Up to 9 squatting dwellings appear in Spain every day: at the moment there are already more than 120,000

Up to 9 squatting dwellings appear in Spain every day: at the moment there are already more than 120,000

According to the Spanish Organization of People Affected by Squatting, more than 120,000 Spanish houses have already been illegally occupied by people from poor, vulnerable, generally homeless, categories of the population.

And while squatting leads to objective damage to occupied property, the fight against it, at the same time, will only aggravate the situation with homelessness in Spain and radicalize people to move from simple squatting to house raids.

Anyway, squatting remains a real problem for the country, which different groups propose to fight in different ways.

The previously mentioned Organization of Victims of squatting claims that by October 2021, they had recorded about 120,000 cases when private houses were inhabited by squatters.

According to the Prosecutor General's Office, up to 9 cases of home invasions and/or seizures occur daily. These are mainly houses located in rural areas that are used as a «secondary housing» by wealthy homeowners who have the opportunity to keep several residential properties in their asset portfolio.

These may be other houses that are empty for some reason. It can also be houses located in residential areas of some cities.

According to the National Institute of Statistics of Spain (INE), among the autonomous communities of the country, in 2021, the most affected by squatting were Andalusia, Madrid and Valencia. They recorded 736, 624 and 519 cases of invasion, respectively.

The number of such crimes has not decreased even during COVID-19 and the accompanying national quarantine. In fact, the number of squatting cases even increased by 1.58% compared to 2019 (approx. before the pandemic).

Ignacio Aller, commercial director of the security firm Movistar Prosegur Alarms, explains: «Having a professional home security and surveillance system can help avoid the squatting problem or help solve it in a shorter time. But it must be remembered that the main problem with squatting is that in Spain the legal process of eviction can take months or even years».

Home alarms are a significant deterrent for both squatters and burglars engaged in breaking into usually empty «secondary housing». Modern security systems offer a wide range of protection tools, including detectors that are activated in the event of an intrusion, deterrent signs warning of the presence of an alarm, an effective communication system that allows you to effectively and directly communicate with the Alarm Reception Center (ARC).

An early warning about the unauthorized seizure of housing allows the police to immediately go to the call, and already at this moment the act of squatting is considered as a crime ot burglary. The police have 48 hours from the moment of entry into the house to arrest squatters for the specified offense without judicial permission.

The protocol implies the liberation of the occupied territory, the identification of unauthorized occupants and, if necessary, their arrest.

However, if a squatter spends more than 48 hours in the property, this action is already considered occupation and «usurpation» of a residential real estate, and not burglary. In this case, the police can no longer evict the squatter without court permission.

In such cases, the owner of the property must prove ownership and confirm the absence of any legal grounds allowing the presence of squatters on the territory of the occupied house. All this often takes a very long time.

For this reason, as well as to prevent a possible takeover, organizations like Movistar Prosegur Alarms, a joint venture of the telecommunications company Telefónica and the security company Prosegur, are being created.

Both organizations are going to use Movistar PA to lead the growth and development of the home security systems sector in Spain.

Security companies recommend installing security systems securely connected to the ARC and, as a result, connected to the police. Modern security systems will allow the owner to feel that his vacant house is safe, under round-the-clock surveillance in case of any acts of illegal entry.

Share
Subscribe to newsletter
Subscribe