Squatter's rights

Spain's Platform of People Affected by Squatting (PAO), like many others, has expressed its worries concerning the country's new Housing Law.

Someone is living in your property and not paying rent: are they a squatter or a defaulter? The key lies in how they gained access to the property.

The Catalan Parliament's plenary session has approved a bill promoted by Junts per Catalunya that allows local councils to order the eviction from illegally occupied homes in cases where the owners are large landlords (who own 10 or more flats) and do not initiate eviction through the courts.

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.

Squatters or ‘Okupas’ in Spain are a major problem. The illegal squatting of properties in Spain has become one of the biggest headaches for property owners in recent months, and Spain's well known problem with squatters doesn't seem to be getting any better.

Squatting in Spain rose by 2.7% in 2020 compared to 2019, according to data from the Secretary of State for Security.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed many things in Spain, and among these, crime patterns on the Spanish coast. This is demonstrated by the report 'Burglaries in insured homes.

The COVID-19 pandemic in Spain has increased cases of squatting due to the inability of homeowners to check on their second homes due to the state of alarm.

The topic of squatters in Spain, or okupas in Spanish, is a controversial problem across the country.

Squatting and squatters are currently on everyone’s minds in Spain. For homeowners whose property is being squatted in, the first thing that usually goes through their head is to go to the Police Station or the Court, because it is a crime of usurpation.

The Congressional Justice Commission (Comisión de Justicia del Congreso) has approved the Proposition for a Law from the Catalan European Democratic Party (PDeCat) to speed up the eviction of illegally squatted housing, especially by mafias. It does not affect tenants who do not pay rent.