House occupation is a crime in Spain: you must be protected
The ‘Great Recession’ in 2008 caused an earthquake in Spanish economy with an unemployment which had increased to a maximum of 26%. In Real Estate it was also like an electroshock, that is the reason why it is not rare to read in the press headlines like : ‘is it another bubble coming?’.
For the citizens’ who had a mortgage ‘Great Recession was very damaging because a portion of the population can’t afford its payments so it was evicted from its house. Since 2007 eviction orders had more than doubled. Moreover with data from 2018 there were nearly 100.000 houses illegally occupied in Spain. This phenomena stem from 3 causes:
1. Poverty and inequity: Although that poverty had slightly declined in 2018, Spain remains like one of the European ‘leaders’ in this index.
2. The low percentage in social housing: around the 2% of the total homes.
3. Prices increase in homes had cut off from the market
The phenomenon is clearly explained for this factors. However, as we underlined occupy a home or building is a crime in Spain. Let us see what Spanish tells about private property right. In article 33: we can read that ‘citizens only can be excluded of property rights due to public utility reasons, and only if they are properly compensated’. Let us be absolutely clear about: nobody –including the State- can occupy without justification your home. Although the article 33 is clear often is violated. How much it can cost to evict someone who is illegally occupying your home? It can represent 10.000€ and 10 month fighting in the court. Moreover, the eviction process creates anxety to home owners.
So, in the rest of the text we will be dedicated to advice you in order to avoid an illegal occupation of your property. Here we go with our advices:
1. Rent your home this will solve the problem of having an empty flat which can be easily occupied. Can’t you rent your property? No problem ask to a friend or neighbor to collect your mail. Thank to this it will be difficult to know that your home is empty.
2. Clean your home with regularity and look after your plants. You have the same aim: to pretend that you are inside your home.
3. Avoid to indicate that you are looking for someone to buy or rent your flat. Don’t show bunners you don’t want to make easier the occupiers ‘job’.
4. Install an alarm in order to avoid intrusions. It is perhaps the most useful advice.
5. Make sure that every door and window is closed you have to avoid that someone enter in your home by jumping in it.
6. Protect the door by using a safety lock. It exists even a better option to make the intrusion harder: to install a magnetic shield which protect your home from inside and outside. You have even a third option: to install a first iron door and then a second door.
7. If you can spend more money you will have more options: to install a closed circuit of television or even a thermal camera, which detects intrusion by bodies’ temperature. If you think that this seventh advice is exaggerated, bare in mind, that a huge number of intrusions are in isolated homes.
With our reccomendations you will be able to protect your home with a wide range of options. In Finques Feliu we are prepared to help you.