2023-06-08 06:26:00
It is via our colleagues from “The last news” May we present to you the story of two Belgian landlords, who fight against squatters and local authorities.
Originally from Antwerp, Danielle, 67, recounts the ordeal she experienced for long weeks. Having a residence in the Malaga region, six to eight Cubans squatted Danielle’s property. And to make them leave, the Antwerp woman had to quickly prove that they entered illegally. Warned two weeks after the Cubans’ intrusion, Danielle hears from a lawyer that the procedure could last two years.
“Apparently, as a landlord, you are not even allowed to turn off the water or electricity. I just paid 115 euros in charges, even though I couldn’t even set foot in my apartment”she denounces to HLN.
Thanks to an expensive mediation service, Servi-Okupas, Danielle was able to find her home, which was in a pitiful state. In order to avoid this situation again, she had a state-of-the-art alarm system installed there.
“When I tried to evict the squatters, the police turned against me”
The second owner, Hiske, has been in an unrealistic situation for two years. While she owns a residence near Alicante, Hiske can no longer access it, under penalty of having to deal with the police. “I invested all my savings in an apartment but it has been occupied for 1.5 years now. When I tried to evict the squatters, the police turned against me,” she explains to our colleagues from the HLN.
When she learns from her housekeeper that an intruder has moved into her home, Hiske heads to Spain. She takes the opportunity to put the squatter’s business outside. But to her surprise, it is the Belgian who is at fault when the squatter arrives with eight police officers. “You have to give him the key or you will be taken into custody”, said a policeman. Since that day, she can no longer access the entrance hall of the building under penalty of arrest.
Hiske then decides to go through the legal procedure, which promises to be very long. The hearings follow one another and the squatter does not even show up, she who has never met her court-appointed lawyer.
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