Criminal gangs of squatters are targeting Britons’ homes in Spain as opposition parties call for a change in the law which they claim favours the gangs.
Known as okupas in Spanish, they invade holiday homes, change the locks and ‘sell’ the properties illegally to other families with nowhere to live for as little as £1,740 (€2,000). Highly organised and with a good legal knowledge, they also target empty homes repossessed by banks.
The gangs have drawn up a 102-page Okupa Manual, which i has seen, which offers detailed advice to those who “want to leave the housing market.. and find a dignified space without having to those who try to rob us every day”. Written in the style of an anarchist manifesto, it gives potential squatters legal advice and strategies on how to keep the authorities and homeowners at bay.