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Securing home from squatters

Posted: Tue May 24, 2022 9:59pm
15 replies444 views5 members subscribed
Crumble30

Posts: 4

Location: Pego

Joined: 5 Nov 2020

Hi

I live in England but bought a property in Pego in December 2020. Because of COVID I was unable to actually get to it until October 2021 only to find that squatters were living in it. I've just been informed by my Spanish solicitor that it is now empty. My big fear is that it will be re-squatted and the whole legal process will start again. I desperately need to find a company that can secure the building. Does anybody know local builders/security companies please?

Thanks

Des

Relyat

Posted: Wed May 25, 2022 8:43am

Relyat

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Joined: 12 Jul 2018

Posted: Wed May 25, 2022 8:43am

I know a good builder, but I doubt he'd be able to take on any work for some weeks. 

What work do you envisage? 

elinspain

Posted: Wed May 25, 2022 9:02am

elinspain

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Posts: 3222

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Location: La Mata

Joined: 4 May 2018

Posted: Wed May 25, 2022 9:02am

Hello

 Sorry about your situation Des but just offering a bit of advice -- Find a local reliable keyholder who can check regularly on your property  & show "signs of life there" . Move things around outside, leave the odd light on occasionally & if poss, tell your neighbours opposite, to look out for you, they have a better,  full view of your property than those next door!

Cheers

Elinspain.

Martyn1986

Posted: Wed May 25, 2022 9:03am

Martyn1986

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Location: Villajoyosa

Joined: 23 Aug 2020

Posted: Wed May 25, 2022 9:03am

Trust me squatters will always find a way in. Try visiting it asap or ask a friend or person of trust to visit regularly to show an obvious presence at the property.maybe even rent it out temporary to friends and family

Crumble30

Posted: Wed May 25, 2022 9:11pm

Crumble30

Original Poster

Posts: 4

Location: Pego

Joined: 5 Nov 2020

Posted: Wed May 25, 2022 9:11pm

Relyat wrote on Wed May 25, 2022 8:43am:

I know a good builder, but I doubt he'd be able to take on any work for some weeks. 

What work do you envisage? 

Not sure yet, but will get back to you.

Thanks

Des

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Davebev1

Posted: Thu May 26, 2022 8:09pm

Davebev1

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Location: Playa Flamenca

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Posted: Thu May 26, 2022 8:09pm

Martyn1986 wrote on Wed May 25, 2022 9:03am:

Trust me squatters will always find a way in. Try visiting it asap or ask a friend or person of trust to visit regularly to show an obvious presence at the property.maybe even rent it out temporary to friends and family

You cannot legally rent it out even to friends and family without a Tourist License, declaring the rental income and paying the tax on it.  If you don't have TL then friends and family can only use it for free.  But having a keyholder check the property frequently is sensible but for insurance purposes it is worth using a registered business and informing your insurance company of the arrangement.

Martyn1986

Posted: Thu May 26, 2022 8:46pm

Martyn1986

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Posted: Thu May 26, 2022 8:46pm

You can rent it through Airbnb without a license. I was going to say more but I decided to change it so I will say this.

Rent it out to friends and family and if you must, then get a tourist license. Or let them stay free.

Davebev1

Posted: Thu May 26, 2022 9:33pm

Davebev1

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Posted: Thu May 26, 2022 9:33pm

Martyn1986 wrote on Thu May 26, 2022 8:46pm:

You can rent it through Airbnb without a license. I was going to say more but I decided to change it so I will say this.

Rent it out to friends and family and if you must, then get a tourist license. Or let them stay free.

No you CANNOT rent through Airbnb without a tourist license!  They won't even accept the ad without a License number they can verify.  It is illegal to rent out the property to anyone for holiday purposes without a Tourist License.  Unless you are prepared to pay someone's fine please don't tell them to do something illegal.  I think the poor person has had enough expense dealing with squatters, they don't need someone encouraging them to get a massive fine as well!

As already stated in previous comments, you cannot rent to friends and family either without a Tourist License, they can only use your apartment for free.

The original post is about preventing squatters.  New locks, maybe new grills, alarm and regular checks by a keyholding company are the best options.  You can also use a live link security camera if you have wifi that you can monitor from your phone.  Blink do one (Amozon) that you can even speak to the person outside the house via your phone and tell them to go away as you are calling the police.

Martyn1986

Posted: Thu May 26, 2022 9:41pm

Martyn1986

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Joined: 23 Aug 2020

Posted: Thu May 26, 2022 9:41pm

Davebev1 wrote on Thu May 26, 2022 9:33pm:

No you CANNOT rent through Airbnb without a tourist license!  They won't even accept the ad without a License number they can verify.  It is illegal to rent out the property to anyone for holiday purposes without a Tourist License.  Unless you are prepared to pay someone's fine ple...

...ase don't tell them to do something illegal.  I think the poor person has had enough expense dealing with squatters, they don't need someone encouraging them to get a massive fine as well!

As already stated in previous comments, you cannot rent to friends and family either without a Tourist License, they can only use your apartment for free.

The original post is about preventing squatters.  New locks, maybe new grills, alarm and regular checks by a keyholding company are the best options.  You can also use a live link security camera if you have wifi that you can monitor from your phone.  Blink do one (Amozon) that you can even speak to the person outside the house via your phone and tell them to go away as you are calling the police.

You can rent through Airbnb without a tourist license, I can 100oercent guarantee it.

I said let them stay for free or if you must, get a license. Never said do anything for illegal, please read what was said

Davebev1

Posted: Thu May 26, 2022 10:04pm

Davebev1

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Posted: Thu May 26, 2022 10:04pm

Martyn1986 wrote on Thu May 26, 2022 9:41pm:

You can rent through Airbnb without a tourist license, I can 100oercent guarantee it.

I said let them stay for free or if you must, get a license. Never said do anything for illegal, please read what was said

AirBnB were fined for having non-licensed properties on their website.  It is not permitted to advertise a property in the Valencia region without displaying the License number.  Last time I looked (and we don't use them ourselves so it was a while ago) AirBnB were asking for License numbers and verifying them before accepting adverts for our region, as do reputable websites.  As regional regulations do vary it is possible they are accepting adverts from other regions when the License is in progress as other regions do permit that, but it is a national law that governs the need for having a License, regional laws deal with the detail of criteria to be met for the License and process of application.  

It is still illegal to rent out a property for holiday/leisure purposes to anyone without a Tourist License and without paying due tax on that rental income.  Also need to comply with the requirement to register all paying guests, which you cannot do without a License.  Non-compliance with any of those things can result in a fine.  You said in your post to RENT it through AirBnB without a License and you said the RENT it to friends and family or let them stay for free - so, with all due respect, you did suggest they do something illegal.

I have given my suggestions for doing what they can to legally prevent future occupation by squatters in previous comments as requested in the original post.

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