This is the reform that promises to expedite the evictions of squatters in hours: what will change and how it will work

This is the reform that promises to expedite the evictions of squatters in hours: what will change and how it will work

The law amendment initially approved in Congress within the Criminal Procedure Law (LECrim) represents a before and after in the fight against illegal squatting of homes in Spain. Proposed by the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), this reform seeks to streamline judicial procedures in cases of usurpation and trespass.

With its initial approval in Congress on November 14, 2024, the reform received the support of several political groups, although the vote in favor of EH Bildu and Esquerra Republicana of Catalonia (ERC) was attributed to an error. This unexpected support allowed the text to move forward, setting an important precedent in the legislative field.

However, the Senate, controlled by the Popular Party (PP), vetoed the reform, forcing it to return to Congress for a second vote. This additional procedure could delay its entry into force until at least February 2025leaving the situation on hold while awaiting the results of the next vote.

The new law on squatters

The main objective of this reform is to differentiate and streamline judicial procedures in two types of crimes related to squatting:

  • Usurpation: When an uninhabited home is illegally occupied. In these cases, although the judicial process would be more agile than at present, immediate intervention by the authorities is not contemplated.

  • Breaking and entering: When the occupied home is inhabited, the authorities may act immediately to restore the property to the legitimate owner.

The reform would allow these cases be processed through quick trialswith a maximum resolution period of up to 15 days since the accused are brought to justice. This contrasts with the current procedure, which usually takes months and even years when treated through civil means.

It should be noted that the reform does not affect cases of “unrest squatting”, that is, when a tenant stops paying rent but remains in the home. These situations will continue to be treated as civil conflicts, and will not benefit from the more agile criminal procedure.

Squatting data in Spain

He social movement of squatters began in Spain in the 60s and 70s and has increased at unimaginable rates. And the new law responds to a growing demand for more effective measures to eradicate squatting. Since 2019-2020, according to the Ministry of the Interior, more than 90,000 complaints were registered about illegal squatting of homes, becoming, according to studies, one of the issues that most concerns society in our country.

It was not until 1996 when there was a legal figure in Spain that criminalized this act through the promulgation of a new penal code. In the first years of democracy, thousands of illegal squats of state-owned housing were even legalized.

According to 2023 data from the Crime Statistical System of the Ministry of the Interior, Catalonia leads the ranking of autonomous communities with the highest number of squats, they even account for 42% of the total squats in this community. It is followed by Andalusia, the Valencian Community and Madrid. The autonomous community with the lowest squatting rate would be the Balearic Islands with less than 100 cases. This geographic distribution reflects the magnitude of the problem and the urgent need for solutions like the one now offered by the new law.