Express Eviction Plan Approved for Alicante Province

[Bee]

At last an agreed express eviction policy from the Courts to protect home owners and second-home owners from squatters. This is from today's Informacion

Bee

https://www.informacion.es/alicante/202 ... 91284.html

Judges, prosecutors and Security Forces in the province of Alicante yesterday approved a plan for express evictions in homes that have been occupied , according to judicial sources confirmed to this newspaper. The Judicial Police Commission intends to give a quick response to the people who come to report these situations so that they can recover their property as quickly as possible and under the control of the court on duty. The meeting was held yesterday, just on the same day that the State Attorney General issued an instruction to expedite the action of the Public Ministry in these complaints in these cases.

The instruction sent by the State Attorney General, Dolores Delgado, considers that it is a crime of trespassing in cases in which the occupied dwelling is the home or second residence of the owner, since it is where they live their private life. In the case of uninhabited and empty flats, normally owned by banks but also by individuals, it would be a crime of usurpation.
Prove the damage

The main change is that now it will now be possible to agree as a precautionary measure the eviction from the house and the restitution to the owner in those cases in which solid indications of these crimes are apparent and damages are accredited to the owner, either an individual or an entity public or other non-profit public utility. Even if there is no prospect of immediate sale of the apartment. In the case of banks, the eviction may be carried out when "the existence of an effective risk of bankruptcy for legal assets is verified." The precautionary eviction is foreseen to avoid the damages that may be derived for its owner, from having to assume payments for electricity and water, to the deterioration of the property itself due to the occupation situation.

The document also opens the door to the possibility of taking into account the neighbors, who on many occasions are harmed by this type of situation. In cases of trespassing, this possibility of quick evictions is excluded for those cases in which the occupation has been carried out with the tolerance of the legitimate owner.

In cases in which a situation of special vulnerability is detected on the part of the occupants, the prosecutors are asked to assess this circumstance in order to bring these facts to the attention of the Social Services and propose an alternative before proceeding with the eviction. In these situations of vulnerability, families with minors, in a situation of helplessness or with disabled people are foreseen.

The president of the Provincial Court, Juan Carlos Cerón, assured that, contrary to what is circulating through networks, it is "false" that there is a 48-hour limit for the Police to intervene in a housing occupation and that, although " there is a very low percentage of cases in this province, these are crimes that cause great social alarm to which you have to give a quick response. The most conflictive areas in the province of Alicante are Torrevieja and Vega Baja. Although the protocol approved yesterday was at the expense of issuing the instruction of the State Attorney General's Office, which was made public two hours after the meeting, yesterday the protocol was articulated by which the machinery for the eviction of as soon as the complaint is registered either in court or at the police headquarters.

One of the problems that the Alicante courts have encountered when ordering evictions from illegally occupied homes has been the existence of organized mafias that offer fictitious lease contracts that seek to delay the judicial process. For this reason, one of the aspects analyzed was examining how to detect these fictitious leases.

One of the first autonomous communities to empower the Security Forces so that they could expel squatters without the need for a court order was the Balearic Islands, following an order from the superior prosecutor of that community. A measure that due to the lack of judicial control has led to numerous problems. Last August, the Valencia Prosecutor's Office issued its own instruction for express evictions in that province and which contemplated measures in line with the instruction issued yesterday for all prosecutors in Spain. In Alicante, the Public Ministry was at the expense of what was dictated from Madrid.

It emphasizes that the prosecutor must ensure the interests of the victims, but also respect the rights of the denounced squatters. They will have the possibility of alleging and presenting in court the documents they consider appropriate to continue in the home. But in the event that they choose not to appear, this situation will not stop the eviction process. It is enough that your lawyer is present for the hearing to be held.

Bee

[Carl]

This has been along time coming, probably more than a decade later than when it was first needed to start tackling the problem.

[jimny1]

Its still worrying when you read the two paragraphs i pasted below from the bill, there are going to be exceptions
"respect the rights of the denounced squatters " !!! WHAT
They should have no rights after, breaking into your property , squatting while you pay the mortgage and bills and then get it back in possibly a year or two later, maybe longer in an unhabitable state that will cost you thousands to rectify


In cases in which a situation of special vulnerability is detected on the part of the occupants, the prosecutors are asked to assess this circumstance in order to bring these facts to the attention of the Social Services and propose an alternative before proceeding with the eviction. In these situations of vulnerability, families with minors, in a situation of helplessness or with disabled people are foreseen

Last August, the Valencia Prosecutor's Office issued its own instruction for express evictions in that province and which contemplated measures in line with the instruction issued yesterday for all prosecutors in Spain. In Alicante, the Public Ministry was at the expense of what was dictated from Madrid.
It emphasizes that the prosecutor must ensure the interests of the victims, but also respect the rights of the denounced squatters

[Bee]

Yes I did see those paragraphs and it did cross my mind,especially with these Mafia types, there will be a lot of disabled people suddenly popping up with these squatters. There is a case currently in Quesada, reported on the Quesada Forum,and it is unbelievable what the squatters are up to. Putting up outside buildings and abusing neighbours and the Policia just shrugging their shoulders.

Bee

[jimny1]

Bee
There is a woman roaming the areas around where i live taking photos of empty properties, she was seen doing this by a concerned resident, they were not for sale
There can be no explanation other than she will pass this information onto the criminals who are paid to break into these properties for the squatters to occupy
I thought the UK was complacent in these matters, but it seems spain are too
Who said crime doesnt pay ?

[Bee]

A bit from today's Informacion.

The Civil Guard detains 12 traffickers who grew marijuana in occupied villas in the Vega Baja

The leaders of the band enjoyed a high standard of living, spending more than 2,000 euros in a single night on bottles of a well-known brand of champagne.

They located unoccupied homes in different locations in the Vega Baja and made sure that the owners would take time to realize that they had occupied them. They chose large houses, with several floors, with enough outdoor space and a swimming pool. They issued a false rental contract, with foreign identities, which they used to register some supplies. Once they settled in, they made renovations for their own comfort.

Twelve people of Spanish, Cuban and Colombian origin, between 21 and 51 years old, have been arrested. Of the detainees, eight are men and four are women. They keep close family and friendship ties between them. They are charged with several crimes of drug trafficking, illegal possession of weapons, usurpation of housing, falsification of documents, fraud of electricity, damage and belonging to a criminal organization.

After being brought to justice, seven of them have been admitted to prison without bail. The other five have been released with precautionary measures.

http://l.comunicaciones.diarioinformaci ... 0Ph-2KvnIV

[Carl]

Just read elsewhere it was a total of eight raids in the San Miguel de Salinas, Rojales and Orihuela Costa,

In the years I have lived on the Orihuela Costa I have not heard of any trouble involving Cubans or Columbians, however in recent years there has been a notable increase in the number of Cubans in the age range 20 - 55 living in this area. The numbers increasing, at the same time those from Eastern Europe seem to be decreasing.

[Bee]

Does anybody know if either of those countries have any special entry status into Spain or do they have to apply for visas/work visas to live in Spain. Spain like the UK has a lot of ex colonies.

Bee

[jimny1]

I just hope spain doesnt go out of control as in the UK with knife crime and drugs as london has for example
I dont doubt there are incidents in madrid, but it seems more controlled here
Its when the gangs start to take charge you have to worry
At least the guardia here are armed and this seems to act as a deterrent , unlike the UK where the police rely on batons, pepper spray and tasers and there is no respect for them anymore, with daily attacks on them becoming the norm
You very rarely hear of this happening here, i think the criminals have more sense than risk looking down the barrel of a police weapon

[Carl]

Does anybody know if either of those countries have any special entry status into Spain or do they have to apply for visas/work visas to live in Spain. Spain like the UK has a lot of ex colonies.

Bee

I think Cubans are required to obtain a visa to enter Spain because it is a Schengen country, so I assume the same would apply to Columbians.

I believe that some Cubans here are holders of Spanish Passports issued in Cuba, granted to decendents of exiled Spaniards who fled to Cuba during the Spanish Civil War. Going back a few years now, but I think the Spanish Government extended the issuing passports down to the grandchildren level of these exiled Spaniards.