A GROWING number of homeowners across Spain are putting their properties on the market after giving up on ever getting squatters out.
And many are doing so at a financial loss after losing confidence in the legal system to help them regain possession.
New figures from property portal Idealista show the number of squatter-occupied homes for sale rose by 4.6% in just three months at the end of 2025.
In the final quarter of the year, 24,058 such properties were listed for sale across the country – up by over a thousand in just one quarter.
The trend suggests squatting is no longer a temporary issue but an entrenched part of Spain’s housing market.
Idealista spokesman Francisco Inareta said more owners are choosing to sell rather than face years of legal battles.
He said many feel they lack legal protection and do not receive enough support from the justice system.
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The impact is being felt most sharply in regions popular with foreign buyers.
On the Costa del Sol and wider Malaga province, nearly 300 homes for sale are currently occupied by squatters.
More than 3% of all properties on the market in Malaga capital are squatted.
In nearby Almeria, the situation is even worse, with almost 7% of homes for sale affected.
Sevilla and Huelva both record similar levels, while Murcia stands at just over 7%.
In the Balearics, Palma has around 170 squatter-occupied properties for sale, Alicante has more than 150.
In Barcelona, more than 780 homes are currently being sold with illegal occupants inside, and Madrid now has even more, with 857 such properties on the market.
Together, just eight major cities account for almost 70% of all squatter-occupied homes for sale in Spain’s provincial capitals.
Regionally, the concentration is even clearer.
Catalonia alone accounts for 40% of all squatter-occupied properties for sale nationwide; Andalucia follows with 20% and the Valencia region makes up 11%.
Murcia and Madrid each represent 7%.
In other words, most of the problem is centred in the same coastal and urban areas that attract international buyers.
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this is an extraordinary problem in spain and why i cannot go on holiday and am concerned if going out at night . security will cost me 20 euros a month with olin . seems cheap but will it work . tenants can turn into squatters just as easily and it applies to apartments as well as villas and fincas . caveat emptor . best wishes jim torremolinos.