actions to resolve the contract, recover ownership and possession of the homes, reintegrate them into the municipal public heritage without obligation to compensate the developer, and, if applicable, demand accountability for the damages caused to the public interest.
"It is incomprehensible that the governing team is now pushing for a purchase of 3.4 million euros when the City Council itself has yet to determine whether there are breaches that could allow the recovery of these homes without compensation to the developer or, at least, substantially modify the conditions of the operation. It would have been responsible to wait for those reports before committing public money," Sguiglia stated.
The spokesperson for Con Málaga has reminded that for years the residents of Soliva themselves have reported the lack of maintenance of the buildings and homes, the deterioration of common areas, the abandonment of solar squares, modifications to rental conditions and contracts, the impact of property tax on tenants, and the existence of vacant homes. "These are serious enough issues for the City Council to clarify whether the conditions of the award were breached before paying 3.4 million euros with public money," he pointed out.
The social origin of the development
Sguiglia also wanted to recall the spirit with which this promotion of protected homes on municipal land was born. "When this promotion was presented, the Obra Social de La Caixa made it clear that the goal was not to make profits, but to facilitate access to decent housing and that any returns would benefit the social interest. That was the commitment with which the City Council ceded public land. However, over the years we have seen how that social vocation has given way to a management by InmoCaixa that has strayed from that initial commitment," he stated.
For the spokesperson of Con Málaga, it is particularly striking that the City Council intends to allocate 3.4 million euros to the purchase of homes built on municipal land ceded free of charge for a social purpose, without having clarified beforehand whether the awardee fulfilled the obligations assumed in the agreement. The party demands that all legal avenues be exhausted before proceeding with the purchase, and that the reports commissioned in March be carried out urgently. If breaches are confirmed, the council could recover the homes at no cost and allocate them again for social rental, directly benefiting the local residents.
Meanwhile, the tenants of Soliva continue to wait for a solution to the maintenance issues and the uncertainty regarding the future of their homes. The next step will be the meeting of the monitoring committee of the March agreement, where the legal services are expected to present their preliminary conclusions.
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