The new rent law has just been approved by the Spanish Government. It aims to make it easier for the Spanish rental market. It will be applied to all contracts that will be signed from now on as it will not be retroactive; it is not applicable to the short term or holiday rentals.

The main changes are:

-       The minimum length of the contract will be of 3 years with the possibility of extending it for one additional year.

-       The yearly increase of the rent will not be necessary depend on the IPC index (consumption price index). Tenant and owner can agree on a different index to update the rent.

-       The tenant will be able to stop the contract from the sixth month of duration with a warning made 30 days in advance.

-       In case of sale of the property, the tenant will only have a right to stay in the property should the rental contract have been registered in the land property register.

-       The rental contracts can be cancelled should the tenant not pay the rent. The cancellation will be in ten days after the tenant had not answered to the owner’s requirement of payment. This cancellation term is applicable should the rental contract have been registered in the land property register.

After half a year of amendments, the government has now decided to modify the amount to be invested in order to get the residence permit.

The amount has been increased from the initial of 160.000€ to 500.000€. The properties purchased must be free of mortgage and debts so they cannot be bank repossessed properties. The owners will be allowed to rent out these properties. The residence permit includes the buyer, its partner and children, the law will not be retroactive.

The draft should be approved before this summer and it will allow as well getting a temporary residence permit by making one or several investments through a company but in this case with a higher amount of one million Euros.

Although it is still a draft, overseas it is being considered as a fact. The real estate agencies are using this information to encourage foreign clients to buy properties in Spain to get the residence permit, what should not be done before the law is approved and always in the terms that will be stated in it.

This measure is part of a major economic plan to promote foreign investment in Spain including investments from entrepreneurs, and some cases like the ones of high qualified professionals and scientific researchers.

Officials said the draft could be approved before this 2013 summer.

The government has not decided yet if he will grant residence permits to foreigners buying properties in Spain. The government keeps on studying this measure and has not established yet what is the amount that must be invested in a property by a foreigner in order to get the residence permit.

The government remarks that the amount of 160.000€ that was announced in November is not a fixed one but an approximate, so it will have to be confirmed in the end. The government will need to modify the Spanish immigration law as well as this will be directly affected by this measure.

The Secretary of State of Commerce has explained that final decision will depend on the result of several enquiries that are being held with several ministries.
This specific measure is not a single one but forms part of a major economic plan to promote foreign investment in Spain.

Spanish government considers granting residence permits to foreigners who buy properties valued over 160.000€. The government plan has caused a great expectation in several countries.

The measure is thought to be attractive for both the Russian and the Chinese markets. This is was the secretary of state for trade told in a press conference to reporters to announce the government’s idea.

Even that the amount of property purchases has decreased the interest of foreigners in Spain has increased as they can do now a better investment. The government is trying to incentivize this group of buyers to acquire their properties now that it will be of great help for the Spanish real estate and building sector.

Both foreign Minister José Manuel García-Margallo and Prime Minister Rajoy confirmed that the government is studying the measure at the present time. Spanish officials said they are speeding up the reform to be approved by the beginning of 2013; however there is still not a fixed date for the law to be approved.

Alicante celebrates this holiday for 6 days: from June 19^th on the streets and squares of the city you can see amazing brightly coloured giant figures and sculptures from cardboard, wood and papier-mache, which will be burned on the night of 24^th June with a deafening roar of fireworks. The compositions of six meters high or sometimes even higher change the look of the city. Their themes, if any, vary from abstract to concrete, and some of them are full of allusions and humour. They can be about politics, about love and beauty, about local life. On the last day of the festival there is a contest for the best composition and the winner is placed in the museum which is located in the city center.
This week is a very special week for Alicante. Preparations usually begin long before the festival, the drawings are selected and approved. The works shall be paid not only from the municipal budget, but also from the pockets of the area residents, thanks to the efforts of volunteers, collecting donations.

Giant figures are placed throughout the city, in every district. Around them they arrange the tents, where residents and visitors of Alicante are offered snacks and drinks. Music sounds till early morning. There are thundering fireworks everywhere! Everybody is dancing and singing! Girls dress up in Valencia costumes, which are specially sewn for the occasion. They also choose the queen of the fiesta – the most beautiful girl in Alicante – Beauty of Fire.
And, finally, the midnight of June 24^th is the culmination and final act of celebration. Everywhere, in almost every street they begin to light the figures that flash and turn into a giant bonfire and firemen are next to each fire. As soon as the figure begins to burn out, they are watered, but they water not only ashes, but all and everyone around – this is the funniest part of the fiesta!

In 2008 Alicante first hosted the start of the world-renowned Volvo Ocean Race. The start was an unprecedented success, both for the media and for the sport itself. It was frequently referred to as one of the best starts in history of the competition, and the city of Alicante was confirmed as start port for next three races. The city of Alicante is also the home of the race and the race office is situated in the heart of the Puerto de Alicante.

The Volvo Ocean Race (formerly the Whitbread Round the World Race) is a yacht race around the world, held every three years. It is named after its current owner, Volvo. The Volvo Ocean Race is one of the very few truly global sport events – taking place on 4 different continents, involving multi-national, multi-cultural teams and support teams.

In 1972 England’s Whitbread company and the British Royal Naval Sailing Association agreed to sponsor a globe-circling regatta, which would be called the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race. 17 yachts started the first race of 27,500 nmi, which began from Portsmouth, United Kingdom on September 8,1973.

From 2001 the ownership of the race was taken over by Volvo and Volvo Cars and the race was renamed the Volvo Ocean Race. Stopover ports were added in Germany, France and Sweden being Volvo’s three biggest car markets in Europe.

Though the route is changed to accommodate various ports of call, the race typically departs Europe in October, and in recent editions has held either 9 or 10 legs, with import races at many of the stopover cities.

During the nine months of the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race, which started in Alicante in October 2011 and concludes in Galway, Ireland, in early July 2012, the teams are scheduled to sail over 39,000 nmi (72,000 km) of the world’s most treacherous seas.

Each of the entries has a sailing team of 11 professional crew and the race requires their utmost skills, physical endurance and competitive spirit as they race day and night for more than 20 days at a time on some of the legs. They will each take on different jobs on board the boat, and on top of these sailing roles, there will be two sailors that have had medical training, as well as a sail maker, an engineer and a dedicated media crew member.

The race uses a high scoring system, and the overall winner will be the team with the most points at the end of the race.  All legs will count with no discards allowed.

Winning the race does not attract a cash prize, as the feat of competing is presented as sufficient reward; however Waterford Crystal trophies are awarded to the winners of each leg and the race overall.

This race is the ultimate mix of world class sporting competition and on the edge adventure, a unique blend of onshore glamour with offshore drama and endurance. It is undeniably the world’s premier global race and one of the most demanding team sporting events in the world.

Most of the mainstream stores can be found on a shopping ‘axis’ that looks something like the hands of a clock set at a quarter to five. From the waterfront it leads up La Rambla through Placa de Catalunya and on up Passeig de Gracia. At Avinguda Diagonal you turn left. From here as far as Placa de la Reina Maria Cristina (especially the final stretch from Placa de Francesc Macia) the Diagonal is jammed with places where you can empty your bank account. The T1 Tombbus service has been laid on for the ardent shopper and eventually a tram may run the length of Avinguda Diagonal, too.

The best shopping areas in central Barcelona are Passeig de Gracia and the streets to its southwest, including the Bulevard Rosa arcade just north of Carrer d’Arago, and Barri Gotic streets such as Carrer de la Portaferrissa, Carrer de la Boqueria, Carrer del Call, Carrer de la Llibreteria and Carrer de Ferran, and around Placa de Sant Josep Oriol.

The big department stores (such as El Corte Ingles) and shopping complexes (such as El Triangle) tend to open from 9am or 10am through to 9pm or 10pm at night, Monday to Saturday. Smaller shops often close for a few hours at lunchtime (around 2pm to 4pm).

The Olympic Port separates them from the other city beaches: Nova Icaria, Bogatell, Mar Bella and Levante. These beaches (ranging from 400 to 640 m/1,300 to 2,100 ft) were opened as a result of the city restructuring to host the 1992 Summer Olypics, when a great number of industrial buildings were demolished. The 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures left the city a large concrete bathing zone on the eastmost part of the city’s coastline.