The question of squatters is a scary thought for owners, particularly for those who does not live in their Spanish dwelling all the year round.
Who are ocupas
Ocupas got their nickname from the Spanish verb “ocupar”, that is, “to occupy.” One can find two different spellings of this word. With “c” – “ocupa”, and with “k” – “okupa”. The second is more often used when one wants to emphasize the socio-political color of this phenomenon. “Ocupa” is the more conventional spelling. In general, in both cases it is the spanish word for squatter – somebody who illegally takes over residence when the owners are not at home.
The first option is that the occupiers first rent housing on official terms and only then move to an illegal position. Such unreliable tenants eventually stop paying rent – for this they can be evicted from the rented housing, but only by a court decision, which will take at least two months. In this case, the owner does not have the right to use physical force or turn off electricity and water.
The second option for invaders is usually the unemployed, refugees, migrants and swindlers who live without a legal basis from the very beginning.
The question of Ocupas (squatters) in Spain
Lately the squatters’ topic is a very trendy one in the European news, especially in Spain. The illegal occupation of dwellings constitutes a threat to owners of property. At the same time, according to widespread opinion, Spain has become the only country in Europe that supports illegal occupation.
Spanish Ministry of Interior reports that in recent years the growing in this type of crime has been exponential. Today there are about 33 cases a day throughout the country, while five years ago were reported only 21. Illegal occupation generates serious social and economic problems. But there is still the growth of this type of crime. The numbers say that illegal occupation has increased by half in Spain since 2016 and between 2018 and 2019 it increased by 20%, to 14,394 occupations. The COVID period in 2020 only made the situation worse.
Ocupas rights in Spain
The question of ocupas in Spain is ambiguous. And sometimes it seems that the property owners have fewer rights than offenders, even though ocupas sneaked in here. And if the owner wants to take justice into his own hands, he must bear in mind that any action may have a consequence and in the future criminal liability for himself.
Why did this happen?
The government specifically took such measures during the crisis of the 2000s. On the one hand, there were many wealthy people who owned more than one house. On the other hand, many representatives of the poor strata of the population ended up on the streets, because they could not afford to pay mortgages or rent. Later in 2008, at the period of economic crisis , citizens were entitled to stay in housing, even without paying for it. Low-income people began to use it, and the problem became widespread.
Eviction of ocupas
Sometimes people find themselves in this desperate situation, when someone occupied illegally their property. If suddenly such an unpleasant situation happened to you, the first thing to do is to pull yourself together.
As the experts point out, there are only two things for the owner to do in this case.
First – call the police or the emergency number 112 , and inform about the offenders in the house. The police patrol will come. The policemen make sure that you have the deed of purchase with you or the legal contract. In some cases the police, of course, can take the immediate action.
Second – go to the court to file a court claim in order to assure the result. Particularly – the civil claim. If you need to file a criminal claim, you should remember that it would be necessary to make more steps which is request an injury measure of eviction.
In case when illegal tenants are overtaken at the time of entry into your house, you can immediately evict them. But if the “ocupas” managed to move in and change the locks, even without having any reason to do so, they can only be evicted through the courts. Therefore, the speed of your actions and the timely appeal to the police are so important.
How to protect your home from ocupas
At the initial stage, if you are planning to buy house or apartment in Spain, you should choose elite areas with a high standard of living. In a guarded residential complex, there is much less likelihood of encountering the occupiers, it is practically nonexistent.
In addition, you should not buy into the offers of banks to buy cheap illiquid housing. 80% of this housing is sold with ocupas. Firstly, such housing cannot be viewed. People think that they will buy a cheap house, kick out the payoffs, make repairs, and everything will be fine. Yes, they can then kick them out through the courts. But this will have to spend a lot of time and money.
It is also recommended installing burglar alarms and establish relations with neighbors. If you are leaving for a long time, you should ask your neighbors to call you if they see that someone else has moved into your house.
And of course, you need to carefully study who you rent your home to. Experts recommend taking a deposit and requesting as many documents as possible confirming a person’s solvency. It is best if your tenant will have a permanent job in a large company. Then, in case of non-payment, the court will be able to recover the debt from his salary.
Also, to improve safety, the owner must request an advance payment for at least three months of rent. The cost of one month is considered a deposit for solving issues with equipment breakdowns, etc. And the rest goes as payment for a couple of months in advance.
The owner of the real estate can transfer the property to the management of a specialized agency in order to look after the apartment or house.
Protection from squatters when you are a tenant
Another case is when you plan to rent a house for yourself and act as a tenant. In this regard, it is important to present to the police the rental right signed by the owner of the property. There are scammers who rent properties that are already occupied or rented by someone else. So it is very important when you sign a rental contract, to double check that the person who is claiming to be the owner of the property is indeed the owner. That can be done easily through your lawyer or you can request an informative note in the Land Registry Office. It has a very small cost – around 10 euros – but will avoid you many headaches.
Types of insurance to protect the property from squatters
What you should know is that removing squatters from a home is never covered in Spain by insurance. What is included in a policy is theft cover, and vandalism cover.
– No insurance policy can protect an owner from squatters. However once owners are aware that their property has been taken over the Liberty Seguros policy provides for legal costs to facilitate the recovery of the property. This cover is an option extra on our house policies. It costs about €18 to be included in the policy, – Chris Ross, director of Tenerife Insurance Services SL comments.
Miguel Angel Cortes, from BMI Insurance Brokers SL, points out that there is a separate insurance which provides legal experts’ help in all this matters. The aim of such policy is to provide the insured with the services of judicial and extrajudicial legal assistance. Also it covers the costs for which the client may be entitled incurring the same, as a result of its intervention in a judicial, administrative, arbitral procedure.
In this case the main insurable assumptions are:
- Telephone Legal Assistance.
- Claim for illegal occupation of property.
- Claim for the effective recovery of real estate.
- Claim for damage to property.
Fees, duties and court costs arising processing of proceedings cutlery, the fees of lawyers, experts, attorneys, notarial and power of attorney expenses are the main costs incurred.