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Date Published: 19/08/2022

ARCHIVED - Squatters go on their summer holidays to the coast of Murcia

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

The Region of Murcia has experienced an explosion in squatting, with coastal areas targeted during the summer months

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Squatters go on their summer holidays to the coast of Murcia

"People are terrified of putting 'for sale' signs on houses” in the Region of Murcia, according to Jerónimo Jover from the Official Association of Real Estate Agents, because of the striking rise in the number of squatters in the area this summer.

"It's like putting up a luminous sign calling the squatters," he said.

The occupation of empty houses has exploded across Spain as a whole this year, possibly as a result of rising costs and inflation, and squatting in the Region of Murcia “is currently experiencing its peak.”

The issue is particularly pronounced in coastal areas, where those unwilling or unable to pay for accommodation actually “summer” in Murcia “for free,” occupying someone else’s home, often damaging it in the process.

Until the owners arrive, that is, who are frequently “forced to pay those who have entered their house for them to leave, so here squatters do a double business.”

Murcia is one of the communities where squatting has increased the most in recent months, but the Association has heard from home owners in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Valencia and Madrid that the practice is also on the rise there.

Mr Jover points out that people feel their hands are tied, and that squatters have more legal rights than owners do. He has called on the regional government to make significant changes so that home owners can hire security companies that are allowed to "act directly in these situations, since many agents feel powerless and do not act for fear of what may happen if they end up before a judge."

He insists that the Administration is responsible for avoiding these situations by building more social housing and granting rent allowances, and has asked the Spanish Government to take urgent action to "defend the right to private property."

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