"Illegal occupancy of residential premises in Spain has decreased for the first time in seven years."."

The latest statistical data on criminal activity debunk the alarming discourse about home occupations.

The number of such legal violations registered in Spain in2022 was16,726, which is3.2% less than the previous year when this figure reached a record17,274, according to data collected by the Forensic System, dependent on the Ministry of the Interior and including information from the National Police, Civil Guard, regional police, and municipal authorities.

This is the first decrease in this phenomenon, which has continued to grow under various governments since 2016, when 9,918 cases were recorded.

These figures include both cases of illegal occupation of residential premises, primarily vacant apartments owned by banks or investment funds, as well as break-ins into residential properties, resulting in the occupation of primary or secondary homes of private individuals, which constitutes a minor share of the overall statistics.

The first offense is punishable by a maximum sentence of up to six months in prison, while the second offense can lead to a sentence of up to two years.

The decrease in the number of cases affected 12 regions, including three out of the four most impacted by this phenomenon, which account for 78% of all complaints.

In Catalonia, where the highest number of complaints is usually reported, the number of these cases decreased from 7,345 in 2021 to 7,005 last year (a decrease of 4.7%); in Andalusia, it fell from 2,557 to 2,502 (a decrease of 2.2%), and in Madrid, it dropped from 1,660 to 1,501 (almost a 10% reduction). Only in the Valencian Community did the number of complaints increase in the last year, rising from 1,779 to 2,024 (a 13.7% increase).

The anticipation of a decrease in the number of cases was made by the State Prosecutor's Office in its latest annual report for 2021. At that time, the prosecutor's office already indicated that the information on procedures related to illegal occupation of real estate (9739) confirms a "trend towards stabilization" that began in 2020, noting that during the analyzed period, the number of procedures increased by only nine compared to the previous year. As for intrusions into residential premises, the most widely covered and concerning aspect of occupation, the prosecutor's data reflects its exceptional nature. In 2021, 83 indictments were filed regarding this crime.

In the same vein, the National Statistics Institute (INE) notes that in 2021, there were 230 convictions for cases of breaking and entering in Spain (these figures include all forms of this crime, not just squatting), which is far from the peak in 2016 when there were 357 such cases. A similar trend is observed regarding illegal occupation, with data showing that it constitutes the main part of the problem: in 2021, 4,302 people were convicted, which is significantly lower than the 6,757 in 2017, but much higher than the 1,669 convicted in 2013.

The decrease in cases of squatting may be the first sign of a slowdown in the growth of a phenomenon that has only been increasing until now.

According to Antonia Linde, the director of the criminology program at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) and one of the leading international experts in criminological trends, the decrease in cases in 2022 can only be described as "anecdotal," and it will be interesting to see how it develops in the coming years. However, Linde points out that this could be the first sign of a slowdown in the growth of a phenomenon that has been increasing, especially considering that the increase between 2020 and 2021 was about 17%.

According to Linda, the reasons for this slowdown may vary. She notes the social impact measures taken by some municipalities to combat occupation, as well as the possible deterrent effect caused by the government's announcement of legal measures aimed at speeding up eviction procedures for such properties and fighting organized crime groups that have found a profitable business in this activity, as shown by the investigation into the Squatter case following the dismantling of one such criminal group in Barcelona.

Carlos Morales, a representative of the Unified Police Syndicate (SUP), also points to another measure that may explain the decline: a letter issued by the then Attorney General of the state, Dolores Delgado, in September 2020, in which she urged prosecutors to act "with the utmost urgency" against illegal occupation of properties while the case is being considered in court. "This measure prompted the Ministry of the Interior to soon develop a protocol for police action, which clarified what agents should do in the event of such a crime," he says. Other police sources add that recent law enforcement operations against organized groups involved in commissioned occupations for subsequent rental to third parties or using them as so-called "drug apartments" or brothels may have also weakened the influence.