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Lawyers want squatters evicted faster

Balearic lawyers want to amend the law on squatting. | Pere Bota

| Balearic Islands |

The Governing Board of the Balearic Bar Association is demanding that the Criminal Procedure Law be amended so that squatters can be evicted within 48 hours.

"It is necessary to provide the judiciary with effective mechanisms that allow the right to property to be effectively and expeditiously protected,” said the Association.

The Governing Board has joined the College of Barcelona’s initiative which is calling for the implementation of a precautionary eviction measure to get squatters out within two days of the property owner filing a complaint. If the tenant cannot prove their legitimate right to live in the property within 48 hours an eviction order will be issued.

The proposed amendment also calls for the immediate identification or arrest of the squatter and the possibility of taking protective measures against victims of occupation and states that the eviction must also be reported to social services so that they can intervene in cases of vulnerability.

The Governing Board stressed that effective mechanisms are needed in the face of "abusive actions against property law, which in turn would help to provide greater guarantees for an essential social peace.”

Protocols

The Attorney General and the Interior Minister issued separate briefs this week to lay down more forceful avenues of action in cases of home invasion and the Public Prosecutor is urging representatives to request eviction as a precautionary measure before the court.

The Interior guidelines state that National Police and Guardia Civil Officers must act immediately in flagrant cases of occupation, as per instructions issued last year by the Superior Prosecutor of the Balearic Islands.

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