DOWNANDOUT

Many thanks

We cannot approach any media or make our story public until we evict him , otherwise he could use it against us in court to stall the eviction again. I will need to check first with our lawyer about court case confidentiality laws in Spain but only once we get our property and sell it.

DOWNANDOUT

We have now managed to evict our tenant yesterday.

There was an African man occupying our flat who claimed that he had a verbal agreement with our tenant to live there and that a written lease agreement was to be sent to him shortly. The court officials explained to him that they had to proceed with the eviction but the man refused to go so they had to request the assistance of the Guardia Civil . While all this was happening , our tenant turned up stating he was the legal owner and claimed to "know nothing about the eviction". The court officials explained the legalities of the situation and said that if they did not leave , they would instruct the GC to use force . They both agreed to leave and our locksmith changed the locks while the court officials took photos of our flat .

The flat is in a desperately poor state and the tenant has removed even the kitchen unit doors (probably out of spite) while furnishing the place with a dirty old sofa and bed while also laid some horrible carpet tile flooring on our marble floor. He was also using multiple plug adaptors with electrical cooking hobs on the floor (obviously removed the electric cooker). The whole place looked as if it had been used as a temporary residence for 'down and outs' (just like my forum name) so we'll need to 'gut' the place and refurbish it before putting it up for sale.

But now we have to face the fact that this tenant or his friends will probably break back in (if they haven't already) , but this time we may have to use alternative methods to get them out because the Spanish Court system has failed us terribly (3 years to evict a tenant at a cost of 5k euros court/solicitor costs with no hope of getting this or the unpaid 11k rent).

If they do break back in the GC has warned the tenant that it would be a criminal offence but I doubt our tenant is fearful of the GC (he is a self-proclaimed 'streetwise' individual).

The next hurdle is the 'Community Of Owners' who might try and defraud us by claiming that the 'Comunidad' hasn't been paid for several years . They were in 'cahoots' with the tenant (ie. the President of the Community of Owners is our tenants mother) providing supporting evidence for him and his lawyer to build their appeals to delay the eviction.

As I said before , this was the 'Perfect Storm' for our family and its not over yet, but at least we've managed to finally legally evict him.

Mark604

Yeesss....
A catalogue of nightmares for you and I wouldn't wish it on anybody.
I understand the potential problems still to arise and really do hope from now on 'all your troubles are little ones'.

santaanita

great news

missile

I would get it cleaned and sell it without spending more money or fixtures and fittings. Anything will sell if the price is right.

There are many looking for a place to renovate.

scot47

This thread should be read by anyone who is contemplating becoming a landlord.

Lospacoshombre

Well done for getting thus far, I have read your nightmare with interest, as many people who watch “house in the sun” do not realise there is an undercurrent in paradise of stories like this.

we had a squatter living next door to our independent villa, it was a bank repossession and they were not interested. It made our locality hell, wild parties, theft, illegal fires, the smell of weed all day long, throwing stones at my visitors enjoying a pool day, damage to vehicles, barking dogs etc.

We tried the police, who apparently cannot arrest someone for putting things into a house, rather than taking them out.

guestagua were compliant in cutting off their illegal water, and myself and neighbours took action to cut off the electricity supply, (which was a panto on its own),

Finally the bank evicted them after 5 years, obviously the fear is more moving in, in the mean time.

i would go on holiday to my lovely villa, and be met by “ have you heard what they’ve been doing?” Or “what are we going to do about such a thing? I just wanted to sit by the pool.

what I have learned is this behaviour including the behaviour of your tenant is rife in Spain, and more so in independent houses rather than apartments.

you have my total sympathy, and reading your posts strangely helped me at “low” points when I could think other people were having issues too, granted it wasn’t my property, but mine was constantly under threat as they were always getting over the joining fence, and as a result our security system was upgraded to all the latest cameras etc (more expense but more worry)

you have my best wishes

Al

Rotor

Good news , I skim read this from the beginning , what a nightmare , I`m not sure how I`d proceed now , maybe a monitored alarm system ? one where the monitoring company calls the Police /GC immediately when its triggered , maybe leave some furniture / cheap electricals and personal effects there and make out you are now the resident and anyone forcing entry is a burglar ?
Thanks for sharing.

DOWNANDOUT

Many thanks to everyone who provided support and advice on this thread . I hope it does help other landlords (or potential landlords) with regards the pitfalls of renting, especially if the tenants prime aim is dishonourable.

I am assuming our tenant and that African gentleman have immediately broken back in after the court officials and Guardia Civil left the premises . We are helpless at the moment with regards lockdown so maybe it would be worthwhile us hiring a Gestor or someone similar just to check on the place every week or so , collect mail , etc. I've asked our solicitor for his suggestions and hopefully we'll get the time to visit , 'gut' the place and then just clean it up and make it presentable for sale.

If he has broken back in , we'll have to find another way to get him out rather than the Spanish Court system.

DOWNANDOUT

Hi Lospacoshombre

I must admit that I read your post with some horror because obviously it isn't just the landlord but the neighbours lives that can be badly affected by squatters and bad tenants.

Yes , similar situations do seem rife in Spain and I cannot foresee it getting any better unless the state starts building enough social housing for their people . They also need to change the laws so that criminal acts like my tenant (and the next door squatters that made your life hell) are not a 'win-win' scenario for them.

I'm now just waiting for the day when our family cut all financial ties with Spain , never to return again.

DOWNANDOUT

Hi Rotor,
Yes, that is what we were planning to do but we are pretty helpless at the moment because of lockdown in the UK. I think we have no option but to hire someone to check on the place every week and if there is a break-in to report it to the Guardia Civil.

VFR

Would it not pay you to have a high security door fitted (its a flat right ?)

Palmerston

DOWNANDOUT,

I do hope your worries come to nothing and it's just your battle-weary mind playing with you.

You mention employing someone to check on the flat every week. Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't okupas have a 48 hour window of opportunity to break in and make themselves at home? After an undisturbed 48 hours is when the trouble begins for the owner. If that's the case, I'd employ someone to do inspections every 2 days, preferably daily, until you're rid of the place.

On your same issue, I read recently that some agents on the costas have been reporting how "clued up" potential purchasers of holiday homes are being put off; not by worries of any possible price fall, or economic climate, but worries of the mafiosos taking advantage of travel restrictions and future opportunities it can give them. They've extended their geographical area from the traditional inner city properties to coastal holiday homes. They arrange for squatters to get in because they know the owners can't react in time. It pays well.

If squatters get in, what do you do?

go through your horrendously arduous legal route?

pay them off, which is giving them, or their associates, a green light for it to happen again?

or go illegal and get some "muscle" to sort it out? Aside from the possible ramifications of it being illegal, it leaves the owner vulnerable to being "taxed" by the muscle squad in the future - the owner has entered their world now. And they could even find themselves unwittingly in the middle of a subsequent turf war.

What a choice.

No surprise that the spectre of okupas is a turn-off for a buyers right now.

Second home ownership is the dream for many. But sometimes, the best part of the dream is the dream. The reality can bite, and bite hard.

Hopefully, your long-standing pain is behind you.

Best wishes

DOWNANDOUT

Hi Palmerston

Yes, your absolutely correct about okupas and it paints a grim picture for the future. It would cost us a fortune to have someone inspect the property every few days and considering the property is now in such a state of disrepair I wonder if it was all worth this 3yr nightmare. Is it worth spending any more money putting in expensive alarms ,security doors , hiring a Gestor etc when this far left government is going to vote in even more radical 'anti-landlord /private ownership' laws this year. I've heard they want to penalise landlords if they leave their property empty and also give local powers to standardise rents and maybe increase taxes on value of sale.

I don't think one can stop a determined squatter getting in unless one spent a lot of money putting in a 24hr alarm monitoring system.

If push came to shove , I'd try and 'squat' the squatters by waiting for them to leave the premises and then get a local locksmith to change the locks , then enter the premises and wait. Then when they can't get in and contact the local police for help , I'll just say I am the legal owner and provide them a copy of the Nota Simple, that I haven't got a clue who these squatters are. But there is always the problem that they may have registered their occupancy at the local Town Hall.

I've sent a few emails to the local police (without reply) forewarning them that our tenant might try and break back in . Hopefully they've already recorded his name when they were required for the eviction .

All this worry now, even after having him evicted .

DOWNANDOUT

Hi VFR
How much would a high security door cost ? We've already spent a small fortune trying to get this tenant out and its draining our finances.