Squatters in Spain.

How to prevent the unthinkable in your home in Spain. 

Here on the Costa Blanca, in recent years the issue of squatters (or okupas) has become a growing concern for homeowners. This is also a problem for businesses and authorities. 

Technically, squatting in Spain means the illegal occupation of a property without the owner’s consent. Can you imagine coming over to Spain on holiday to your own home and realising that there is a foreign family “living” there instead! 

Naturally, this can lead to financial losses for property owners and legal battles too. Spanish Solutions have something of a fast-track system to evict squatters, but even so Spain’s complex legal system means evicting squatters can be a lengthy and costly process. 

Ex-pats often try to find a solution that a non-qualified neighbour or waiter in the local cafe suggests, with a very poor success rate!

These squatters, more times than not, are professionals, often finding the home through an “agent” in the first place. They know the law and can take advantage of legal loopholes making it difficult to reclaim properties quickly. 

This issue not only affects private homes but also commercial and vacation too. 

A few tips to prevent squatters in Spain:

Ask your friendly estate agent who is probably up and down your street every day to keep an eye on the property.

Ditto with your neighbours. 

The sooner you deal with the problem the better, but even more effective is not allowing it to happen. 

Get them out, before they change the locks. 

Install a “Ring alarm” or another brand which you can monitor from anywhere. 

Be especially aware if you are selling your home here in Spain. A “for Sale” sign usually means nobody is home. Your agent can install a monitored alarm for you that both parties will have video access to.

As soon as you realise there is a problem, call us or better still, call the police. 

Dont leave documentation in your home. A non-client of Spanish Solutions recently called the local police to deal with squatters. They produced a rental contract with the owner’s name, passport number, address in Ireland and enough proof that they in fact had a full rental contract. Of course, it was forged with the documents the owner left in the drawer in the living room. We are now dealing with the matter and we will fix it of course, for a cost to the owner. 

If the unthinkable happens, talk to Spanish Solutions as soon as you can. We have a few simple strategies that work. 

For example, Pedro will pursue a civil case as opposed to a criminal case. The temptation is to report it for what it is, a crime. However, a civil case is easier, quicker and more effective. 

Never take matters into your own hands, that is what we are here for. 

Did you know you can sell your Spanish home, even with a squatter? 

Let’s say it is too late and you already have a squatter. What can you do then? 

We recently had an elderly owner from the UK with a holiday property in Cabo Roig. No alarm, nobody looking after the house and soon… Squatters. Jim wanted to sell his property anyway but the eviction process could take 2 years according to another Law Office in Torrevieja, who really just didn’t want the hassle. The worst news was that Jim didn’t have the money to start proceedings. 

That is when he called Spanish Solutions. 

We found an investor who purchased the property with a sitting squatter, albeit for a discounted price. The new owner dealt with us to get the keys back and of course, he paid for the inevitable refurbishment that followed. Far from ideal, but at least you know there are people out there who will purchase your property in Spain, even with squatters living there. 

If you have squatters already, it is not too late to fix the problem, and we can take care of it with minimum fuss. 

We hear there are new laws about to come into effect and we will keep you informed as best we can.

Contact Spanish Solutions for any legal problem you have here so that you can return to loving living here in Spain.