Squatting has become one of the problems in the lives of some people in Spain. Illegal entry into empty homes that either belong to a person or an entity raises concern both owners and tenants.
On the one hand, because the owners fear that their empty apartments will be squatted, because they have tenants who stop paying and become squatters or, in other cases, because people who live in a building, whether rented or not, find themselves the neighboring apartments too can be squatted.
This last case is what has occurred in Madrid, specifically in an urbanization of the PAU of Carabanchel, on Excellent Street, where it has been identified that There are between 27 and 28 squatted apartments in the same complex real estate. According to Telemadrid, whose team has traveled to the neighborhood to speak with those affected, this is a case of macro-squatting that began during the last long weekend of the Constitution.
Based on this information, squatters are Peruvian families that They paid between 2,000 and 3,000 euros to access the unused apartments. Apparently, behind this there would be a mafia that contacted the families while they were in line at a soup kitchen in the neighborhood. This supposed clan would have changed the locks and put in its own concierge.
One of the affected neighbors who has spoken with Telemadridwho has been living in the development for a month, indicates that the squatters have damaged the elevators and only one works in the block in which they are located, in addition to The telephones have been boarded up.
Fights and “blood on the walls”
When speaking with more affected neighbors, several of them did not want to reveal their identity, they indicate that in total there are about 160 homes in the urbanization, of which almost 30 have been squatted. They also tell the Madrid network that they were warned that it would be a familiar and non-problematic profile, however, during the end-of-year holidays altercations occurredThere is usually noise and even moving at night and the police have had to go to the development on several occasions.
“There is blood on the walls, basically because they are fighting among themselves” says one of the neighbors, who wonders how so many homes have been squatted without anyone kicking them out. Regarding the responsibility of the housing developer, those affected by this macro-squatting express that they began assuming that they had to find a solution but, in recent weeks, they have not responded:
«At first the promoter did show its desire to change things, but in recent weeks we have notified them of fights, but we have not received a response. They have only lowered us 100 euros to keep us quiet.”they tell the Madrid chain. Another of those affected acknowledges that they are considering changing apartments if the situation continues to become unsustainable.
«The real estate developer has only lowered our rent by 100 euros to keep us quiet»
Neighbor affected by the Carabanchel macro-squatting
The urbanization has extras such as a swimming pool, playground, solarium terrace and other common areas that, at the moment, they are not able to use due to insecurity. Even so, one of the neighbors has conveyed her opinion on television: «We just want to point out one detail and that is that it has been sold as if this is a luxury development and it really is not, that is, we pay 800-900 euros for rent “which is lower than the average in Madrid in a neighborhood that is humble and we are working people and we do not want to be living this situation of insecurity in our homes.”
One of the squatters did not know that it was a scam and says that Desokupa intervened
ABC has been able to speak with one of the people who lives illegally in the urbanizationconfessing that he has been scammed since he has a contract and did not know that the situation was irregular: «I live with my mother, my dog and my six-year-old sister. My mother is pregnant, I am one of the people who have been scammed and I didn’t even know, because I have my contract like everyone else. My mother paid 3,000 euros for the apartment and my mother did not know. […] “We have been living here for two months.”
It indicates that the 3,000 euros were paid in hand, nothing in transfer and a man gave them the keys, the contract and I didn’t know it was fakeuntil one day the police arrived saying that there were 27 scammers.
«My mother paid 3,000 euros for the apartment and my mother did not know. […] “We have been living here for two months.”
One of the squatters in the Carabanchel urbanization
This young woman too He tells ABC that Desokupa came indicating that they had to leave and even offered him money to leave.: «800 euros, excuse me but what am I going to do with 800 euros? […] The days passed and the offer continued to rise, 1,200, I am legal here, I have my NIE, I study, I work, my mother too, my sister studies… The unsquatters kicked my mother in the belly“Because they wanted to take us out by force,” she says, specifying that they also beat her and that they made her pregnant mother bleed and that she is now “in the midst of an abortion.”
“My mother was kicked in the stomach by those from Desokupa because they wanted to force us out.”
One of the squatters in the Carabanchel urbanization
At the moment, this case of macro-squatting and scams is under investigation by the Police.
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