• inquiokupas – there is an agreement, but no payments; Eviction often goes through a civil procedure and can take a long time.
• okupas – unauthorized occupation of housing; The provisions of the Criminal Code and accelerated procedures are applied, but in practice there are restrictions and bottlenecks.
• The issue of moratorium/social measures and the actual timing of evictions remains uncertain, and the goals of the invaders may shift to other types of objects.
• Arbitrariness (forceful measures, changing locks, shutting off utilities) can result in liability for the owner.

What to do right now:

• Strengthen the physical protection of the facility and record events (locks/alarms/cameras).
• Act legally correctly and quickly, collecting evidence and documents.
• Do not use illegal methods of pressure.

The difference between unscrupulous tenants and invaders (squatters)

Let’s immediately distinguish between these two categories: inquiokupas and okupas. Often on social networks and forums they are confused with each other or do not see the difference at all. In fact, the difference between these two categories lies in the nature of their relationship with real estate:

• unscrupulous tenants (inquiokupas) are those who, for various reasons, do not fulfill their contractual obligations by not paying the appropriate rent;
• occupiers (okupas) are persons who have arbitrarily occupied someone else’s home without having any legal rights to do so.

The tenant, as a rule, enters into a lease agreement, which sets out his rights and obligations, while the person who occupied the premises without permission does not have a legal basis for living in this property. In legal and social terms, approaches to these situations differ, because they entail specific consequences and decisions.

Statistics

It is difficult to give real numbers, because… Not all cases are registered and go to court, not all owners are in Spain, not all have the means and health to solve the problem. In 2023, according to the VOX party, in Spain there were 80,000 housing units with inquiokupas, i.e. non-paying tenants. This number was severely criticized by other parties and leading periodicals, but none of them cited their own statistics to support it.

Non-profit organizations and associations involved in the protection of property rights in Spain estimate that there are approximately 25,000 cases of unfair rentals per year, based on calls and complaints received. There are an estimated 60,000 frozen cases in the courts. Considering that since 2020 there has been a moratorium on the forced eviction of vulnerable families in Spain, and the courts have dragged on for years, the figure of 80,000 named by VOX even looks underestimated.

The number of residential properties occupied by squatters and put up for sale is estimated at 20,000. However, many times more objects are not included in the statistics: these are abandoned housing, and housing whose owners do not know about the seizure, as well as cases that have not been brought to court. It is estimated that there are +16,500 occupied housing units in Spain every year.

Unscrupulous tenants (inquiokupas)

From a legal perspective, bad tenants have more protection than squatters because they are covered by the Urban Tenancies Act (LAU), which governs the termination of leases. To evict an inquiokupas, the owner must initiate legal proceedings based on non-payment of rent, which can be lengthy and costly. During this period, the unauthorized occupant of the premises may continue to reside there until a court decision is made in civil proceedings and the eviction is carried out.

The existing lease agreement, even if the tenant does not fulfill his obligations, gives him the following rights:

• The right to remain in the home until the eviction process is completed. This may take several months (at best), and sometimes years.
• Protection from violence or intimidation by landlords: Landlords cannot use coercion or threats, and cannot shut off utilities. These actions will be qualified by the court as illegal, which will work against the owners.
• Moratorium on forced evictions of vulnerable individuals/families.

Let’s talk in more detail about the last two points. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic in Spain, a Royal Decree came into force Real Decreto 11/2020, de 31 de marzo, which introduced a moratorium on the forced eviction of defaulting tenants in vulnerable situations. In each specific case, family income, family composition, number of minor children, other dependents, family members with disabilities, etc. are taken into account. The moratorium was extended annually. In December 2025, another extension of the moratorium was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, but at the end of January, the Royal Decree-Law, which simultaneously promoted a number of other social measures, was rejected at a meeting of the Congress of Deputies. Thus, the owners were able to petition the court to terminate the lease agreement and evict non-payers. It is expected that the procedure will take from 2 to 4 months, but in reality the courts are so overloaded that it is simply impossible to make forecasts on the timing.

In civil claims, it is desirable to confirm the vulnerable position of the owner himself, to declare damage caused, both economic and moral, i.e. do not hide financial difficulties caused by the actions of unscrupulous tenants. Landlords also have the right to apply for compensation for lost rent, because the state allocated 300 million euros for this. The rejected Royal Decree-Law also contained a ban on shutting off public services.

A fly in the ointment: there is a high probability that the moratorium will still be extended. This will happen after inter-party agreements are reached and the measure is formalized by a separate decree. Since Congress rejected a large package of social measures, some controversial and some necessary, simply because they were issued in one decree, we can expect them to be broken up and re-enacted. The government acted in a similar way a year ago, so it will resort to a similar solution to the issue now. Thus, the situation with evictions is still in a state of uncertainty, and in the coming months it may again turn 180 degrees.

Home invaders (okupas)

Now let’s move on to okupas – squatters. In case of occupation of housing, the Criminal Code and the Law on Civil Procedure come into play. Article 245 Spanish Criminal Code establishes penalties for those who occupy another person’s property without permission, especially if violence or intimidation is used. In addition, the Civil Procedure Act regulates the procedure for express eviction of squatters. This procedure allows the owner to demand repossession of the property, and if certain requirements are met, a judge can order the eviction within a relatively short period of time. Home invaders in Spain also have rights:

• The right to decent housing under the Constitution (Article 47), which may make eviction difficult if alternative housing is not guaranteed.
• Protection from forced eviction without a court decision. Spanish and European law prohibit evictions without a court order. This means that property owners cannot take the law into their own hands, exercise arbitrariness, protect their property or forcefully evict squatters.
• Protection in cases of social vulnerability (similar to what unscrupulous tenants can count on). Families with minor children or people with disabilities may receive special status during court proceedings, which will delay their eviction until a solution is guaranteed.

When it says “solving the problem” and “providing alternative housing”, it means that social services are involved. In reality, there is simply not enough social housing for all vulnerable and low-income families. No one will evict people onto the streets, so the problem is solved by the only possible owner – at the expense of the owners and the infringement of their rights.

In some regions, the local government has introduced special registers of occupiers: being included in such a register automatically means losing the right to social housing for a certain period. In Murcia, for example, this period is 10 years, in Andalusia and Madrid – 5 years.

Illegal entry and illegal occupation of housing in Spain

Illegal entry into a home and illegal seizure of real estate are different legal situations that affect the safety and rights of owners. Although they are often confused, the differences between them are fundamental, especially in the context of current Spanish law.

Unlawful entry into a dwelling (allanamiento de morada) means unauthorized entry into another person’s home or illegal stay in it. According to Art. 202 of the Spanish Penal Code, this is a serious crime because it violates the privacy of the home, a fundamental right protected by the Constitution. In legal terms, a “dwelling” includes not only a primary residence, but also any habitable space, such as a second home or rental property.

Unlawful occupation (squatting) occurs when a person unauthorizedly occupies a vacant property without the owner’s permission. This act is regulated by Art. 245 of the Criminal Code and, unlike illegal entry into a home, does not involve intrusion into a habitable space, but concerns an empty or unused object. To be considered a residential property rather than a vacant property, it is important, for example, that the property be furnished and connected to utilities.

This phenomenon is highly controversial in Spain, especially in the context of the rights of owners and the existing legal restrictions related to the return of real estate owned by them. And here we come to the important and often mentioned “48 hours” criterion. The police have the right to act immediately upon the owner’s application, without a court order, if it is possible to confirm that the property is the main one, and the application is submitted within the first hours after occupying the property. This period is not clearly stated anywhere in the law. Therefore, we will add a clarification “in practice”: for a situation to qualify as illegal entry, it must be recent. In practice this is 48 hours. In the event of obvious illegal entry, the police have the right to take immediate action, especially within the first 48 hours of detection of illegal occupation of the property. If the owner acts promptly and proves that the affected property is his permanent residence or is actually inhabited, the authorities can intervene without the need for lengthy legal proceedings.

If the fact of illegal entry into the home was not reported within the first 48 hours, the authorities may consider that the offense no longer falls under Art. 202 of the Criminal Code, which will significantly complicate the eviction process. In this case, the owner will have to initiate a legal procedure, which may delay the return of the property.

The law came into force at the beginning of 2025 Ley Orgánica 1/2025, de 2 de enero, allowing the eviction of the invaders within 15 days from the filing of the claim. Those. It is expected that cases of illegal entry and seizure will be processed on an expedited basis. If the okupas are unable to prove legal title to the property (for example, presenting a valid lease), the judge will, as a precaution, order an immediate eviction without waiting for a final trial. In reality, the situation does not look so rosy. Owners of encroached properties (both squatting and unscrupulous tenants) are required by law to try to negotiate with the okupas or inquiokupas before filing a lawsuit. Those. owners are required to try to reach an agreement before filing a lawsuit (use alternative dispute resolution methods), which only delays the eviction procedure.

Protection of housing from seizure

The main measures to protect housing from invaders are:

• Reliable locks, smart locks that are difficult or impossible to break into.
• A secure reinforced door and, if possible, an additional grille in front of the door.
• Protective bars on windows.
• Installation of an Anti Okupas alarm system, which directly sends a signal to the police (this is also important for recording the time of entry into the home and the start of the 48-hour period).
• Installation of additional security measures – for example, CCTV cameras.
• Taking out Anti Okupas insurance, which covers legal fees, property damage and other related costs, and provides financial and legal assistance to return property to the owner and compensate for losses.

We also recommend keeping backup copies of title documents away from your home.

The following are recommended as additional protective measures:

• Avoid making the property look empty or abandoned. This will require the help of friends or neighbors. Picking up mail from the mailbox, leaving lights on in the premises, raising/lowering the blinds are the minimum actions that demonstrate that the property is under supervision.
• Maintaining good relations with neighbors. In most cases, they will be the first to notice that something is wrong and will be able to notify the owner.

Unfortunately, these measures are not always effective. In recent months, the situation with squatting has been changing, and more and more often such objects as garages, private parking spaces, auxiliary buildings on agricultural land, empty plots of land, small country farms, etc. are being seized. As laws to protect traditional housing become stricter, the goals of invaders are changing.

What are the risks of using illegal measures against okupas?

What you absolutely cannot do in Spain is arbitrariness. Any attempt to independently resolve the situation may turn against the owner. A homeowner cannot force eviction of home invaders, nor can they change the locks, as doing so may result in prosecution for trespassing or trespassing. Lynching will be classified as a crime of coercion (Article 172 of the Criminal Code), which can entail a fine of 12 to 24 months or even a prison sentence of 6 months to 3 years, depending on the severity of the actions.

Therefore, the affected owner is left with two ways to solve the problem:

• Peaceful path. Negotiations with the invaders about their voluntary eviction in exchange for compensation. We can talk about several thousand euros. It is better to have an experienced specialist conduct the negotiations.
• Judicial path. In addition to evidence of occupation, collect all documents confirming ownership and file a claim with the court, requesting the use of an expedited legal procedure.

FAQ