Irishwoman awarded MBE for campaigning for expat rights in Spain

Maura Hillen has worked tirelessly since 2008 as the head of AUAN to campaign for property owners’ rights in the Almanzora Valley area of the province of Almería.

Maura Hillen, who has worked tirelessly since 2008 to campaign for the legalisation of properties declared illegal by the Spanish authorities, has been recognised for her services to the British Community in Spain with an MBE…

As head of the Abusos Urbanisticos Almanzora No! (AUAN) body, Maura Hillen MBE (as she shall henceforth be known) has campaigned at local, regional and national level for the rights of more than 500 expats who bought properties in the Almanzora Valley area of Almería in good faith.

These expats – of which the majority were Brits – were among the thousands who later discovered that the properties they bought were built illegally, and were thus faced with the very real threat of demolition by the Spanish authorities, leaving them homeless and out of pocket.

The AUAN group fought for the approval of basic amenities, such as the connection of electric and water supply, while appeals were going through the Spanish courts, and also acted as a conduit for information between homeowners and the local council.

Hillen’s campaigning paid off in 2015 when the government introduced a historic legislation that compelled Spanish judges to take into account the innocence of the homeowners who were unwittingly duped into buying homes later found to have been built illegally.

This change in the law means that homeowners will now be properly compensated should the Spanish authorities decide that their property is to be demolished.

“Since 2008, Maura Hillen MBE has made a tireless contribution towards resolving the property problems that affect thousands of British homeowners in Spain,” said British Ambassador to Spain, Simon Manley. “I am very pleased that Her Majesty The Queen has approved this honour, which recognises her dedication and resilience.

“Under Hillen’s leadership, AUAN is a professionally run, well-respected organisation that has secured expert legal advice and in turn proposed realistic solutions to the Spanish regional and national authorities.”

Manley added that AUAN’s success in forcing through a change in regulation was a “significant step forward in reforming a legal system that AUAN argued had failed adequately to recognise the rights of homeowners or compensate for their losses.”

Upon receiving her MBE, a thrilled Hillen said: “I am delighted to accept this award not only for myself but on behalf of every member of AUAN who has played no small part in defending the rights of homeowners in Spain, most especially committee members, past and present, and those that came before me as president of AUAN.”