New squatter incident seen in Camposol: how and where to report squatting

Reporting occurrences of squatting promptly is essential, the first 48 hours are crucial as the security forces have more power to act

The most important time to report an incident of squatting is within the first 48 hours when the security forces have most power to eject an illegal perpetrator: after this period it may be that the only recourse is through the courts which involves considerably more time and expense.

In addition to the "Manual of good practices against squatting in homes in the Region of Murcia" the Regional Authority have also published a "Protocol for early detection of squatting in the Region of Murcia".

The Regional Government (CARM) has stated that "the Region of Murcia has zero tolerance for squatting" and incidents should be reported to the legitimate owner or, failing that, to the community of owners President or administrator. If these are not available notify 112 immediately, (or 091, 092, 062),

The CARM also provides an anonymous reporting channel by phone on 968 377000 and email alertaokupa@carm.es where full information should be supplied in Spanish to identify the home and its location, such as the address of the property (number, street, floor, urbanisation etc) and the municipality in which the property is located. 

CARM will inform the security forces (Policia Local, Guardia Civil) so that they can evaluate the case and respond in a short period of time to confirm if it is illegal squatting. Cases of possible vulnerability related to situations of irregular occupation will be referred to the social services of each municipality.

The following is a translated reply from the CARM to a report sent through alertaokupa@carm.es :-

We fully understand the difficult situation you experience every day as affected by a possible case of illegal home squatting. An illicit practice increasingly present in society, when the usurpation of property should never be an option.

It is everyone's obligation to respond to this problem. And, although it is not an easy task, you can be assured that the Government of the Region of Murcia is firmly determined to fight against illegal squatting of houses within the scope of its powers, to guarantee families can continue living in a climate of calm social coexistence and to prevent the right to private property from being undermined.

Upon your report of a possible case of squatting, we will proceed to investigate the situation that is posed and inform the relevant authorities for their corroboration and adopt whatever measures are necessary to identify the squatters and safeguard the integrity and security of the affected neighbours.

Likewise, we will communicate the situation to the owner of the property to offer technical and legal advice on the procedure to follow for the recovery of the home.

If you are the owner of the squatted home, we recommend that you register a formal complaint with the security forces and bodies (Local Policia and/or Guardia Civil) identifying your home as either your usual primary or second residence, and provide receipts for utility services supplied as supporting documents basic services and a list of the presence of any personal items inside the property.

If the ownership of the occupied property falls to the regional administration, we will immediately proceed to identify the illegal occupants and request their judicial eviction as soon as possible.

If it is confirmed that the squatters are in a situation of special vulnerability, we will inform the appropriate agencies that manage rental aid, as well as the local administration to offer them a legal solution for relocation.

Also, in this email we provide you with two documents prepared by the Regional Authority, hoping that their content may be of help to you in this terrible situation or to prevent future squats. On the one hand, the "Protocol for early detection of squatting in the Region of Murcia" and, on the other, the "Manual of good practices against squatting in homes in the Region of Murcia".

For all this, we thank you in advance for bringing to our attention the possible situation of illegal home squatting that you are suffering, either as an owner or as affected by the usurpation of a property. A crime that we have to face together to solve this problem.

Thank you very much, kind regards.

Remember, the first 48 hours are crucial in giving the security forces the power to act in illegal squatting instances.

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