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Dear Gazette,
I am writing for help re increasing numbers of squatters on Lanzarote and the difficulty of getting them removed. A lot of apartment owners have been prevented from travelling to their holiday homes due to the COVID virus and now we have a huge problem of squatters taking over personal property and possessions and the police are unable to do anything about it! Would the Gazette be prepared to look into this matter on behalf of the people back in the UK who find themselves losing everything because of loopholes in the Spanish law?
I live on a complex and three weeks ago we had squatters move in to one of the apartments nearby. Do I have to sell my house having been here for more than 25 years to get away from them? This really needs some intervention NOW and I wondered if there is anything the Gazette can do?
Many thanks for listening.
Pauline Rand
Ed: Sorry about your news, Pauline. The housing crisis on Lanzarote hasn’t been helped by the lockdown and there seems to have been a resulting rise in the occupation of unused properties. There isn’t much we can do about it either, although it’s an area where property management companies can come in useful. The current law means it’s vital to act quickly and involve the police within 48 hours, after which getting rid of squatters is far more difficult.
If anyone has experience of this matter, we’d love to hear from them.
