Few topics worry owners as much as squatting — and rarely does the difference between a scare and a years-long problem depend so much on acting right in the first hours. We separate myth from fact and give you a concrete plan to prevent and to react.
Few topics cause as much anxiety among owners as squatting. And rarely does the difference between a scare and a years-long problem depend so much on knowing how to act — especially in the first hours. This article separates myth from fact and gives you a concrete plan, whether you want to prevent or already have the problem.
Not all "squatting" is the same (and the difference changes everything)
Legally there are three very different situations. The first is breaking into a dwelling: someone enters or occupies your main home or your second residence — a dwelling, even if used sporadically. It is punished more severely and the police and judicial response is faster.
The second is usurpation: the occupation of a property that is nobody's dwelling (the empty inherited flat, a bank's or fund's flat). It is the "classic" squatting in the news, and historically the slowest to resolve.
The third is not squatting although it looks like it: the tenant who stops paying and doesn't leave. There the route is eviction for non-payment, a different civil procedure, and the "fast methods" some companies promise can backfire on you.
What the law says right now
Social pressure has been moving legislation towards more agile procedures in recent years: recent reforms have reinforced fast-track handling of flagrant break-in and usurpation cases, and express evictions in the first hours when the entry is recent and can be proven. That said, real timelines still depend a lot on each case: whether the home is a dwelling or not, the proof of entry, whether there are minors or a declared vulnerability situation in the property, and the workload of the court involved.
The practical conclusion does not change with each reform: the sooner you act and the better documented everything is, the faster the solution. That is why what matters is not memorising articles but having the plan clear.
The first 48 hours: the plan
If you discover an entry into your home, call the police (Mossos) immediately and report it — do not let days pass "to see if they leave". If the entry is recent and flagrant, the police have more room for direct action. From the first moment, gather proof that the property is yours and of its use: deeds, utility bills in your name, recent photos, neighbours as witnesses. And an important warning: do not cut off utilities or change locks with occupants inside, and do not negotiate payments on your own without advice — you could commit an offence yourself (coercion) or consolidate their position. With a report filed and a lawyer, the routes are chosen well; without them, improvisation goes badly.
Prevention: the cheap, the useful and the definitive
The cheap: make sure the home does not look empty. An attended letterbox, blinds that change position, a trusted neighbour with keys keeping an eye. Squats are rarely random: targeted flats have been signalling abandonment for a while.
The useful: a security door or anti-bumping lock, an alarm connected to a monitoring centre (signs deter, the police connection resolves) and home insurance that includes specific squatting cover and legal defence — check your policy, not all include it.
The definitive: that the home is not empty. An empty flat does not just attract problems: it costs money every month (property tax, community fees, insurance, decay) and produces nothing. If you have a closed flat in Manresa or the Bages "just in case", the two rational ways out are renting it with good management — solvent tenant selection, a solid contract and rent default insurance, which today is the owner's real protection — or selling it and turning it into working capital. Fear of squatting is understandable; leaving the flat empty out of that fear is, paradoxically, the option that exposes it most.
How we can help
At Signem we manage the rental of your home from start to finish — rent valuation, tenant selection and verification, contract and default insurance — so that having the flat occupied by the right people is the best defence. And if you prefer to sell, we give you the free valuation and a sale plan with a date. Empty and afraid is the only scenario we do not recommend.
Do you own an empty home in Manresa, the Bages or Cerdanya? Tell us your case and we will propose the best way to protect it — and to make it an asset again.