Andrew Lawrence

Infrastructure

When Something Breaks on the Costa, You Hear About It. When It Gets Fixed, You Don't.

Jul 31, 2026

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3 min read

When Something Breaks on the Costa, You Hear About It. When It Gets Fixed, You Don't.

Gibraltar, Estepona's hospital, the C2, most of your electricity bills: the quiet-wins scorecard.

Andrew Lawrence

Estepona

Jul 30, 2026

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3 min read

Estepona Built a €17 Million Hospital the Region Wouldn't Staff. Now, It Finally Does Surgery.

Our December promise-check came back: mostly delivered. What the western Costa gets now.

Andrew Lawrence

Costs

144,000 Spanish Households Are About to Be Switched to a New Electricity Company Without Being Asked

Jul 29, 2026

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3 min read

144,000 Spanish Households Are About to Be Switched to a New Electricity Company Without Being Asked

We paused this week's audit series for this. Holaluz is probably losing its licence.

Andrew Lawrence

Regulatory

In February, We Told You the Gibraltar Fence Would Fall in April. We Missed It by 96 Days.

Jul 28, 2026

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3 min read

In February, We Told You the Gibraltar Fence Would Fall in April. We Missed It by 96 Days.

Every euro figure held: 15% tax, €300 duty-free. Only the date was wrong.

Andrew Lawrence

Costs

Spain Shuts in August. So We Are Going To Mark Our Own Homework.

Jul 27, 2026

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5 min read

Spain Shuts in August. So We Are Going To Mark Our Own Homework.

Six weeks re-reading what we told you since we started last October. This time with our Mistakes included.

Andrew Lawrence

Lifestyle

Not bad, You Live in the Country That Just Won the World Cup

Jul 24, 2026

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3 min read

Not bad, You Live in the Country That Just Won the World Cup

What it means for your life here, and what it means for the Costa to quietly turn 2030 down.

Andrew Lawrence

Costs

Your Spanish Health Insurance Renewal Letter Isn't a Bill. It's a Contract You Re-Sign by Saying Nothing.

Jul 23, 2026

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4 min read

Your Spanish Health Insurance Renewal Letter Isn't a Bill. It's a Contract You Re-Sign by Saying Nothing.

The two dates the law hands you, the lever against a late hike, and the switch trap.

Andrew Lawrence

Nerja

Jul 22, 2026

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4 min read

Three Nerja Lawyers Allegedly Ran a €1,000,000 Inheritance Fraud. The Check That Defeats It Costs €3.86.

The alleged scheme ran on real notaries and real wills. Three cheap checks stop it.

Andrew Lawrence

Costs

Spain Wired an Automatic Tax Cut Into Your Electricity Bill. It Just Refused to Fire.

Jul 21, 2026

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4 min read

Spain Wired an Automatic Tax Cut Into Your Electricity Bill. It Just Refused to Fire.

Up 16% in 30 days, yet the gauge the law reads said 6%. Your contract decides August.

Andrew Lawrence

Real Estate

Your Spanish Property Tax Deadline Today Is Real, Dead, or Worth a Refund. The New Calendar Decides Which.

Jul 20, 2026

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3 min read

Your Spanish Property Tax Deadline Today Is Real, Dead, or Worth a Refund. The New Calendar Decides Which.

Hacienda rebuilt the landlord form around an audit. Two emails sort your side of it.

Andrew Lawrence

Costs

Your Neighbours Had Us Check Their Electricity Bills. That Most Were Fine Is the Verdict Nobody Sells.

Jul 17, 2026

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3 min read

Your Neighbours Had Us Check Their Electricity Bills. That Most Were Fine Is the Verdict Nobody Sells.

Fear on the Costa has a supply side: resold citas, phantom add-ons, oversized fixes.

Andrew Lawrence

Costs

The Costa Property Market Is a Game of Chicken. One Town Just Blinked.

Jul 16, 2026

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4 min read

The Costa Property Market Is a Game of Chicken. One Town Just Blinked.

Sales down a third, asking prices at records, and Estepona's closing prices sagging 6.9%.

Andrew Lawrence

family

The EES Queues Are Probably Shorter Than You Heard, the Loopholes Are Mostly Folklore, and the 90-Day Clock Is Very Real

Jul 15, 2026

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4 min read

The EES Queues Are Probably Shorter Than You Heard, the Loopholes Are Mostly Folklore, and the 90-Day Clock Is Very Real

EES's first summer at Málaga, the border that opened today, and the paperwork that turns out to be yours.

Andrew Lawrence

Healthcare

You Finally Had the Doctors' Strikes Figured Out. So They Took Away the End Date.

Jul 14, 2026

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4 min read

You Finally Had the Doctors' Strikes Figured Out. So They Took Away the End Date.

No sixth strike week; an open-ended one from September instead. July is for starting your clocks.

Andrew Lawrence

Language

The Almería Fire Victims Were Told to Stay Inside. The Alert Never Reached Their Phones.

Jul 13, 2026

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3 min read

The Almería Fire Victims Were Told to Stay Inside. The Alert Never Reached Their Phones.

The three instructions Spain can give you in a wildfire, in English, before August.

Andrew Lawrence

Costs

A Mijas Reader Was Quietly Paying an Extra €300 a Year on One Bill

Jul 10, 2026

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3 min read

A Mijas Reader Was Quietly Paying an Extra €300 a Year on One Bill

A free one-minute check caught it. It told almost everyone else to stay put.

Andrew Lawrence

Deadlines

One Question to Ask Whoever Files Your Spanish Taxes, Before Next Wednesday

Jul 9, 2026

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3 min read

One Question to Ask Whoever Files Your Spanish Taxes, Before Next Wednesday

The rental deadline moved twice; the 20th is really the 15th. Get it in writing.

Andrew Lawrence

Costs

If You Hold a Málaga Tourist Licence, the City Just Made You Richer

Jul 8, 2026

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3 min read

If You Hold a Málaga Tourist Licence, the City Just Made You Richer

12,748 licences became a capped asset on 1 July. Renters got a press release.

Andrew Lawrence

Driving

Same Cameras, New Verdict: Málaga Will Fine Until a Court Makes It Stop

Jul 7, 2026

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3 min read

Same Cameras, New Verdict: Málaga Will Fine Until a Court Makes It Stop

We've tracked this playbook since April. The 20-day countermove, inside.

Andrew Lawrence

Costs

You Can't Buy Worse Electricity in Spain. You Can Only Buy a Worse Contract.

Jul 6, 2026

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2 min read

You Can't Buy Worse Electricity in Spain. You Can Only Buy a Worse Contract.

Upload your bill, get an honest answer in a minute. We earn nothing whether you switch or not.

Andrew Lawrence

Lifestyle

We spent the week talking about what doesn't work in Spain. Here's why we stay anyway.

Jul 3, 2026

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3 min read

We spent the week talking about what doesn't work in Spain. Here's why we stay anyway.

You read four pieces on the friction and didn't reach for the exit. That's the story.

Andrew Lawrence

Service Providers

We told you the proper way to handle your certificate. About that.

Jul 2, 2026

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4 min read

We told you the proper way to handle your certificate. About that.

An honest correction three weeks on: it barely works. Tell us how you handle yours.

Andrew Lawrence

Service Providers

The Clock Andalucía Owes You: A Specialist in 60 Days, a Scan in 30

Jul 1, 2026

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4 min read

The Clock Andalucía Owes You: A Specialist in 60 Days, a Scan in 30

Miss either deadline and the public system must pay for your private care. Claiming it is the hard part.

Andrew Lawrence

Real Estate

Who runs your hospital and housing rules is being decided this week

Jun 30, 2026

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2 min read

Who runs your hospital and housing rules is being decided this week

Andalucía's government is still unformed six weeks after the vote. Today it probably gets settled.

Andrew Lawrence

Real Estate

A Spanish court says non-EU landlords were overtaxed

Jun 29, 2026

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3 min read

A Spanish court says non-EU landlords were overtaxed

If you own a flat here and live outside the EU, you may be able to claim four years back.

Andrew Lawrence

Andrew Lawrence

When Something Breaks on the Costa, You Hear About It. When It Gets Fixed, You Don't.

Estepona Built a €17 Million Hospital the Region Wouldn't Staff. Now, It Finally Does Surgery.

144,000 Spanish Households Are About to Be Switched to a New Electricity Company Without Being Asked

In February, We Told You the Gibraltar Fence Would Fall in April. We Missed It by 96 Days.

Spain Shuts in August. So We Are Going To Mark Our Own Homework.

Not bad, You Live in the Country That Just Won the World Cup

Your Spanish Health Insurance Renewal Letter Isn't a Bill. It's a Contract You Re-Sign by Saying Nothing.

Three Nerja Lawyers Allegedly Ran a €1,000,000 Inheritance Fraud. The Check That Defeats It Costs €3.86.

Spain Wired an Automatic Tax Cut Into Your Electricity Bill. It Just Refused to Fire.

Your Spanish Property Tax Deadline Today Is Real, Dead, or Worth a Refund. The New Calendar Decides Which.

Your Neighbours Had Us Check Their Electricity Bills. That Most Were Fine Is the Verdict Nobody Sells.

The Costa Property Market Is a Game of Chicken. One Town Just Blinked.

The EES Queues Are Probably Shorter Than You Heard, the Loopholes Are Mostly Folklore, and the 90-Day Clock Is Very Real

You Finally Had the Doctors' Strikes Figured Out. So They Took Away the End Date.

The Almería Fire Victims Were Told to Stay Inside. The Alert Never Reached Their Phones.

A Mijas Reader Was Quietly Paying an Extra €300 a Year on One Bill

One Question to Ask Whoever Files Your Spanish Taxes, Before Next Wednesday

If You Hold a Málaga Tourist Licence, the City Just Made You Richer

Same Cameras, New Verdict: Málaga Will Fine Until a Court Makes It Stop

You Can't Buy Worse Electricity in Spain. You Can Only Buy a Worse Contract.

We spent the week talking about what doesn't work in Spain. Here's why we stay anyway.

We told you the proper way to handle your certificate. About that.

The Clock Andalucía Owes You: A Specialist in 60 Days, a Scan in 30

Who runs your hospital and housing rules is being decided this week

A Spanish court says non-EU landlords were overtaxed

Waypoint Sur