Is this correct ? - squatters are allowed to occupy homes permanently if not evicted within 24 hours?

48  hours  is  allowed  for Police  to be involved.  Then  it  becomes  a civil  matter.  But  baseball  bats  spring  to mind. I  think  Spanish  law is leaning  towards  Squatters  but could be  wrong 

The police can evict within 48 hours with no warrant. It then becomes a civil matter and can take a long time to evict especially if they have children.

It's why it's advised to have a monitored alarm system so the company can alert the police straight away. Unless you have a good neighbour who keeps an eye on it all the time but that is a difficult thing to do.

UK was the same until 2012 when they made squatting illegal in residential properties. 

Squatting in the UK prior to it being made illegal was usually confined to properties that had been empty for some time, whereas in Spain squatters take over properties that are, in the main, holiday homes. These are not abandoned properties, utilities are connected and paid for, as are council taxes, they are stocked with personal property and possessions The Spanish government has resisted making squatting illegal as it solves a problem for them, i.e. the lack of social housing.  Another nonsense is the fact that the legal owner has to keep paying the cost of the utilities until they get a eviction notice against the squatters, how ridiculous is that!

  Personally I can only see this problem getting worse, a major concern for foreign property owners that do not live full time in Spain. The government need to address this if they want to continue to attract overseas retirees purchasing holiday homes.

Aitch.  

Hi,

Yes I'm afraid that is partially correct and true.

If the police Don't get involved almost immediately then you will need court orders to evict the squatters and as you say especially if they have children. 

Just to get as far as the very first court appearance could take months and in the meantime you will be responsible for the utilities and mortgage etc.

I followed a forum thread about squatters in somebody's apartment and after several court appearances still couldn't evict them and in the end, after 5 years, the poster paid them to leave.

But these cases are very rare and if you have an alarm and helpful neighbours you will be OK. 

Steve 

Any legal action to get rid of sqatters can only be taken by the legal owner of the property himself or his legal (POA) rep. providing proof of ownership before the secretary of the local court (Juzgado de Guardia) requesting preventive action (medidas preventivas).

Do you have any friends who can check on the property regularly or even allow a trusted person to house sit occasionally.

It is a massive problem in all parts of Spain ,Squatters move in and they are basically there for years before anything is done. Watch on youtube the Italiano zaza on his travels around Spain in the most dangerous areas were squatters take over. Lots to do with drugs also. 

We fitted cameras to our property for times we weren't there before we moved permanently.

The cameras we purchased are wireless and you can link them to your phone/tablet/pc, via the Internet, and they alert you when there is any movement in the vicinity. They can be placed inside and/or outside the property. Ours cost 90Euro each and they were easy to install and link to our devices. It was quite a few years ago now but we still activate them when we go away for any reason. Batteries last for 3-4 months when fully charged.

If the worst happens you can contact the police immediately. 

Hi Cornflakes,

My neighbour has installed these:

https://www.amazon.es/dp/B08B64M15W/ref=pe_27091411_487056151_TE_item?tag=cstareg0f-21

https://www.amazon.es/dp/B08B655FQN/ref=pe_27091411_487056151_TE_item?tag=cstareg0f-21

However, a Guardia Civil officer recommended this cheaper option to us, which he had installed at his own home - the video and image resolution was very clear and the audio option meant he could surprise potential robbers or squatters.

https://www.amazon.es/TP-Link-Tapo-C320WS-Vigilancia-Notificaciones/dp/B098TVZ6TS/ref=sr_1_2?crid=O3770Q2NW3T8&keywords=tp-link+tapo&qid=1685817499&s=tools&sprefix=Tapo%2Cdiy%2C143&sr=1-2&tag=cstareg0f-21

https://www.amazon.es/TP-Link-Tapo-C500-Vigilancia-Bi-direccional/dp/B0BQJVKVQR/ref=sr_1_3?crid=O3770Q2NW3T8&keywords=tp-link+tapo&qid=1685817577&s=tools&sprefix=Tapo%2Cdiy%2C143&sr=1-3&tag=cstareg0f-21

Kind regards,

Kim