ANDORRA Law and Practice Contributed by: Albert Hinojosa and Marc Ambrós, Cases Lacambra
Therefore, in an enforcement scenario, the new owner of the land corresponding to a real estate asset may be liable for any environmental damage caused to that specific plot of land or deriving from it, even if that new owner did not cause any pollution of the real estate, irrespective of the new owner (lender) demanding lia - bility from the prior owner (borrower) on the grounds of latent defects. 3.9 Effects of a Borrower Becoming Insolvent From a general perspective, security interests created by a borrower in favour of a lender are not made void upon the borrower’s declaration of insolvency, as the protection granted to the lender in rem guarantees and its faculties against the guaranteed asset are not affected by the declaration of insolvency or the devel - opment of the insolvency procedure, due to their rank - ing as privileged claims. Nevertheless, the claw-back regime provided for under the Insolvency Decree of 4 October 1969 ( Decret de suspensió de pagaments i fallida ) states that the insolvency judge can declare any mortgage or pledge granted over the debtor assets after the cessation-of-payments day in merits of outstanding debts prior to the cessation of payments as unen - forceable against the insolvent estate. The insolvency judge can also declare it unenforceable if the granting of such mortgage or pledge occurred six months prior to the cessation-of-payments day as a gratuitous act. Lastly, the insolvency judge can set the declaration of the cessation-of-payments date up to 18 months prior to such an effective declaration. 3.10 Taxes on Loans There are no rules requiring lenders or borrowers to pay registration or similar taxes in connection with real estate mortgage loans.
ever, the Andorran government establishes the gen - eral framework governing development. Within this structure, the regional authorities are com - petent to: • draft, approve and publish general master plans ( plans d’ordenació i urbanisme parroquials ) and special plans ( plans especials ); • adopt regulatory state ordinances ( ordenances reguladores de la normativa subsidiària ), rehabilita - tion ordinances ( ordenances de rehabilitació ), and programmes for internal reform, protection and sanitation ( programes de reforma interior, de pro- tecció i de sanejament ); • advise owners and collaborate with them in draft - ing and approving partial town plans ( plans par- cials ); and • issue building licences ( llicències d’obra ). The principal control over the design, appearance and construction methods of new buildings or refurbish - ment projects is the requirement to obtain building licences ( llicències d’obra ) and approval of construc - tion projects ( projectes d’edificació ) from the relevant town hall, in accordance with the applicable general and sector-specific planning and building regulations. In May 2020, the Construction Regulation was amended to allow public authorities to suspend con - struction works that do not comply with the Construc - tion Regulation or the Land and Urban Planning Act. The amended regulation also aligns the authorisation procedures with those set out in the Land and Urban Planning Act. Town halls are responsible for drafting and approving general master plans ( plans d’ordenació i urbanisme parroquials ), which determine the total buildability for each parish ( Parròquia ) and assign a priority use to each parcel of land. This is done in accordance with specific technical and administrative restrictions, by establishing land classifications and action units ( uni- tats d’actuació ), and setting public service require - ments. In this context, the Technical Committee of Urban Development ( Comissió Tècnica d’Urbanisme ) acts
4. Planning and Zoning 4.1 Planning and Zoning Framework
Legislative and governmental controls applicable to strategic planning and zoning primarily fall within the remit of the regional authorities, namely the town halls of each administrative unit (parish – Parròquia ). How -
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