About: Portuguese State threatening to repossess legal Private homes next to water in Portugal for failure to present private ownership documents going back 150 years is in contravention of International and European Laws including human rights law.
I am a British citizen, a Private home owner in Portugal a European Union Member State.
I own a home within 50 metres of water the sea in Portugal. I bought the house in 2008. All the ownership documents are approved and stamped by a Notary, the Portuguese Land Registry and a bank that agreed a mortgage on the house with us. We have paid all the taxes. The property was privately owned before 1951
The Portuguese Government authorities asked us and thousands of private homeowners to prove with documents under Portuguese Law 54/2005 (‘the law)’ that their home in Portugal within 30 or 50 metres of water had been privately owned for 150 years!
The sanction against private homeowners is if they fail to prove in the near future with documents that their home has been privately owned for 150 years is transfer of the ownership of the home to the Portuguese State! Expropriation!
In other words if private homeowners fail to prove with documents under the law that their home in Portugal within 50 metres of the sea has been privately owned for 150 years they will no longer own their home and not be able to sell their home or transfer the property to family or anyone! And they will have to pay a special tax which is high. And cannot make any significant changes to the property without permission from the owner, the State!
Clearly, the law is in breach of European laws that give rights to EU citizens/homeowners and protect them including:
1. Article 17 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights
2. The Principle of Legal Certainty in European Community (‘EC’) Law
3. EC Laws that prohibit Retroactive Laws breaching EU citizens/homeowners rights
Therefore, as EU Citizens we made a formal complaints and submitted petitions to the European Commission to the European Commissioner Viviane Reding to take action immediately to stop the harassment of private homewoners in Portugal under the Portuguese Law 54/2005 by preventing the enforcement of this Portuguese law which will adversely affect thousands of EU citizens.
Please ask your political representative in the European Parliament and European Commissioner Viviane Reding to make a law A DIRECTIVE protecting innocent legal private property owners to stop thefts of legal private properties in Portugal, Spain and in all EU member states!
Legal Private Properties next to water in Portugal expropriated by the State 