This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament
Rejected petition Warn British Spanish Property Owners Of Favourable Squatter Laws
Advise them that the current laws in Spain provide squatters a legal way to take ownership of your property and belongings. If your property is unoccupied (even for a short time),they can break in, change the locks, and also call the Police to claim 'adverse possession' of your property.
More details
Unless you catch the squatters 'red-handed' or they've had enough time to establish themselves, the police will not evict them and request you go through the law courts (which can take many years with very high legal costs). Current laws are squatter biased where they can receive free legal-aid to raise appeals against eviction. Meanwhile the owner will be forced to pay utility bills up to the day of eviction. If owners try to disconnect utility supplies they can be prosecuted for 'Coercion'.
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s about something that the UK Government or Parliament is not directly responsible for.
We can't accept your petition because the UK Government and Parliament aren't responsible for the issue you raise.
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.