Illegal occupation reaches around 78,800 homes in Spain as a whole, 10% less than in 2016, according to the analysis carried out by the Institut Cerdà. Despite the decline, this private foundation, which yesterday presented the results of its study at the headquarters of the Col·legi d'Economistes de Catalunya in Barcelona, considers that the phenomenon has become chronic, while warning of the increase in the so-called “non-occupant”, that is, people who sign a rental contract and pay the first monthly payments, but after a few months they stop paying and remain in the property.
The Institut Cerdà's X-ray judges that the reduction in occupancies since 2016, when the first report was made, is due to the fact that there are fewer empty buildings, because both public and private operators have improved the management of their housing stock by putting into preventive measures are in place, such as surveillance and security systems, and due to the impact generated by precautionary evictions.
This decrease in occupations coincides with the reduction in complaints filed in 2022 with the police forces for the crimes of usurpation and burglary.
Other data that the Institut Cerdà research has verified is that the majority of occupations, between 75% and 80%, are concentrated in properties owned by large holders, mainly financial entities and investment funds, and that more cases of people are detected who make their home on the ground floors of buildings, such as bank offices that have been closed for some time.
The authors also refer to “the increase in the perception of occupation of housing in public parks and social economy entities or cooperatives as the most effective way to access a social rental, bypassing official channels and with hardly any risk, despite the comparative grievance that it represents for other people in vulnerable situations and on the waiting list to access them.” It is worth remembering that last year the Habitat3 manager already publicly denounced this situation; Not in vain, for each occupied property you must spend up to 30,000 euros to repair the damage caused and to pay for supplies, rent or mortgage. Added to this bill is the cost of installing alarms and anti-squatter doors to protect, as far as possible, the houses during the short period of time that they are empty.
Xavier Mauri, director of Habitat3, stated yesterday that 16 of the 950 apartments they manage in Catalonia are illegally occupied and that, in recent months, they have suffered seven new attempts to usurp their properties. The last one occurred this week, last Tuesday, in the Trinitat Vella neighborhood of Barcelona. Mauri expressed his displeasure about this situation because being careful that no one enters the homes intended for vulnerable families "takes up a lot of our time and resources and generates a lot of stress." On the other hand, he states that it is not his desire to “blame or stigmatize anyone,” since some are citizens at risk of poverty or social exclusion without resources to access a home.
Regarding the profile of the squatters, the analysis refers to "the evolution of the role of vulnerable families who are evicted to more heterogeneous situations", among which it cites the action of "mafias and organized groups that monitor movements in parks homes in certain areas.” It also highlights “the widespread feeling that occupying practically carries no risks” and warns that “the polarization of the debate and political use harm the management of the phenomenon, sometimes to the point of not undertaking any action.”
According to the figures released by the foundation chaired by Salvador Alemany, around 0.30% of the 26.6 million homes in Spain would be occupied. The estimate of 78,800 houses in this situation is the result of the compilation of statistics from the administrations, the data provided by large holders and interviews carried out with city councils and owners, indicated sources from the Institut Cerdà.
