The crimes of usurpation and trespassing of properties, more commonly known as squatting, committed by foreigners in Spain and the Canary Islands, have risen alarmingly since 2018 reaching figures that exceeded 4,000 cases in 2023.
In 2018 foreigners only accounted for 29% of these types of crimes, but that shot up to 52% in 2023. Meanwhile, the proposed Law to help landlords and apply more forceful measures against this phenomenon is still in the approval process.
Since 2020, half of the people arrested or investigated for home occupation crimes have been foreigners. In fact, statistics show that in 2022, of the more than 9,000 people detained or investigated for this type of crime, around 4,900 were of foreign origin.
Many have blamed this phenomenon on the Pedro Sánchez Government, as he became Prime Minister in 2018 when the number of crimes of usurpation and trespassing of properties committed by foreigners was 447 (compared to 4,903 cases in 2023).
According to data provided by the Ministry of the Interior to EFE, two houses a day are illegally occupied in the Canary Islands. In September last year, illegal occupancy increased by 52 compared to August, going from 382 properties with squatters 434.
The Canary Islands are just one of five regions in Spain where numbers increased in the first eight months of the year, as there was an 11% drop in the number of illegally occupied apartments nationally.
This worrying data on the increase of squatters, along with the concerns of landlords about long-term lets, and the increase in VV licenses in the Canary Islands, is what is causing the housing shortage and rents to reach levels never seen before.
Currently, according to studies carried out by Solventis, “access to renting a home in the Canary Islands is causing a financial strain that is 36% higher than the Spanish average.”
Added to this, as of today there is no approved Organic Law (it is still under discussion by Congress) to evict squatters from homes in 24 hours. It does, however, propose 3 years in prison as a sanction for anyone found guilty of usurpation or illegal occupation of a property.
