Squatters (okupas) in Spain: how to protect your home and what insurance can do
Agency Director | Wealth Protection & Expat Specialist
It's one of the fears we hear most from expat homeowners, especially those with a second home on the coast that stays empty part of the year: coming back to find someone living in it. Squatting (okupación) is less common than the headlines suggest, but when it happens it's stressful and expensive. Here's what you can do.
What the law distinguishes
Spanish law treats two situations differently:
Your home (morada): if someone enters the place where you live, including a second home you use regularly, it can be treated as breaking into a dwelling (allanamiento de morada), a more serious offence that allows the police to act quickly.
An empty property that isn't anyone's home: occupying it is usually treated as usurpation (usurpación), and recovering it can take longer, often through the courts.
In recent years the law has added faster procedures for owners who are individuals, and a 2025 reform allows some cases to be handled more quickly. Even so, the speed of the process depends on the facts of each case, so good evidence and quick action matter.
How to reduce the risk
Make the property look lived-in: timers on lights, blinds adjusted, post collected.
Install an alarm, ideally connected to a monitoring centre.
Keep proof that it's your home: utility bills, your padrón registration if applicable, and photos of the interior with your belongings.
Agree with a neighbour or a local service to check the property from time to time.
Act immediately: if you detect an occupation, call the police (112 or 091) straight away. The first hours are key.
What our home insurance covers if your home is occupied
Insurance can't stop someone from entering your home, but it makes a big difference afterwards. Since 1 June 2026, Allianz home insurance includes a specific occupation cover (cobertura de ocupación). According to Allianz's special conditions, it includes:
Legal protection
Legal advice by phone, plus an urgent helpline available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for occupations that have just happened.
Legal defence to recover your home from illegal occupants and claim for the damage they caused: up to €20,000 with the insurer's lawyers, or up to €3,000 if you choose your own lawyer.
The same limits apply to tenants who stop paying and refuse to leave (inquiokupación), when they stop paying the first or second month's rent, and to defending your rights as a tenant if the home you rent is occupied.
Property advice once you've recovered the home, including a valuation report if you decide to sell or let it.
Compensation for financial losses
Cover | Limit |
|---|---|
Alternative accommodation (main home) | €800 a month, up to 12 months |
Loss of use of a second home | €1,000 single payment |
Utility bills while the home is occupied | €300 a month, up to 12 months |
Cleaning after the occupation | €200 |
Lost rent, empty home advertised for rent | €800 a month, up to 6 months |
Lost rent, home that was let | €800 a month, up to 6 months |
Lock change | Included |
Vandalism by the occupants | €6,000 |
Liability for damage the occupants cause to third parties | €10,000 |
Conditions worth knowing
The occupation must happen after the cover was added to your policy and while the policy is in force.
Most payments require that you've filed a police complaint or started legal action, and you'll need to keep receipts, for example for alternative accommodation, bills or cleaning.
Occupation means someone moving in without a contract and without your consent. Cases where the occupant once had your permission aren't covered as illegal occupation.
Lost-rent compensation is only for owners (or usufructuaries), stops once you recover the home, and has its own requirements, such as a rental contract at least two months old and proof that the tenant was up to date with the rent.
Parking spaces and storage rooms aren't covered for the accommodation compensation.
Incidents must be reported within two years. Legal defence claims are handled by Onlygal, Allianz's legal expenses partner.
The exact limits that apply to you are those in your policy's particular conditions, and we go through them with you before you sign. You can compare the plans on our home insurance for expats page.
If you rent the property out
For landlords the risk looks different: a tenant who stops paying and won't leave. That's a rent default and eviction issue rather than squatting, and it needs specific cover. See our landlord insurance, and if you rent to tourists, our guide to insuring a holiday let.
How we can help
If your home in Murcia, on the Mar Menor or anywhere on the Costa Cálida stays empty for part of the year, tell us how you use it. We'll check that your policy includes legal defence against squatters and fits how you really live. Come to our office in central Murcia or send us your current policy by WhatsApp and we'll review it for you in English.
Protect your Spanish home
Get a home insurance quote or ask us to review your current policy.
The second generation leading the agency’s innovation and its national and international growth. He specialises in business protection and investment strategies, and personally leads our advice for the expat community in Spain.
MiFID II certified financial adviser