A warning has been issued over highly-organised squatter gangs targeting empty apartments in an area filled with British homeowners.
The alarm is being raised by residents in Les Marines de Denia, on the Costa Blanca, where second homes are extremely common.
Scores of flats are owned by Brits who often leave them empty for several months at a time, particularly non-residents who cannot spend more than 90 straight days in Spain after Brexit.
Speaking to regional newspaper Levante-EMV, locals said they have detected their first cases of ‘organised squatting’.
They claim the gangs are ‘professional’ and have a system that allows them to take over properties and stay there for as long as they like.
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They first send out a ‘scout’ who identifies which homes are potentially empty. These homes are then watched for days or weeks to ensure there is no one there, and then they strike.
The gangs force the front doors open and quickly change the locks, making them the only key holders.
To rub salt in the wound, they then turn a profit by selling the keys to the home they don’t even own to other squatters for up to €3,000.
According to the locals, this so-called ‘final squatter’ then ends up extorting the rightful owner for even more money to leave and save them the hassle of a protracted legal fight.
In a bid to battle the growing scourge, police have advised homeowners to make accessing their entrances as difficult as possible for intruders.
If a complex has a squatter, then other neighbours must change the keys for the entry gate to said complex as soon as possible.
This will make it harder for the squatters to let his or her gang in to potentially target other empty properties.
Installing CCTV and alarms are also advisable. When alarms are triggered and the police are immediately notified, this gives them a legal justification to remove the squatters for trespassing or breaking and entering.
