PROPERTY SEARCH
Justice for UK expat as vicious Malaga squatters arrested
The Liverpudlian had to be hospitalised when he was attacked by three men illegally occupying his Costa del Sol holiday home
“I don’t know if I’m going to return,” were the despondent words of Costa del Sol holiday home owner Michael, who had to be hospitalised last week when he confronted three men illegally squatting in his Manilva apartment. The uninvited ‘tenants’, or okupas as they are known in Spain, repeatedly smashed the Brit over the head with glass bottles when he asked them to leave his property.
Michael filed a complaint with the local Guardia Civil after he was released from hospital but returned to the UK a couple of days later with little hope that the authorities would evict the squatters, a notoriously difficult process in Spain, made even worse by a recent reform of the Housing Law.
The 53-year-old victim from Liverpool was reportedly warned by the authorities that he could be in trouble for entering his own vacation home while it was occupied, and the squatters did indeed lodge a complaint, but this would prove to be their downfall since the police were well aware of the brutal attack on Michael.
The three men, reportedly of Moroccan origin, were taken in for questioning on Thursday June 8 and subsequently held on suspicion of drug trafficking, electricity fraud and possession of stolen furniture.
Having little faith in the Spanish authorities, Michael contacted the company Desokupas when he returned to Liverpool, an operation specialising in organising mediation between property owners and squatters. However, the local police stepped in and made the arrests in the meantime, and a vindicated Michael has his holiday home back.
The overall case, however, is still ongoing and the judge has called on both parties to give a full account of what happened on the day of the attack.
Image: Freepik
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