Tourist Flat Squatters Demand Up to €10,000 to Vacate

Tourist Flat Squatters Demand Up to €10,000 to Vacate

Squatting in holiday rentals has shifted from a hypothetical risk to a tangible threat hitting the sector. In Lekeitio, a family with three minor children refused to vacate a rented tourist apartment, claiming they had nowhere else to go, and remained for a month. The case, first reported by El Correo, sparked outrage in this coastal municipality, which hosts 93 tourist apartments. Online economic forums have erupted with debate, mixing anger toward landlords, concerns over legal uncertainty, and worries about rental market impacts.

The modus operandi is consistent: tenants book for a few days, change the locks, and inform owners they will not leave. Forum posts indicate that squatters demand between €3,000 and €10,000 for voluntary eviction. Owners face alternatives such as hiring eviction firms, costing around €3,000, or waiting months for overloaded courts to act. A company managing tourist flats in Vigo has faced several such cases recently, all involving foreign tourists, according to forum accounts.

Why are tourist flats vulnerable to squatting?

The core issue lies in their legal status. Tourist flats are neither primary residences nor full hotels, creating a regulatory limbo. While theoretically classified as hotel beds—allowing immediate police intervention like in hotels—in practice, owners must seek judicial orders, facing months of delays. This lag fuels organized crime. Some argue the solution requires professionalizing the activity: if it’s a high-risk business, operators should incorporate companies and assume liability. Others contend that legal insecurity is the root problem, leaving any owner exposed until laws are enforced swiftly.

Market effects are already visible. The proliferation of tourist flats has strained residential rents in coastal areas, and squatting adds another layer of risk. Analysts warn this could reduce vacation rental supply, thereby increasing hotel prices. Paradoxically, those celebrating tourist flat squatting as revenge against landlords overlook that the end result may be less supply and higher costs for everyone.

Squatter profiles and gangs demanding payment

These are not vulnerable families lacking housing. Forum-described cases involve organized groups acting premeditatedly: booking, paying initial days, then barricading themselves. They demand €3,000 to €10,000 to leave. If owners refuse, stays extend for months, causing financial harm. Perceived impunity leads some owners to pay, while others use specialized eviction firms operating outside strict legal bounds but delivering quick results. Debate persists on these firms’ efficacy: seen by some as the only practical fix, by others as evidence of rule-of-law failure.

Discussions also touch on private property rights. Some view squatting as a logical outcome of unaffordable prices, while others stress legal certainty as essential for a functional economy. Meanwhile, single-home owners who don’t rent worry about challenges to property rights. Polarization remains extreme.

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The phenomenon is just beginning. With courts overwhelmed and legislation failing to protect owners promptly, tourist flat squatting spreads rapidly. Proposed solutions—from sector professionalization to fast-track legal reforms—clash with administrative slowness and lack of political will. Cases multiply, hurting the vacation market. No one knows how many more flats will be occupied before authorities act.