How to Protect Yourself from Adverse Possession or Squatters?

According to data provided by the Secretary of State for Security in 2020, the increase in squatting grew by 2.7% compared to 2019 in Spain. In the following post, we will help you understand this phenomenon and how to protect yourself against squatting/adverse possession in your property.

The alarming growth of employment in Catalonia

During 2020, and notwithstanding the mobility restrictions caused by Covid-19, squatters living in properties has not stopped. In fact, they rose much more than in other autonomous communities. In Madrid, for example, there was a 20% drop in the number of complaints of illegal squatting. In 2015, the number rose to 1,630. Then, in 2020, they dropped to 1,316. Very different is the case of Catalonia, which went from 4,000 complaints in 2015, to register 6,647 cases in 2020. According to Toni Miranda, president of the National Organisation of People Affected by Squatting (ONAO), this is due to poor national legislation on the issue. He states that “in Spain there is a serious problem of legislation that protects squatters, it has been legislated in an ideological way and it has been shown that it does not work, there are thousands of families suffering a lot, both psychologically, with problems of anxiety and depression, and economically, because it has been chosen to protect those who commit crimes“.

What is squatting and how can you protect yourself from squatters, and what does the law say about it?

First of all, it is important to know that the occupation of property against the owner’s will is punishable under the Spanish Penal Code. It does not matter if this adverse possession is carried out with or without violence, the penalty exists. Secondly, we must distinguish between the two types of criminal offences.

1. The offence of breaking and entering (art. 202 CP).
2. The offence of Encroachment (art. 245 PC).

The difference between the two concepts is the legal good protected by the criminal classification. In other words, what the Penal Code is trying to protect when regulating these criminal actions. In breaking and entering, it is precisely that: the victim’s home. The place where the victim goes about his or her daily life. And this includes both residences where the victim lives permanently, as well as those where the victim lives temporarily (e.g. second homes). In encroachment or adverse possession, it is the right of ownership that is protected. This is typically the case of abandoned, empty houses or flats, those ready to be refurbished or under construction where the owner does not live. Finally, we will talk about the conceptual difference between usurpation and squatting. Sandra Roca, from MurciaEconomia, explains it clearly: “A squatter is a person who forcibly enters someone else’s house and is anti-system, normally an anarchist, who occupies an abandoned public building to give it a social use”. According to the journalist, people who commit usurpation use extortion. Once inside the flat, they may demand a sum of money to leave. On the contrary, some squatters only seek to rehabilitate abandoned public buildings in order to put them at the service of the community. In any case, if it exists:

1. Complaint of illegal occupation of a property (the owner of the property expresses his will against the occupation).
2. The intention of the squatter is to remain and the risk of losing possession by the owner of the property is proven.
3. It is an occupation without title (there is no rental contract, commodatum, sale, etc.).

If the crime of usurpation has been committed, you can activate the legal mechanisms to recover the property. What is the first thing you should do? Call the police. Law 5/2018, published in the BOE on 11th June, states that you must file a complaint within 48 hours of adverse possession or squatting. In this way, if the occupied dwelling is considered a dwelling, the squatter will be a trespasser and is not committing usurpation. Then, you have to initiate legal proceedings. There are two ways to do this, civil (through express eviction) and criminal.

What kind of housing are squatters targeting?

There are different methods to protect against squatting. But before we talk about them, let’s define what the typical target of those seeking to occupy is. Their ideal, in order to avoid premature evictions, will be properties belonging to financial institutions or real estate funds. But they are also looking for houses or flats owned by private owners, which are not the owner’s usual abode. Their eye will then be on second homes that are remote, difficult to access and not very busy. This is where we must pay close attention and protect ourselves.

Protecting yourself against squatting: what can and cannot you do as a landlord?

There is a lot of information on this subject. That is why we decided to make a list of the 5 essential elements that you need to take into consideration if you are looking to protect your flat or house from squatters.

1. Alarms connected to ARC (Alarm Receiving Centre). This type of alarm is extremely effective. The reason for the high degree of security they provide is that there is always a specialist team receiving and managing the alerts.

2. Reinforced doors or doors with special anti-squatting locks. Designed to prevent squatting, they are impassable from the outside. They cost approximately €1000 and are installed on the door frame to be protected.

Here is a list of the best suppliers of this type of anti-squatting defence.

3. Grilles or window backing. Similar to the previous one, with the aim of making it impossible and blocking access from the outside, you can reinforce your windows with grilles or window bars.

4. Exterior motion sensors and impact detectors. An excellent accessory for armoured doors.

5. Surveillance service. Perhaps one of the least valued resources, but one of the most efficient. Where does its importance lie? In that it can be decisive in carrying out an eviction without the need for a court order, thus saving a lot of time and money.

The police can only evict without a court order when the occupants have not been inside the property for 24 hours or more. In other words, when they have not constituted a dwelling in the occupied space. Hiring a surveillance service proves that the property is not abandoned. In addition, it ensures that in the event of an occupation, the police will be notified so that they can vacate the property within 24 hours. As you can see, it takes time and work to protect yourself against a squatting situation. If you need more help with this issue or to sell or rent your property, you can count on our advice and counselling. Do not hesitate to leave us your comments.