Alicante's Anti-Squatter Office 'rescues' 126 homes in a year of operation
In over 90% of cases, the National Police had to intervene
José Vicente Pérez Pardo
Alicante
Lunes, 1 de diciembre 2025, 07:25
Alicante's Anti-Squatter Office, established by the City Council a year ago, has successfully 'rescued' 126 homes and returned them to their owners, according to data presented at the municipal plenary by the Housing Councillor, Carlos de Juan. In 90% of the cases, the National Police had to intervene to carry out the eviction.
Publicidad
This municipal service has now completed a year of operation. It was created through an agreement between the governing Partido Popular and Vox, a condition deemed essential by Abascal's party to approve the 2025 municipal budget. It was launched with the aim of "guaranteeing the legitimate right to property and protecting it against cases of usurpation and home invasion," stated Mayor Luis Barcala at its inauguration.
Its creation was controversial. Opposition groups (PSPV, Compromís, and EU-Podem) criticised the new service, arguing it was a concession by the conservatives to the far-right, in their words. For the socialists, the anti-squatter office was opened as a pretext "to avoid addressing the real issue of housing access in Alicante." The fact that it was a specific request from Vox to support the municipal budget led the socialist municipal spokesperson, Ana Barceló, to label the service as "ideological."
Housing Councillor Carlos de Juan has used the data from the Anti-Squatter Office to highlight the service's activity in response to a Compromís initiative to create another office, this time against "real estate violence." De Juan recalled that the Municipal Housing Board already has its own service providing information on any issues related to the real estate market.
Local Police contact numbers
The Office Against Illegal Occupation, as it is officially called, is located at the Babel Local Police headquarters. It is staffed by four officers and an assistant, in different shifts, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Specifically, the Citizen Service of the Local Police operates from Monday to Friday, from 7 am to 2 pm, at the phone numbers 965 232805/6, and the Accident Service will operate from 2 pm to 7 am on weekdays and 24 hours on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays at the phone number 965 149501.
This service, located at the El Claustro offices of the San Nicolás Co-Cathedral, has opened 1,577 files from March 2024 to October 2025, mostly through in-person visits (810), a significant number by phone (674), and the fewest online, only 93.
Publicidad
Additionally, this service of the Housing Board monitors the files and offers mediation between tenants and landlords in rental disputes. Thus, in the past year, 2,135 contracts have been reviewed, of which 1,339 were resolved in favour of the landlords and the remaining 796 for the tenants.
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