Spanish court distinguishes between illegal squatters and non-paying tenants

A court in Roquetas de Mar has applied a Supreme Court doctrine to distinguish between illegal squatters (okupas) and tenants who fail to pay rent (inquiokupas). The ruling clarifies that while Supreme Court Sentence 426/2026 allows property owners to cut off water and electricity to illegal squatters as a pressure tactic, this does not extend to tenants with a legitimate or disputed claim to the property.

Judge Claudio García Vidales warned that property owners who unilaterally cut off utilities to mortgage defaulters or non-paying tenants may be committing the crime of coercion. The court emphasized that a person who enters a property by force without any right or title is legally distinct from a tenant facing foreclosure or financial hardship. Misinterpreting the high court's ruling to target tenants can lead to criminal proceedings against the owners.