Squatters and a shared barbecue: the new frontier of neighbourly coexistence in Spain

Squatters and the barbecue: when the homeowners' association becomes a theme park

In an ordinary homeowners' association in Spain, a resident describes the scene: a group of people, friends of the squatters living in one of the flats in the building, are having a barbecue on the grill the owners bought together. The grill, unused for a while because of the distance between neighbours, is now the epicentre of someone else's celebration. Some of those attending are wearing Argentina national team shirts. The owner of the squatted flat, far from being outraged, says he doesn't care. "I hope for similar treatment when I end up like that, paying neither rent nor community fees," he writes. The only voice raised in the building is his father's, who complains. The other neighbours, according to him, don't voice an opinion either.

The case illustrates a growing phenomenon: the normalisation of squatting and the use of communal property without any contribution. The barbecue, paid for by everyone, has become nobody's property. The owner's indifference —he seems to accept the situation as part of the "physical world that abhors a vacuum"— contrasts with the stance of those who see it as an invasion of what belongs to the collective. Some comments suggest drastic measures, like setting the building on fire, though in a tone of black humour.

The question left hanging: how far does the right to use what isn't yours go when the owner doesn't act? For now, the barbecue is burning and nobody is calling the police.