Lawsuits over squatting in Spain broke the trend twice in the second quarter of this year. After a sharp rise in cases during the first months of 2025, the volume of new filings dropped significantly in spring. In addition, Andalusia has overtaken Catalonia as the region with the highest number of cases, although Barcelona remains the most affected province.
According to data from the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), Spanish courts registered 487 new squatting lawsuits between April and June – a fall of 23.8% compared with the same period last year, and 17.7% lower than at the start of 2025. This marks the second-lowest figure in recent years, surpassed only by the number recorded in the summer of 2023.
Another notable shift revealed by the official data is that Catalonia no longer tops the national ranking for new squatting claims, having been overtaken by Andalusia – the only autonomous community to record more than 100 cases in the second quarter.
Specifically, Andalusian courts registered 105 cases, accounting for 21.5% of the national total, followed by Catalonia (88), the Valencian Community (50), Madrid (33) and Murcia (32). At the opposite end of the scale, Navarre did not record a single case, while Aragón, Cantabria and La Rioja each registered fewer than ten during the same period.
However, when the number of cases is compared with the population, the ranking changes considerably. The regions with the highest incidence are La Rioja (2.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), the Balearic Islands (2.2), Murcia (2), Asturias (1.8) and both Castilla–La Mancha and the Canary Islands (1.3 each).
Meanwhile, CGPJ data also show that Barcelona remains the province with the highest number of squatting lawsuits in spring, with 65 of the 487 cases recorded nationwide. It is followed by Málaga (45), Alicante (34), Madrid (33) and Murcia (32). All other provinces registered fewer than 30 cases during the period analysed, while Teruel, Soria, Valladolid, Lleida and Navarre were the only ones where no new squatting claims were filed in the courts.
Law demands negotiation before court action over squatting
The sharp decline in squatting lawsuits coincides with the entry into force, on 3 April, of Organic Law 1/2025, which introduces measures to improve the efficiency of the Public Justice Service. Under this law, property owners whose homes have been illegally occupied are now required to negotiate and attempt to reach an agreement before filing a lawsuit against the squatters. This obligation has been confirmed by the Judges of the Courts of First Instance and Mortgage Courts of Madrid, who have upheld Article 10 of the law.
The regulation stipulates that owners must “prove that an attempt at prior negotiation has been made” to meet the admissibility requirement, and that such negotiation or attempted negotiation must be properly documented.
It further specifies that once 30 calendar days have elapsed since the other party received the initial request for negotiation – without a meeting, contact or written response having taken place – the process will be considered terminated without agreement, allowing judicial proceedings to begin.
Many squats go unreported
In addition to the obligation to negotiate with squatters before filing a lawsuit, it is important to note that many cases go unreported to the police or the courts.
According to legal experts consulted by idealista/news, a growing number of property owners affected by illegal occupation are choosing alternative ways to recover possession of their homes as quickly as possible – either through negotiation and financial settlements with the squatters, or by hiring companies specialising in evictions. This trend is particularly common in cases of inquiokupación – where tenants voluntarily and deliberately stop paying rent — which are not included in official complaint statistics.
The average time required for a ruling has reached a record high in Spain, now standing at around 24 months, including initial proceedings and potential appeals before the Provincial Courts. As a result, many owners are increasingly resorting to informal or alternative methods to reclaim their properties more swiftly.
Spain’s new squatter targets: country homes and parking spaces
Traditionally, squatters in Spain have targeted vacant houses or centrally located flats. In recent months, however, the trend appears to have shifted, with a rise in the unlawful occupation of country homes, farmland and even parking spaces.