The number of cases of squatting in homes grew by 18% in Spain with 13,389 cases up to September 2021, according to the latest data recorded by the Ministry of the Interior. Catalonia continues to lead the autonomous communities with 5,689 ‘squats’, 42% of the total. The figure quadruples that of the Community of Madrid (1,282 cases) and almost triples that of Andalusia (1,994 cases). The official statistics, consulted by Europa Press, confirm the upward trend in this phenomenon in the last year, coinciding with the September 2020 instructions issued by the Attorney General’s Office and the Ministry of the Interior to address both housebreaking and burglary. EVOLUTION SINCE 2015 The historical series begins in 2015, when in Spain there were 10,376 illegal home occupations, of which 3,950 were in Catalonia. Namely, 38% of the total, four points less than at present.
In 2020, the last year with the figures finalised, this region had 6,647 cases, i.e. an increase of 68% in five years. In 2015, Madrid had a total of 1,630 ‘squats’, which is an 18% decrease compared to 2020, while Andalusia had 2,060 cases, which is 15.5% more. In Spain as a whole, in five years, the number of cases has risen from 10,376 to 14,792 (+42%).
