They expropriated your land and never built: getting it back

The case, in five lines

What is brought

Exercise of the right of reversion under article 54 of the Compulsory Purchase Act, to recover all or the surplus part of what was expropriated, and a contencioso-administrativo claim if the authority refuses it.

Before which court

Under article 54.4, the authority holding title to the property or right at the time reversion is applied for, or the one the beneficiary holding it is linked to. Afterwards, the Contencioso-Administrativo section of the Tribunal de Instancia (the first-instance court) or the Tribunal Superior de Justicia.

Deadline

Three months from the authority notifying the surplus expropriation, the loss of public purpose or its intention not to build the works or set up the service. Without that notification, article 54.3 opens three situations of its own: twenty years from the taking of possession, five years without works starting, or a halt of more than two years for reasons attributable to the authority or the beneficiary.

Who can bring it

The original owner or their successors, under article 54.1 of the Compulsory Purchase Act. The heirs of the expropriated owner therefore have full standing, even though the original file was conducted with the deceased.

Financial risk

Recovering the property requires repaying the compensation received, updated by the consumer price index, under article 55.1, and article 55.3 imposes a maximum of three months to pay or deposit the amount determined, on pain of the right lapsing. If the case reaches court and is lost, costs may be awarded against you.

The right arises when the works are not built or the purpose disappears

Article 54.1 of the Compulsory Purchase Act provides that, where the works are not carried out or the service that justified the expropriation is not set up, and also where part of the expropriated property is surplus or the public purpose disappears, the original owner or their successors may recover all or the surplus part of what was expropriated, on payment of the compensation determined by the following article.

These are four distinct situations, and it is worth identifying which is yours. The works were not built, the service was not set up, land was taken that was never needed, or the property ceased to be devoted to the purpose that justified the taking. Each is proved with different documents, and which period in article 54.3 applies depends on that classification.

There are two cases in which the Act denies reversion

Article 54.2 provides that there is no right of reversion where, at the same time as the original purpose is abandoned, a new purpose declared to be of public utility or social interest is justifiably assigned. In that situation the authority must publicise the substitution, and the original owner may make submissions in defence of the right if they consider the requirements demanded by law are not met.

The same paragraph adds a route that is often overlooked: in that case of a new purpose, the original owner may ask for the price to be updated if the works or service originally planned were never carried out. The second exclusion is temporal: there is also no reversion where the devotion to the expropriation purpose, or to another of public utility or social interest, lasts ten years from completion of the works or the setting up of the service.

Three months if notified, five or twenty years if nobody tells you

Article 54.3 sets the ordinary period at three months, running from the date the authority notified the surplus expropriation, the loss of public purpose of the property or right, or its intention not to build the works or set up the service. It is a short period, and many such notifications are worded so that their recipient does not realise the window to claim has just opened.

Absent that notification, the same paragraph opens three situations: where there was a surplus expropriation or a loss of purpose and twenty years have not passed since possession was taken; where five years have passed since possession was taken without the works starting or the service being set up; and where these have been halted for more than two years for reasons attributable to the authority or the beneficiary with no express act of resumption.

Recovering the property means repaying what you received, index linked

Article 55.1 is explicit: exercising the right of reversion is conditional on repaying the compensation received by the expropriated owner, updated in line with the consumer price index over the period between the date the price file was opened and the date the right is exercised. The authority determines that amount in the very decision recognising the right.

It is worth doing that calculation before claiming, not afterwards. Land expropriated twenty years ago is bought back for a figure well above what was received at the time, and the decision whether to exercise the right depends on comparing that amount with the property's present value. That analysis is done at the outset, with the expropriation file to hand.

If the property was reclassified or improved, it is valued afresh

Article 55.2 sets out an exception to the previous rule: if the expropriated property or right has undergone changes in its legal classification affecting its value, or has acquired improvements usable by the holder of that right, or has lost value, a fresh valuation is made as at the date the right is exercised, fixed under the rules in chapter III of Title II of the Act itself.

That provision cuts both ways. Land reclassified while in the authority's hands is returned at its new value, which can make the operation far more expensive. But property that has deteriorated or is partly occupied by useless infrastructure is valued downwards, and that reduction must also be claimed, because it does not apply by itself.

Payment has its own lapse rule, and the Land Registry governs third parties

Article 55.3 warns that possession of the returned property cannot be taken without prior payment or deposit of the resulting amount, and that payment must occur within a maximum of three months from its determination in the administrative route, on pain of the right of reversion lapsing, without prejudice to a contencioso-administrativo claim being brought. Winning recognition and paying late loses everything.

Article 54.5 looks to the Land Registry: entries of ownership and other rights in rem over property acquired by expropriation must record the preferential right of those entitled to reversion as against possible third party purchasers, and without that entry the right of reversion is not enforceable against third parties who registered their titles under mortgage law. That is why the first thing requested is a search of the property.

How we run the case, step by step

1. 1

   Reconstruct the expropriation file

   The occupation record, the date possession was taken, the date the price file was opened and the amount received are located. Those four dates and that figure govern every deadline and the calculation in article 55.1.

2. 2

   Determine which situation the case falls into

   It is checked whether there are works not carried out, a service not set up, a surplus part or a loss of purpose, since which of the periods in article 54.3 of the Compulsory Purchase Act applies depends on that.

3. 3

   Search the Land Registry and check the property's current state

   A registry search is requested to see whether the preferential right in article 54.5 appears and whether third party purchasers are registered, and it is documented on site that the works were never built and the service never set up.

4. 4

   Calculate what would have to be repaid before claiming

   The compensation received is updated by the consumer price index under article 55.1, and it is compared with the property's present value and with any fresh valuation under article 55.2 where there was reclassification or improvement.

5. 5

   Apply for reversion to the authority holding title

   The application is filed with the authority that article 54.4 identifies as the competent one, proving the situation relied on, standing as the original owner or a successor, and compliance with whichever period applies to the case.

6. 6

   Pay within the deadline and, if refused, sue

   Once the right is recognised, payment or deposit is made within the three months of article 55.3 so as not to lose it. If the authority refuses or stays silent, the matter moves to the Contencioso-Administrativo section of the Tribunal de Instancia.

The law that applies

• Art. 54.1 LEF. Grants the original owner or their successors the right to recover all or the surplus part of what was expropriated where the works are not built, the service is not set up, part is surplus or the public purpose disappears, on payment of the compensation in the following article. BOE-A-1954-15431
• Art. 54.2 LEF. Excludes reversion where the loss of purpose is justifiably followed by a new purpose of public utility or social interest, with publicity and a right to make submissions, and where the devotion lasts ten years from completion of the works or the setting up of the service. BOE-A-1954-15431
• Art. 54.3 LEF. Sets three months from notification of the surplus, the loss of purpose or the intention not to build and, absent notification, allows the right to be exercised if twenty years have not passed since possession, if five have passed without works starting, or if they have been halted for more than two years for attributable reasons. BOE-A-1954-15431
• Art. 54.5 LEF. Requires the preferential right of those entitled to reversion to be entered in the Land Registry as against third party purchasers, and without that entry the right is not enforceable against those who have registered their titles under mortgage law. BOE-A-1954-15431
• Art. 55.1 LEF. Makes exercise of the right conditional on repaying the compensation received, updated by the consumer price index between the opening of the price file and the exercise of reversion, an amount the authority determines in the very decision recognising the right. BOE-A-1954-15431
• Art. 55.3 LEF. Prevents possession of the returned property being taken without prior payment or deposit of the amount, which must occur within a maximum of three months from its determination in the administrative route, on pain of the right lapsing. BOE-A-1954-15431

Each article checked against the consolidated text published in the BOE (the Spanish official gazette).

Frequently asked questions