Squatting and squatter tenants, a real problem in Malaga

As its social media manager told Libre Mercado, the Platform of People Affected by Squatting has continued to investigate to reveal the large number of flats being sold with squatters inside, confirming the serious problem that exists in Spain, despite the government’s insistence that it is a ‘hoax’.

After finding more than 70 ads on Idealista in Gran Canaria alone, victims of squatting are now turning their attention to Málaga, where demonstrations against tourism, which they blame for the lack of housing and high market prices, are becoming increasingly frequent. ‘What is happening in Malaga is a crying shame. More than 100 publications of squatted flats in Idealista. But the housing problem is only the tourist flats, right?’ they ask Minister Isabel Rodríguez ironically.

The #Malaga situation is a real tearjerker + of 100 publications of squatted flats on
@idealista
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Not all of them fit. Each ❤️ is a squat. But the housing problem is only the tourist flats, right?
@isabelrguez

@desdelamoncloa
#antiocupas law

In a video of just over two minutes, the platform shows several examples of the many that can be found on the well-known real estate portal. ‘The property is illegally occupied by third parties and without the supplies duly contracted’, dozens of ads indicate. ‘The property is occupied’, “cannot be visited, squatted” or “opportunity for investors” are other phrases that are repeated. Most of the flats are between 30,000 and 60,000 euros. The best located ones reach 120,000 euros and many of them have three bedrooms.

A widespread problem
‘Those of us affected are very tired of hearing political leaders of all kinds say that squatting does not exist or that it is not a problem. That’s why we think that by compiling the ads we can show with data its existence’, explained to LM the head of social networks of the Platform of People Affected by Squatting, who does not hesitate to raise the question that many victims ask themselves when they see this reality: ’And the problem of housing is the tourist flats?

As experts have been warning for months, the impunity with which squatters operate thanks to the anti-eviction decree or the controversial Housing Law means that many landlords are opting to withdraw their flats from the rental market, which not only reduces the supply, but also raises the price of the few flats that remain.

Moreover, after initiating the investigation, Esther is clear that this ‘is a problem that affects the whole of Spain to a greater or lesser extent’. In fact, she assures us that her intention is to extend the study to other regions of the country. Her idea came about during a holiday in Fuerteventura: ‘Out of curiosity, I went on Idealista to see the prices in the area. What was my surprise to see that, if you select flats for sale and sort by price from lowest to highest, or the cheapest per square metre, you start to see ‘squatted’, ‘squatted’, ‘squatted’…’. However, this issue had been on his mind for some time, as something similar had happened to him when he helped some relatives to look for a flat in Santa Pola (Alicante). ‘When he did a more specific search, several properties like this also appeared,’ he recalls. He soon realised that it was not something casual or one-off, as evidenced by what he discovered first in Gran Canaria and then in Malaga.

The small print
Almost all the ads have two characteristics in common: they are aimed at investors and offer surprisingly low prices for the areas in which they are located. The reason is very simple: those who buy them can take up to two or three years to evict the squatters and therefore start to make the property profitable. In addition, they will have to invest a lot of money in lawyers and will not be able to apply for a mortgage until the squatters are evicted and a valuer can come in. ‘If anyone can make a profit from it, it won’t be people in need, but companies or individuals with solvency,’ says Esther.

The banks’ real estate agencies, which are behind many of these properties, warn in the ads themselves: “The state of occupation and/or the impediments for the property to be freely visited by technicians would prevent its official valuation as required by Order ECO/805/2003, of 27 March, so the property, while the occupancy situation persists, could not be mortgaged”. For this reason, almost all of these advertisements are published appealing directly to investors with money in hand who do not need financing, as the alternative would be to apply for a personal loan, with the consequent high interest rate, something that has already ruined countless small property owners.

FUENTE: PLATAFORMA AFECTADOS  OCUPACIÓN