In this privileged location in which we find ourselves, with its enviable temperature and lifestyle, it is a great tourist attraction.
Because of this tourist attraction, we have a large and varied housing stock where thousands of foreigners, the vast majority of them British, own a home which they live in for short periods of time each year, making it a real breeding ground for those seeking to occupy a home outside the rules of society, without a contract and without prior consent from the owners.
At the office, we became aware of this major problem when more and more cases were coming in from distressed clients who were victims of squatting in their second homes.
Fortunately, the Attorney General’s Office got down to work and, in 2020, drew up an instruction indicating that the occupation of second homes should be considered as breaking and entering. The consequence of this important instruction was to speed up legal proceedings for the recovery of the home, as second homes were recognised as habitual residences.
When you are a victim of squatting, the question immediately arises: how long will I have to wait to regain possession of my home, what state will I find it in, what steps do I have to take to get it back as soon as possible, what will I have to do to get it back?
As soon as you become aware of the illegal occupation of your home, you must file a complaint to initiate criminal proceedings for a minor offence, after which the police will identify the occupants of the home, take a statement from them and then a trial date will be set. Finally, the occupants will be sentenced to leave the property and the owners will be able to recover possession of the property.
This whole process usually takes between 3 and 6 months approximately, although it always depends on the workload of the court.
If you are a victim of squatting, we advise you to seek professional advice from experts who can reduce the time to recover your home as soon as possible.
