Reports of Squatting Plummet in Alicante: Property Owners Increasingly Turn to 'Desokupa' Companies and Forced Negotiation

Reports of squatting have seen a significant drop from one year to the next in the province of Alicante, as well as in the rest of Spain. The first half of 2025 recorded a 104% decrease in claims for property usurpation compared to the same period in 2024.

According to data from the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), 70 complaints were registered in Alicante in the first six months, more than half of all those recorded in the courts of the Valencian Community, which totals 122 across the three provinces. This figure contrasts with the claims made during the first half of the previous year, when double, 143, were recorded in Alicante, and nearly 230 in the autonomous region.

In fact, only in the second quarter of 2025, 34 squatting reports were registered in Alicante, two out of every three recorded in the courts of the Valencian Community, and a 46% drop compared to the same quarter of 2024.

The decline coincides with the implementation of the new Organic Law 1/2025 on measures for the efficiency of the Public Justice Service, which obliges property owners to negotiate and attempt to reach an agreement before resorting to the judicial route. The regulation indicates that a prior negotiating activity must be undertaken and documented. If after a month this has failed, a complaint can be filed.

A situation that has led to the collapse of claims for property usurpation, also due to the lengthy process this requires. According to the real estate portal Idealista, rulings that support an eviction are "at historic highs with almost 24 months on average in Spain," as they may go through several judicial institutions if appeals are accepted.

This has led property owners to take alternative routes and not opt for filing complaints, according to experts from Idealista. Here, 'desokupación' companies play an important role, which have gained importance in recent years. These companies specialized in evictions are increasingly common in cases such as 'inquiokupación', when tenants refuse to pay the agreed rents. A statistic "that is not within the official complaints," express the real estate portal.

Moreover, "there are many cases that are not reported to the security forces or the courts," emphasize real estate experts, who detail that property owners "opt for alternative ways to recover the property as soon as possible, such as through negotiation and payment to the squatters."