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Date Published: 20/11/2024

British squatter destroys elderly couple's retirement dreams in Spain

The UK mother owes 15k in unpaid rent and bills on the seaside apartment in Mallorca

An elderly couple from Mallorca has seen their dream of a quiet and comfortable retirement destroyed thanks to a British squatter. The woman has been illegally living in the Calviá flat for more than a year, refusing to pay 15,000 euros in rent and bills and scamming the retirees out of their much-needed savings.

Maria Elena Collado, 70, and José María Pérez, 77, had been relying on the rental income from the seafront apartment in the El Toro area to supplement their self-employed pension.

According to the couple, they first rented out the three-bed property to the British woman, her Irish partner and two children a couple of years ago for 900 euros per month, plus bills. But when the man moved out more than 12 months ago, all of the payments stopped without warning.

Ms Collado said: “She owes us 15,000 euros and, on top of that, we have to pay the water, rubbish, community fees and property tax”.

A recent reform of the Spanish housing law has a clause to protect tenants “in situation of vulnerability”, meaning that it’s now very difficult, time-consuming and expensive to evict squatters with low incomes or those with children. And this is exactly what the elderly couple was told when they consulted a lawyer.

When Calviá Town Hall confirmed this, Mr Pérez said he felt like their property has been stolen from them.

“We have worked very hard all our lives to be able to enjoy our retirement, but since we cannot collect the rent and we have to pay all the bills, we cannot enjoy our retirement”.

“The hardest thing is that the squatter laughs at us and we can't approach her because our lawyer has told us not to or we could have legal problems,” said José María.

This situation highlights a broader issue in Spain, where squatters are often protected by housing law, making it difficult for property owners to regain control of their homes.

As José María Pérez pointed out, “It is very unfair, who are the vulnerable ones?”

Also of interest: What are the penalties faced by homeowners in Spain for kicking out squatters?

Image: Rafael Ortega Díaz via Wikimedia Commons

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