cricketman

Actually no, Santander has managed to sell off most of that 30,000 development at half price, so guess it wont be a ghost town for long

And those houses the gypsy family are living have been deemed unfit for habitation because of the poor quality of construction. The family is not taking any property away from anyone, it is simply lodging in a building that could collapse at any minute

You guys could have read the article to realise that

cricketman

So you haven't read the article either?

jackytoo

Correct, but you can understand why the spanish families are complaining. Who would want to buy a new house, with a mortgage and find out they have gyppos as neighbours

amideislas

I hope you don't mind that I made one addition to your statement.

cricketman

And there lies the issue!

bobd22

The houses do have an owner a cooperative owns them but they have been unoccupied due to faults with them and a risk of collapse. No doubt should the buildings collapse these people that have illegally occupied them will no doubt sue the cooperative and win their case.

cricketman

I doubt it very much. They are unfit to live in and there is not a suing culture in Spain

Again, what is your solution? Do you realise that there are currently half a million people in Spain with zero income? These families are not entitled to one cent of help from the government. How do you expect them to live?

This is not the UK!

Lynn R

I know of a few cases of squatters having moved into empty houses in my area over the last couple of years. In one case, a house further up my street which had been repossessed by a bank and empty for at least 5 years that I know of, I saw the people breaking in one afternoon and told a local policeman about it. He went and knocked on the door and, surprise, surprise, no-one answered. So he just went away and nothing more was ever done about it. The family (yes, gypsies) are still there to this day and have also illegally reconnected the water and electricity supplies.

Until last week, all the cases I know about had involved gypsy families moving into houses that had either been repossessed by banks or abandoned for many years. However, a friend told me recently that a young Spanish family (not gypsies) had broken into a holiday home in her street which is owned by Scandinavian people, the neighbours had contacted the police but, as in the article in this thread, they had said they could do nothing without a judge's order. The owners have been contacted and are supposedly coming over, I don't envy the task that lies ahead of them.

I can only see this problem getting worse in the current economic climate. There are lots of houses near me that are empty for most of the year, one house in my street was a holiday home but no-one has been to stay in it for at least 3 years now. I do understand how difficult it must be for families with no hope of a job or a home of their own, but I can't say it makes me sleep any easier at night and I confess I wouldn't be too happy to go away for a long holiday at present. It will be another nail in the coffin for the property market, who is going to want to buy a holiday home if they can't be reasonably sure that another family isn't going to have moved into it the next time they come over?

fionamw

I don't think I've agreed with a simple post in reply to a simple quote so much.

fionamw

OK...Twice in one thread.....

bobd22

CM I do not have an answer to the plight of these people I am not unsympathetic to it, however I do not assume that just because something is in the press it is correct. I refer back to my previous I do not know myself the full or true circumstances. I do though know that although you can sympathise or even possibly depending on your circumstances empathise with their plight you can not condone breaking the law to get what you want be it criminal or civil. To this end I agree with Nigeljay post on this. Point is on the face of it this seems to be people making use of property not fit for habitation? but the property has an owner that wants them out. If this is allowed what next could be peoples holiday homes that are left empty for a couple of months, could be an occupied house empty over the weekend that is why the laws are there. By the way I come from a very poor background up until I was 18 when I joined up but I didn't break the law. Also why do you assume there are no homeless people in the UK I have dealt with plenty in my life, there is even a charity for homeless servicemen who having served their country live on the streets. We obviously differ on our view for me although I can sympathise and in some instances empathise with those that break the law they have still broke the law and have to be dealt with for the sake of the well being of society. How that is done is another matter.

Domino

it seems to be the status quo in the UK,
you need a car to travel for a job interview, a few years ago immigrants were given a grant towards the cost of a car to enable them to attend interviews and travel to the subsequent job they will have obtained
and you need a tv to look at all the jobs available on teletext, also to pickup on the news about companies who have received new contracts and are/may be hiring

Domino

so what is your solution ?

bob_bob

So those looking for work can get a free TV to look for jobs using teletext!

Back on track, if the owner of the properties illegally occupied wants the squatters (regardless of ethic origin) out then out they go. As Spain don't give housing benefit its not the property owners problem where or how the occupiers go and live.

Looking forward to Cman's solution, perhaps it could be a social model adopted by other nations too.

Domino

who said that ? - I know I didnt, although it would appear to be a human right to have a TV