Okupas in Spain: Squatters' Rights and Property Protection
Contents
Who are “okupas” and where do they come from?
What real estate is at risk?
What to do if a house is captured?
How to avoid okupas and protect your property
Conclusion
“Okupas” is the first word that scares those who are going to buy real estate in Spain. During the quarantine, discussions of this topic began to appear more frequently in social media and the press. What is this phenomenon, how widespread is it in Spain, and what is the chance of losing your home because of squatters? Let’s take a closer look.
1. Who are “okupas” and where do they come from?
Let’s start with the history of this phenomenon. In its modern form, okupas appeared after socially oriented Spain adopted laws aimed at protecting the rights of tenants who found themselves in difficult economic situations. During the 2008 financial crisis, citizens were allowed to remain in housing even if they couldn’t pay for it. Such a “tenant” could only be evicted by court decision, and the process took an enormous amount of time.
Suddenly, this right began to be used not by law-abiding Spaniards experiencing temporary difficulties, but by marginal groups and illegal migrants. Many of them didn’t even have legal status in Spain. And the word “okupas” (from the Spanish verb “ocupar” - to capture, occupy) became synonymous with this phenomenon.
In Europe and America, squatters (people occupying vacant buildings) also exist. However, it was precisely the Spanish version of squatting that became a symbol of the absurdity of laws designed to protect citizens. However, many striking examples can also be found in other European countries: from the independent district of Christiania in the Danish capital, a “state within a state,” to Berlin squatting - housing occupied by artists.
In Spain, a paradoxical system developed: legal homeowners could not dispose of their property while paying for others’ utility bills and bearing financial and moral losses. Eviction court proceedings could last for years, and if there were children in the squatter family, the owner practically lost the ability to reclaim their property. Fortunately, the situation began to change.
The problem could not be solved without government intervention. In June 2018, Law 5/2018 on “forced eviction” was adopted. According to this law, the property owner (individual or non-profit organization) received the right to “accelerated consideration of cases of illegal occupation of residential premises in civil court.” When the legal owner appeals to court, the judge is obliged to make a decision and give okupas five days to provide documents confirming the legality of their stay in the occupied premises. If such documents are not provided, eviction occurs immediately. Amendments were also made to criminal and procedural legislation. Now it’s possible to contact police without specifying the names of squatters - previously it was required to indicate personal data, which okupas were not going to reveal.
2. What real estate is at risk?
Statistics show that the largest number of registered cases of apartment and house capture by okupas falls on Barcelona and Madrid - cities with large numbers of immigrants. Other regions are also not protected from squatters. Nevertheless, okupas’ actions are rational - they choose the least protected places.
Analyze the neighborhood
First of all, it’s worth assessing the neighborhood’s prosperity. The higher the standard of living, the lower the probability that someone will occupy an apartment or house. Very cheap options in disadvantaged neighborhoods often present “surprises.”
Secondly, pay attention to neighbors and the level of infrastructure around. A house standing alone, most vacant apartments in a building - all this should be alarming. If there are neighbors nearby with whom you can communicate, your investment property or vacation home will be safer during your absence.
Study statistics
The Spanish Association of Real Estate Appraisers indicates the risk of okupas appearing in the area where the property is located within the next six years as one of the criteria for property valuation. Therefore, it’s useful to study statistics and evaluation not only from a price perspective.
Choose reliable sellers
Okupas find it easier to establish themselves in houses belonging to banks and legal entities. The law actively protects citizens’ rights, while corporations, developers, and banks prefer to resolve issues with squatters through lawyers. Therefore, when choosing a house or apartment, we recommend paying attention to offers like “cheap real estate from banks.” As a rule, in addition to “cheapness,” you’ll get a package of illegal residents whom you’ll have to deal with yourself.
If you’re selecting housing through popular aggregators - Idealista, Fotocasa, Milanuncios and other Spanish sites - contact us for professional consultation to avoid critical mistakes. We’ll help both with neighborhood selection and property verification.
3. What to do if a house is captured?
If this happens to you, the first thing you need to do is stay calm.
It should be remembered that in Spain, attempting to enter your own house occupied by okupas and using physical force can turn against you and lead to a criminal case. Therefore, it’s necessary to put aside emotions and remember: the main thing is your quick reaction and legal actions.
Illegal residents can be evicted immediately only if they were caught during break-in. If okupas managed to establish themselves and change locks, they can only be evicted through court. This is precisely why the speed of your actions and timely contact with police are so important.
In addition to cooperation with law enforcement agencies, services for evicting okupas have become widespread in Spain: a team of strong guys who come to have a conversation with uninvited guests. It should be taken into account that no one gives a hundred percent guarantee for such services, and they don’t always work. But as long as there’s demand - there will be supply.
In the legal field, the owner has two paths: act within the framework of civil law by appealing to court, or within the framework of criminal law - involving police and conducting an investigation.
4. How to avoid okupas and protect your property
By correctly choosing a neighborhood and assessing how attractive the acquired property is for capture, you can significantly reduce the risk. There are several ways to reduce it to zero:
Vigilant neighbors
The most banal advice - “be friends with neighbors” - turns out to be very useful in this case. If it’s important to quickly react to illegal entry, it’s precisely neighbors who will be the first to inform you about what’s happening.
Is it easy to make friends with Spaniards? For this, you won’t have to delve into their mentality and thoroughly study Spanish - it’s enough to be polite. Spaniards know perfectly well how to communicate and maintain casual conversation. Show respect, and then, when leaving for a long period, you can ask them to keep an eye on your house. Among our clients there are many stories with happy endings when neighbors themselves called police.
Concierge services
In your absence, professionals can look after real estate and solve any related issues: from pool cleaning to interaction with utility services and government agencies.
What’s included in the service and how much does our concierge service cost in Alicante and Torrevieja?
1. Inspection of your real estate:
- Photo or video report on the property’s condition
- Checking the integrity of locks, doors and windows
- Recording possible problems (breakdowns, leaks)
- Checking for water, electricity availability (if necessary)
- Calling a technician or insurance company (in case of problems)
2. Ventilating premises
3. Responsible key storage
4. Checking mailbox, retrieving correspondence
5. Notification of receiving letters from government agencies
The service is possible both with key transfer for property access and without the possibility of entering inside. In this case, a photo or video report on the real estate condition from outside and visual assessment of lock integrity is provided.
Cost of one-time service - 50 EUR + VAT.
Monthly check:
- For 6 months - 249 EUR + VAT
- For 12 months - 490 EUR + VAT
Security, alarm systems and video surveillance
Illegal entry is a criminal offense, so okupas prefer to bypass protected houses. After all, if an alarm goes off and police arrive, it will no longer be possible to pretend that “we’ve been living here for a long time.” Therefore, it’s recommended to conclude a contract for property security or install an alarm system.
For the same purpose and for your own peace of mind, you can install a video surveillance system that will allow you to control the house from anywhere in the world through gadgets. You can also equip housing with sensors that track illegal entry. This will help not only call police in time but also completely prevent break-in. In addition, you’ll have video recording as evidence. Yes, sometimes even camera dummies or stickers saying the house is guarded stop squatters, but it’s better to conclude real contracts and install real cameras.
Insurance against okupas and unscrupulous tenants
Insurance companies offer two types of insurance that will help property owners. Legal protection insurance for owners (Seguro de Defensa Jurídica para Propietarios) protects property from capture by third parties. It covers expenses for court proceedings and legal assistance.
To protect against unscrupulous tenants who stopped paying and turned into okupas, you can get insurance against non-payment of rent (Seguro de Impago de Alquiler).
The cost of such insurance is from 3 to 5 percent of the rent depending on the term and contract conditions. The contract can be concluded for six months or a longer period; according to the agreement conditions, insurance covers only the cost of rent and possible property damage, as well as court proceedings expenses. Another advantage of rental insurance is that the insurance company checks the tenant’s status, solvency, overdue loans and other formalities before concluding the contract.
We help VirtoProperty clients both with choosing an insurance company and with support when concluding a contract. We provide translation services and offer support when contacting insurance companies and banks.
Keep track of documents
If you’re leaving for a long period or live in the house only a couple of months a year, don’t leave title documents, contracts with utility services or personal data in accessible places. Scans or copies of title documents should always be with you. This will help react quickly and provide all necessary data to police or court, speeding up the consideration process of the okupas eviction case.
5. Conclusion
We all live within the framework of current legislation, but hope for quick changes.
In the Spanish Congress there are political forces that recognize the need for such changes. They plan to adopt amendments according to which “okupas” can be evicted within 48 hours, prohibit them from prolonged stay in captured houses and apartments, and also toughen responsibility for occupying others’ property by making changes to the Criminal Code. Currently “okupas” get off with fines they don’t pay because they “have no means of subsistence.” Under new amendments, they will face real sentences from 1 to 3 years.
Another proposal is the possibility of filing eviction lawsuits against “okupas” not only by owners but also by neighbors based on squatters’ illegal actions (drug trafficking, inappropriate behavior, etc.). But so far these are only draft laws far from reality, so when choosing a house or apartment in Spain, one should be guided by common sense and professional consultations.
We hope these tips will never be useful to you and nothing will overshadow your stay in Spain!