Squatters

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anyroads
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Squatters

Postby anyroads » Wed Aug 16, 2017 11:33 am

I have just heard about squatters taking over a "holiday Home" in the locality.

It seems the police have been informed, but have not shown any great interest.

I suppose as a first step, the owners could have the utilities disconnected !

I wonder what the legal position is ?

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costakid
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Re: Squatters

Postby costakid » Wed Aug 16, 2017 3:07 pm

Evict them yourselves. The police will take forever if its anything like the UK.

AkoAko
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Re: Squatters

Postby AkoAko » Wed Aug 16, 2017 3:33 pm

I could be wrong but im sure i read a long time ago that it was unlawful to have the services cut and deprive them of their basic human rights .

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Re: Squatters

Postby Lyric » Wed Aug 16, 2017 4:40 pm

*Anyroads* PM sent.

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costakid
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Re: Squatters

Postby costakid » Wed Aug 16, 2017 5:29 pm

AkoAko wrote:I could be wrong but im sure i read a long time ago that it was unlawful to have the services cut and deprive them of their basic human rights .
And what about the home owner? Does he have no rights?

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Re: Squatters

Postby pilgrim2 » Wed Aug 16, 2017 6:09 pm

After emptying the the squatters belongings on to the patio, the squatters had us in court the next day! They had been previously denounced by us. It took a year to get them out legally. You can disconnect services as long as no minors are living in the house.( Ours reconnected illegally to both water and electric.) You then have to pay for the new connections when you have got rid of the squatters. If you don't disconnect the services you will be liable for the bills.

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Re: Squatters

Postby TorreDelAguila » Wed Aug 16, 2017 7:46 pm

As the legal and registered owner, you can surely instruct the water and electricity companies to disconnect (until further notice). If the squatters make illegal connection, they may find action taken against them.

Would think that the law on squatting is pretty clear here; it is in the UK, even of the process of eviction (which must go through the courts) grinds slow.
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Re: Squatters

Postby anyroads » Wed Aug 16, 2017 8:30 pm

Do not know the person, personally whose house has been "squatted", but there are a number of "holiday homes" in the locality.

It is a question of "there but for the grace of God "

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Re: Squatters

Postby AkoAko » Thu Aug 17, 2017 8:12 am

TorreDelAguila wrote:As the legal and registered owner, you can surely instruct the water and electricity companies to disconnect (until further notice). If the squatters make illegal connection, they may find action taken against them.
Thats not the issue , of course as the registered bill payer the service provider will disconnect on your instructions , the issue is when it is legal for the property owner to take that action .

And what about the home owner? Does he have no rights?


Everyone has rights in all aspects of life however the problem is that when its a Civil matter your rights are of no use until a court makes a ruling and enforces them , unfortunately those in the wrong also have rights and know that and use it to their advantage .

There were a couple of properties locally some time ago where the property had been rented out and the tenants were not paying ANY rent or bills , I recall when i read the information that the problem was compounded by the fact that the bill payer was still responsible for the service usage costs . Possibly there are different rules for squatters .

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costakid
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Re: Squatters

Postby costakid » Thu Aug 17, 2017 10:09 am

I have rented property out in the past and if someone hit hard times I was the most reasonable landlord you could meet.

On the other hand if some squatters were in a property of mine they would soon wish they wasn’t. I would not let some left wing anti capitalist free loaders live there and wait for the Law to evict them. They would be out by fair means or foul. I have paid my dues all my life and more tax and vat than enough so there is no way I would stand for them living and also damaging my property. The ones who broke into some properties in London last year trashed them out of spite.

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Re: Squatters

Postby TorreDelAguila » Thu Aug 17, 2017 11:58 am

What about the right-wing capitalist free-loaders?
We need to be fair in these matters, after all. :think:
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Re: Squatters

Postby anyroads » Mon Aug 28, 2017 6:59 pm

The latest is, the squatters have moved on, but left a dog in the back patio, which has now been sent to an animal sanctuary.

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Re: Squatters

Postby scs3jb » Fri Sep 01, 2017 12:40 am

Legally, you need the courts to order their eviction and you can not cut water supplies if they have a minor. I believe you can cut the bills, but the water company can not for example. The law goes against the owner, and yes it's ridiculous and exploited, but the laws are there to protect the innocent and the repressed from banks and vindictive landlords. From what I hear, there's a lot of those. The police won't do anything unless there is a serious crime committed.

If you use violence or intimidation, that is criminal rather than civil so you can end up in bad place.

The squatters will and do denounce a homeowner.

The best option is, sadly, do not leave property empty and hire a caretaker, neighbour, etc to maintain the property for prolonged absense! You can also lease a private security system, so that when it's triggered private security turn up (hopefully lol!) or the police investigate as a robbery.

P.s. from the exact conversation I had with some Spanish colleagues at work, one had just bought a house but was worried about squatters reported in the area.

anyroads
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Re: Squatters

Postby anyroads » Sat Sep 02, 2017 9:51 pm

The law really is an ass...

If they went to the local supermarket and stole food, they would be possibly arrested.

Yet they can steal electricity et all, and the legal owner of the property has to go to all that trouble to get his place back.

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Re: Squatters

Postby Ricasso » Sat Mar 17, 2018 9:04 am

So am I to believe that 'breaking and entering' is not a crime and insurance doesn't cover it??!!
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gerryh
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Re: Squatters

Postby gerryh » Sat Mar 17, 2018 9:34 am

It should be covered by your insurance policy and it is a crime.
However if you left your door unlocked and a burgular entered and stole items then this wouldn't be covered by insurance.
That is my understanding.
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Re: Squatters

Postby Ricasso » Sat Mar 17, 2018 9:51 am

Thanks Gerry for your help on both my topics! So some reassurance that there is partial protection for us should the worst happen! Very disturbed to hear some of the stories!!
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Re: Squatters

Postby El Cid » Sat Mar 17, 2018 11:50 am

gerryh wrote:However if you left your door unlocked and a burglar entered and stole items then this wouldn't be covered by insurance.
Gerry
That depends on the policy. A break in is robbery and is covered. If they walk in it is theft and it might be covered but at a much lower figure. Linea Directa limit a theft claim to 5% of the total contents value or €1500 whichever is the lower.

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Re: Squatters

Postby Manchesteral » Sat Mar 17, 2018 12:04 pm

costakid wrote:I have rented property out in the past and if someone hit hard times I was the most reasonable landlord you could meet.

On the other hand if some squatters were in a property of mine they would soon wish they wasn’t. I would not let some left wing anti capitalist free loaders live there and wait for the Law to evict them. They would be out by fair means or foul. I have paid my dues all my life and more tax and vat than enough so there is no way I would stand for them living and also damaging my property. The ones who broke into some properties in London last year trashed them out of spite.
Agree with your position completely costakid, I have two houses in greater Manchester which are to be inherited by my grandchildren, I had squatters in one, instead of going down the legal road which is a completely useless course of action, I took the law into my own hands. The only thing I can tell you about it is that nobody was physically harmed and I regained control of my property!! and I would do it again !!

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gerryh
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Re: Squatters

Postby gerryh » Sat Mar 17, 2018 12:10 pm

El Cid wrote:
gerryh wrote:However if you left your door unlocked and a burglar entered and stole items then this wouldn't be covered by insurance.
Gerry
That depends on the policy. A break in is robbery and is covered. If they walk in it is theft and it might be covered but at a much lower figure. Linea Directa limit a theft claim to 5% of the total contents value or €1500 whichever is the lower.

Sid
Yes it depends entirely on your policy.
But when I had a break in and theft it was not covered by my Linea Directa policy because I didn't have a burgalar alarm fitted. :thumbdown:

Cheers
Gerry
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