Squatting has become a serious problem for property owners in Spain, including the Canary Islands, which has not been helped by the new Housing Law, which includes several measures that can "put up barriers and slow down the process of returning homes to their owners", even if tenants or squatters don’t have a contract.
Given the lack of protection that owners are suffering, Línea Directa has announced the launch of the first complete insurance against illegal squatting in Spain, called 'anti-okupa', which offers total protection against the economic consequences related to this situation, even though it doesn’t remove the squatters from your property.
Línea Directa says that there were around 16,700 complaints of squatters in Spain last year, which is around 45 per day. This new product offers coverage related to loss of income, covers the cost of alternative accommodation for the property owner, supplies (electricity and water), damages to the property, and legal expenses involved in the eviction procedure.
According to the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) in Spain, it takes up to a year and a half to vacate a property. In 2021, the period that average owners waited was 18.1 months, and according to data from the ‘Plataforma de Afectados por la Ocupación’, the problem of illegal usurpation affects around 100,000 properties throughout the country, and every day there are around forty new cases of squatters reported.
This is becoming one of the biggest social problems in Spain, and one of the biggest concerns of owners of holiday homes or second properties. Aware of this, Línea Directa created the first complete 'anti-squatting' insurance, which launches next Monday, June 12th. Full details are available on their website.
