Eviction of occupiers in Spain will become easier!

Those who have been in Spain for a while are familiar with the term “okupas” or occupiers. But many people have questions and misunderstandings about who they are and why they are occupying other people’s homes.

These are people or families who by any possible means invade someone else’s apartment/house or second residence, if the owners do not live there for a long time and the apartments are empty for years. Their reasons are always different: lack of money, lack of their own home, etc.

In the past, you could only evict occupiers with the help of the police within the first 48 hours of their invasion, then only through the court. Even though you are the owner, by law you had no right to influence them in any way until the court order.

Simplifying the eviction process

But the other day something happened that many people have been waiting for a long time, and we especially. The other day a new protocol from the Spanish Ministry of Interior came into force. The main innovation is that it now eliminates the 48-hour deadline for evicting occupiers from an apartment.

If the intrusion occurred recentlythe trespassers can be evicted by police officers and the apartment must be returnedto the rightful owner. Despite the wording “recent crime”, the Spanish Interior Ministry does not set any precise legal timeframe for this procedure.

In addition, it is now established that whether the intrusion was into an apartment where the owner resides permanently or into a dwelling that is a second residence, in both cases it is possible to immediately evict the intruder without the need for court action.

From now on, national, regional or local police and civil guards will have to fill out a statement, where all elements of the offense must be stated and handed over to the judicial authorities to prove the commission of the crime and the involvement of the alleged perpetrators.

The record indicates if the property occupied is not a dwelling unit, it is usurpation. If the offense is not seriousthe eviction should be through the court.

When are the actions of occupiers considered serious?

According to the Spanish Supreme Court, at least three points must be met for a crime to be considered “serious”:

• immediacy of action
• the presence of evidence of the perpetrator’s presence
• urgent need for police intervention

Of course eviction will not become too easy, but it clearly simplifies the procedure. In other words, once the police take the complaint to court, the judge and prosecutor have enough power to authorize eviction from the occupied property and not prolong the court procedure.