Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2020 10:46am
When I bought my apartment three years ago, I never imagined I would be writing a message like this. I have an apartment, and we have quite a few squatters (some groups of men) plus attempted break-ins from other squatters trying to gain entry. Once squatters are in, it is very difficult to try to evict them! There were three attempted break-ins whilst I was over in July, I was only over for 14 days! Knowing this I am now in the process of making my apartment more secure than I would ever imagined I would have to. If squatters manage to break the lock, change the lock and gain entry, all within 15 minutes, there is nothing the police can do. You can not turn off the electric or water, if you do you will be made to put it back on, and the squatters have the right to sue you for compensation too! And you can not enter the property to get your possessions. Since the COVID outbreak, there has been an increase 0f 2%; it is believed the majority of squatters are led by gangs, obtaining properties and then renting them out. Many squatters once they feel the need to move on either sell the key to other squatters or rent the apartment to other squatters! Unbelievable, but this is definitely happening. If squatters do obtain entry into your apartment, it will cost you quite a bit of money to get them evicted, eventually! It will cost the squatters, nothing! It is a growing concern, my advice is to secure your property as much as you can, the cost is nothing compared to what it will be if you are a victim. I have written to the town's major too, asking her for her support, everyone needs to be voicing their concerns. This is not going to go away! At this moment in time I would not advise anyone to buy a property in Spain; the Spanish government needs to know, the coronavirus isn't the only threat to the economy. Finally, the apartments which the squatters moved into initially are apartments which were left empty during the recession, however squatters are now breaking into anything they can. It is not only foreign buyers, but Spanish too.