European property law
Squatters' rights in Spain: how long, and how owners remove okupas
An okupa can only become the owner of a Spanish property after 30 years of uninterrupted possession under article 1959 of the Civil Code. Removing one is a separate question, answered by the criminal courts or by a fast civil procedure.
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- Statutory period
- 10, 20 or 30 years
- What's different here
- fast-track criminal trials for okupas since april 2025
- Statute
- Código Civil, arts. 1957 and 1959
Spanish law calls adverse possession usucapión. Article 1957 of the Civil Code gives ownership of land after ten years "between those present" and twenty "between those absent", but only to a possessor with good faith and a just title, such as a purchase deed that turned out to be defective. Article 1959 is the rule that covers a squatter: thirty years of uninterrupted possession, with no title and no good faith required.
Occupation is also a crime. Entering or staying in someone's home against their will is allanamiento de morada under article 202 of the Criminal Code, and occupying a property that is not anyone's home is usurpación under article 245. Organic Law 1/2025, in force since April 2025, added both offences to the fast-track trial procedure in article 795 of the Criminal Procedure Act, so an okupa case can reach a hearing in days or weeks rather than months.
On the civil side, Law 5/2018 added an express possession claim to article 250 of the Civil Procedure Act for individual owners, non-profit bodies and public owners of social housing. The occupants get five days to show a title; if they cannot, the court orders them out. An owner who takes the property back by force outside these routes risks prosecution for taking the law into their own hands under article 455 of the Criminal Code.
Where Spain sits against the rest of Europe, in years
Of 31 places in Europe on these pages, 3 have a shorter clock and 10 a longer one or none at all.
How it unfolds
From the day someone moves in to the day a claim is possible
The same three stages in most places. The exact rule, and whether the last stage exists at all, is on each place's own page.
- Day oneMoving inCaught in the act, it is usually a matter for the police: a trespass, not a tenancy.
- Weeks to yearsSettled inOnce someone lives there, removing them usually takes a court order, the same route as for a tenant.
- After 10, 20 or 30 yearsA claim becomes possibleOnly if every test held, without a break, for the whole period. Where the law allows no such claim, this stage never comes.
Not yours to do, once they have moved inChanging the locks, cutting the water or power, or removing belongings yourself. It is illegal in every US state and most places on these pages forbid it too. Each page says how removal works there.
Before it is ever a court case
The record a court asks for, kept as you go
Wherever your property stands, removing an occupant usually comes down to showing who had the right to be there, and since when. Dardaris files every lease, message and document for a building by date, so that record already exists on the day you need it.
- Every lease, with who signed it and when
- Every message with a tenant, on the thread it was sent in
- Every document, filed against the building it concerns
Frequently asked questions
How long for squatters' rights in Spain to give ownership?
Thirty years of uninterrupted possession without title or good faith, under Civil Code article 1959. A possessor with good faith and a just title needs ten years, or twenty where the owner lives elsewhere, under article 1957.
Is squatting a crime in Spain?
Yes. Occupying someone's home is allanamiento de morada (Criminal Code art. 202), and occupying other property without permission is usurpación (art. 245). Since April 2025 both can be tried through the fast-track procedure.
What is the okupa law in Spain for owners who want the property back?
Besides a criminal complaint, Law 5/2018 lets individual owners, non-profit bodies and public social housing owners bring an express civil claim. The occupants have five days to produce a title, and if they cannot, the court orders eviction.
Can I change the locks on okupas in Spain?
Using force outside the legal routes can itself be an offence, realización arbitraria del propio derecho under article 455 of the Criminal Code, and intimidating occupants can amount to coercion. Recovery goes through the police, the criminal courts or the civil express procedure.
Elsewhere in Europe
The same question, on a different clock. Every place sets its own period and its own shortcuts.
This is general information, not legal advice.Laws change, and a county or a city can add its own wrinkle on top of the state rule, the way New York City does. Confirm the current rule for your address before acting on it, and talk to a local attorney before relying on any of it in a real dispute.
Know who is actually in your property, before it becomes a court case.
Hand over one building and see every lease checked against what is actually happening on the ground.
14 days before the first charge · Nothing is switched on until you say so