A British man who spent years trying to evict squatters from his Costa del Sol home has died before he could win his property back.
Kenneth Jobe, 84, passed away from cancer, his family confirmed to the Spanish Eye, just weeks before an eviction order was due to be carried out.
READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: British woman loses €100k after being forced to sell her squatted Malaga villa
Kenneth had been left exhausted after allegedly losing more than €50,000 in rent for his three-bedroom property in Mijas.
He had been desperate to reclaim the house, which he worked all his life to afford with hopes of retiring there.
READ MORE: How squatters in Spain are skirting new laws designed to kick them out quicker
However, after being diagnosed with cancer over the summer, which spread to his liver, he passed away within weeks.
The British family who allegedly owe Kenneth at least six years of rent, vacated the property just before the local authorities came to carry out their court-ordered eviction last Thursday.
His son told the Spanish Eye: ‘They got evicted, the court authorities went down there and the Guardia Civil was on the way, but once they entered they realised they had already gone.
‘We’ve got the property back, but after all this time and with no rent paid, it’s absolutely disgusting.’
He added that the squatters left the place filled with their discarded belongings, which they will now have to clean up.
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‘We’re going to renovate the property then we are just going to get rid of it and sell it, we don’t want the bad memories.’
The son previously told this newspaper how the squatters had delayed their eviction by claiming they were ‘vulnerable’, however, this was thrown out by the courts in September. Tragically, it was too late for Kenneth.
‘It’s disgusting, my dad got diagnosed with cancer… and he can’t even go to his own house in Spain,’ the fuming son said.
‘It’s breathtaking, it literally takes your breath away at how these people can do this, my dad just wants to live out there.’
He added: ‘The system is broken, especially for expats, if you’re spanish it moves along a lot quicker.’
Brits who plan to leave their home in Spain empty for any period of time are advised to install good quality security cameras and an alarm.
If squatters are filmed on CCTV breaking into your home, and an alarm notifies police immediately, there will be a much stronger case for an immediate eviction.
Read more Spain news at the Spanish Eye.
