Squatting has become a headache for the administration and property owners in Spain. This illegal activity has been in the media spotlight for several years, but 2022 was one of the "busiest" years in this regard. Different associations and organisations are rushing to produce data, statistics, surveys... but the reality is that the only one that can shed light on this issue is Spain's Ministry of the Interior.
The department headed by Fernando Grande-Marlaska has provided idealista/news with the latest consolidated data on squatting in Spain (although they clarify that they do not discriminate between usurpation and trespassing) in which it can be seen how Madrid and Andalusia have reduced this activity by 15.4% and 6.26%, respectively. On the other hand, regions such as the Valencian Community and Extremadura have seen an increase of 23.66% and 5.43%, respectively. These are the latest figures regarding Okupas in Spain.
The figures provided by the Ministry of the Interior refer to the period between January and July 2022 and compare it with the same period in 2021. The Administration states that in that period last year there were a total of 10,220 squatters, 5.43% less than in the first six months of 2021. In other words, at a national level, and in the absence of data for the second half of 2022, squatting in Spain has decreased. But the figures deserve some individualised readings by autonomous community and even by province.
On the positive side, we find regions such as Madrid and Andalusia, which despite not having the greatest decrease, do manage to significantly reduce squatting in two of the areas where most complaints of this type are made. In the first six months of 2021, the Spanish capital registered a total of 1,078 squatting incidents, while between January and July 2022 this figure fell to 912. In total, a reduction of 15.4%.
When it comes to squatters in Andalusia, the region achieved less than half (-6.26%) of Madrid, but achieved a great objective: a decrease in all but one of its provinces. Thus, Huelva achieved a fall of 21.67%; Almeria a decrease of 14.93% and Cordoba was very close, with a decrease of 14.05%. Seville is the only region that did increase the number of squatters by 3.74%, from 455 to 472.
The regions that have the honour of having reduced this activity by the greatest amount are Ceuta and Melilla, with decreases of 41.67% and 33.33%, respectively. What happens in these cases is that the number of squatted dwellings is not as significant as in Andalusia (due to the extension of land) or in Madrid (because it is the capital of Spain and has the largest population). Specifically, Ceuta goes from 12 squatted houses to seven, while Melilla registers 9 squatted houses in the first six months of 2021 to 6 in the same period of 2022.
Catalonia accounts for 42% of squatted properties in Spain
Close behind the two autonomous cities are the Balearic Islands and Navarre, with falls of 31.12% and 26.44%, respectively. The former recorded 331 cases of squatting in the first half of 2021 and 228 in the same period of 2022. For its part, Navarre went from 87 squatted homes to 64 homes. These two regions are still far behind in terms of the total number of squatted properties. Precisely, the autonomous community that does boast this dishonourable fact is Catalonia, although it is not all bad news for the region presided over by Pere Aragonès because it is another of the locations that is reducing this activity, even more than Andalusia, with a fall of 6.42%. In spite of everything, the latest data provided by the Ministry of the Interior shows 4,341 squatted homes in Catalonia, or in other words, just over 42% of all squatted homes in Spain.
The Catalan autonomous region is not only the current leader in squatting cases, but also where phenomena emerge that are then replicated in different parts of Spain. One of them is the use of the so-called 'pizza technique', which allows squatters to have a ticket before entering the house in order to later justify that they are residing in it and thus avoid immediate eviction by the State Security Forces. This tactic has been going on in Catalonia since 2018, although in recent years it has spread to other parts of the country.
The community has also been the scene of a judicial investigation that has revealed that the mafias specialised in squatting homes pocket thousands of euros thanks to the agreements they reach with large-scale landlords, such as banks or investment funds, to abandon the properties in exchange for financial compensation.
In reality, there are only three autonomous communities where the number of squatted dwellings has increased between the first six months of 2021 and 2022. These are the Valencian Community, Extremadura and Murcia. The situation in the first of these regions is particularly worrying due to two factors: the volume of squatted houses (more than four digits) and the percentage increase in this period of time. In total, the autonomous community went from 1,027 squatted properties to 1,270, an increase of 23.66%. The province of Castellón is one of the main culprits of this increase, registering a +46.77% increase. The capital, Valencia, is also above the Autonomous Community measure, with an increase of 24.43%.
Paloma Martín, Housing Councillor for the Community of Madrid, was particularly critical of the situation in the Valencian Community in an interview with idealista/news. "When we look at the most recent data from 2022, data published by the Ministry itself that analyses what has happened in the first seven months of the year, we see that in Valencia squatting has increased by 23% and in the Community of Madrid it has decreased by 15%. There are two different models: the one that is permissive of squatting and the one that defends private property and, of course, the one that defends the victims of squatting, who in the vast majority of cases are families, small savers who own their homes and see their rights violated. Therefore, the problem of squatting sends out a terrible message to the market, with a clear victim, which is once again Spanish families", the politician asserted.
The other two regions in which squatting is also increasing are far behind the figures registered by the Valencian Community. Extremadura increased by 5.43% and Murcia by 3.52%. Specifically, the former went from 92 squatted properties to 97, while the latter went from 359 squatted properties to 382.
Teruel has only one squatted house left
By provinces, Teruel, Ourense and Palencia are the ones that have managed to reduce this illegal activity the most. Teruel with a decrease of 66% (from 3 squatted houses to only 1) helps Aragon to reduce the total number by 12%. Zamora is close behind with a 60% drop from 10 houses to 4. The podium is completed by Ourense, which manages to remove 8 assets and leave the total number of squatted houses at 6 and a decrease of 57.14%.
On the opposite side are Soria, Lugo and Cuenca. The first increases by 200%, although the volume is not very representative: from one squatted house to 3. Lugo registers another alarming growth of 150%, but its total number is not worrying either: from 6 houses to 15 squatted houses. Cuenca has an increase of 92.31% and goes from 13 to 25 squatted houses.
How to evict squatters in Spain: Do squatters rights exist in Spain? For more information on all of this, including how to evict squatters in Spain and how to protect you Spanish home for squatters, check out our guides.
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