Dear Sir,
Having read your article regarding problem expats are experiencing after Brexit,
I see that there is a mention of the “Military Licence”.
We owned an urban house in Mallorca for 10 years and decided to move to countryside as we found the neighbours too noisy. We sold, no problem, apart from the exorbitant agents fees of 5-6% of the property value!
We rented then found a property and proceeded with contracts. It was then that a kind friend advised us had we heard that we would need a Military Licence for property in the countryside?
No, we hadn’t. This licence apparently is required for purchasing country houses or plots for all non-Europeans, including UK Brexiteers and can take between 3-6 months! The estate agents were also not aware of it as they should have been.
We applied, for a fee. The sellers were not willing to wait for this uncertain time so the sale fell through. (The licence was in fact granted after 10 weeks) We have now found a third property and are waiting for this licence to arrive hopefully within the 10 weeks, but who knows.
This Military Licence requirement goes back to the Franco times and no-one seems to have ever questioned the necessity of it.
Regards
Name and address supplied