Illegal home occupation—known as "squatting"—has been increasing year after year in Spain. In 2024 alone, courts received 16,500 complaints related to "squatters." The reasons cited for this include the ban on evicting socially vulnerable individuals without a court order and the excessive burden on the judicial system.
According to lawyer Jorge Diéz, current laws are excessively lenient toward socially "vulnerable" groups. This, in turn, weakens the legal protection of tenants.
Property owners, meanwhile, are becoming reluctant to rent out their homes. This is because evicting a tenant who stops paying rent can take up to two years, during which the police cannot intervene. Meanwhile, criminal groups are taking advantage of vacant homes—they place "squatters" in them and later offer "peaceful eviction" services for a fee.
The opposition People's Party has promised to restore property owners' rights and amend current laws if it comes to power.
