A British couple are at their wits’ end after their flat in Spain was squatted three times and turned into a brothel – with neighbours complaining of hearing a prostitute servicing her clients at night.
Emma and Ian Williams are among the countless number of homeowners who have fallen prey to the country’s lacklustre laws against illegal occupiers of properties.
Despite a recent change in legislation promising to crackdown on the scourge of squatters, the horror stories continue to flood in – thanks to a gaping loophole used by organised gangs.
The Williams’s studio apartment in Cala d’Or, Mallorca, was first taken over at the end of last year.
The Williams were informed by concerned neighbours that the squatter moved on within a few weeks, only for a second man to occupy the flat.
During the interim, neighbours filmed the disaster the flat had been left in, with a washing machine stolen and furniture trashed.
Photos shared with the Spanish Eye show how the Williams’ clothes and other belongings were thrown into rubbish bags and heartlessly dumped on the street.
Meanwhile, a video (below) shows the damage and filth left behind after the first squatter left.
Emma told the Spanish Eye: ‘Someone else came and barely stayed, potentially storing drugs, then finally the locks were changed again by a third man who was fresh out of prison and who moved a prostitute in. She was heard having sexual relations by our neighbours.
‘The police have attended to every squatter and haven’t done anything… we have flown to Spain and gone to their offices and still nothing happens.
‘The squatters have illegally tampered with the electricity and water supply, and again, the police don’t do anything about it.’
She added: ‘The same person has recently broken into a villa and made a fake tenancy agreement and it looks like they have moved prostitutes over there as it’s bigger.
‘Our solicitor says we can take the squatter to court but after the day of the court order another squatter could break in and we would have to start the whole process again.
‘It’s a vicious circle and no one wants to help.’
In Spain, there are two types of squatters; an ‘okupa’, who has broken into a property with the sole purpose of occupying it, and an ‘inquiokupa’, who is a tenant that has stopped paying the rent and refuses to leave.
When a tenant stops paying, landlords must seek an eviction order through the courts, which can take months, a year or even longer.
However, there are many ‘tricks’ used to delay the process further, including the squatters having themselves declared ‘vulnerable’ by the local authorities – granting them extra time.
In April this year, a new law came into effect which says ‘okupas’ who have broken into homes can be removed via an express eviction order within 15 days.
However, squatters are creating fake rental contracts bearing the real names of the property owners – which they obtain by rummaging through trash or letterboxes.
They tell the police they are tenants and have a right to stay, kicking the can down the road.
It’s a legal landmine that would prove overwhelming even for the typical Spaniard, let alone an elderly Brit who can only spend a few months in the country each year.
Read more Spain news at the Spanish Eye.
