In Catalonia, there is a significant deterioration in the situation with the squatting of commercial premises (approx. Squatting — unauthorized settlement of permanently or temporarily empty premises). The activity of squatters is monitored both at the regional and national level by various agencies and, according to available data, 42% of all cases of unauthorized occupation of empty spaces in the country are concentrated in the autonomous community of Catalonia today.
After the pandemic and against the background of the current, rather difficult, economic situation in Spain and the world, the number of people left without jobs and means of livelihood is actively growing. Often such people lose their own place to live and are left with only two alternatives — homelessness or occupation of someone else. However, the seizure may also occur in relation to commercial areas, which are subsequently converted into places for living.
According to the latest data from the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, as of September 2021, 5,689 squatting complaints had accumulated in Catalonia. Most of them came from the province of Barcelona, where there are 4,229 illegally occupied properties, which is 74% of all complaints received.
Today, there are a total of 30,500 empty premises in Barcelona. In the first quarter of 2022 alone, the number of such premises increased by 6%. Taking into account the above figures and conducting its own market research, the Spanish proptech company Brickbro estimated that 20% of all vacant premises in Barcelona are probably occupied by squatters. In the capital of Catalonia, taking into account the growth in the number of empty premises, the number of spaces occupied by squatters is also about 20%.
The pandemic and the growth of the e-commerce sector have led to a high turnover of tenants in the region. At the same time, according to Brickbro, 8 out of 10 commercial enterprises are closed during the first three years of existence. All this creates an unstable and unbalanced market with a huge number of unclaimed properties. All this real estate, which has not found use, eventually turns out to be occupied by squatters. The Brickbro report also notes that residents of Catalonia in general indicate an increased sense of insecurity in recent months.