Can You Cut Off Utilities to Squatters in Spain? What Changed in 2026
Since June 2026, cutting off water or electricity to people who occupy a property with no right at all is, as a rule, not a crime in Spain: the Supreme Court said so in judgment 426/2026. Doing the same to a tenant, even one who stopped paying, can still be coercion. And there is no law that evicts squatters in 24 or 48 hours: the bills that promised it lapsed when Parliament was dissolved on 6 October 2026.
Picture two flats in the same building in Lloret de Mar. In the first, the owner arrives after a few months away and finds strangers living there. In the second, a tenant with a signed lease has stopped paying rent. Both owners are angry, and both are tempted to call the electricity company. The law treats them very differently, and confusing the two is exactly what a judge in Roquetas de Mar warned owners about in September 2026.
Below is what changed in 2026, how to recover a property today, what the new decree on vulnerable households does, and what to check if you own a second home on the Costa Brava. Facts are as of 29 October 2026, from the BOE, the Supreme Court, the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), the Interior Ministry and the Mossos d’Esquadra. This topic changes quickly: the decree vote and the general election are both in November.
What the Supreme Court decided on utilities
On 24 June 2026 the full Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court, by 10 votes to 4, set the rule in judgment 426/2026. An owner who stops paying for or cancels the water, electricity or gas supply of a property occupied by someone with no right to be there does not, as a rule, commit coercion (article 172 of the Criminal Code).
The limit is just as clear. If the occupant has any right to the home, even a disputed one, cutting the supply can still be a crime. The case itself shows it: the court upheld a nine-month prison sentence for a man in Vigo who cancelled the electricity contract of the family home where his estranged wife still lived.
Three months later, on 23 September 2026, a judge in Roquetas de Mar (Almería) warned through the CGPJ that owners were already misusing the ruling. A buyer at auction had the water and electricity cut off at the home of an 88-year-old woman, the former owner, who was still waiting for her court eviction and was paying the bills herself. The judge opened a coercion case against the buyer. Tenants in arrears and former owners awaiting eviction are not squatters.
In Catalonia the Barcelona Provincial Court had already agreed the same line for its criminal sections on 7 March 2025: an owner who stops paying the utilities of an occupied property does not commit coercion.
Your home or an empty flat: two different offences
Spanish law separates breaking into someone’s home from occupying a property that is nobody’s home. The difference decides the penalty and whether the case can go to a fast-track trial.
| Offence | What it covers | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Breaking into a dwelling (allanamiento de morada, art. 202) | A home someone actually lives in, which can include a second home in use | 6 months to 2 years in prison; 1 to 4 years with violence |
| Occupying a property that is not a dwelling (usurpación, art. 245.2) | An empty flat or building, entered with the intention of staying | a fine of 3 to 6 months (Spain’s day-fine system); 1 to 2 years in prison with violence |
If the occupiers are caught in the act (flagrante delito), the Mossos protocol requires officers to end the occupation and return the property to its owner, whether it is a home or an empty flat. Once that moment has passed, a court is needed in both cases.
How to recover an occupied property in 2026
There are three routes, and they can run in parallel:
- The police, in the act. Call 112 or the Mossos as soon as you know. Alarm records, a neighbour’s call or a concierge who saw the entry are what help the police treat it as flagrante delito.
- A criminal complaint asking for interim eviction. Under Fiscalía Instruction 1/2020 the prosecutor can ask the judge to return the property while the case runs, even without hearing the occupants first. Ask for it in writing in the complaint itself. Since 3 April 2025 cases of breaking into a dwelling, and of occupation with violence, can go through the fast-track trial (juicio rápido). A peaceful occupation of an empty flat, the typical case in Catalonia, does not: it follows the procedure for minor offences (Circular 1/2025).
- The express civil claim. Under Law 5/2018 the occupants have five days from notification to show a right to stay; without one, the judge orders the eviction. It is open to individual owners, non-profits and public owners of social housing, not to companies.
None of these comes with a guaranteed deadline. In 2023 a civil claim took 23.2 months on average to reach a judgment, first instance plus appeal, according to idealista’s calculation based on CGPJ data.
Decree-law 29/2026: what it pauses
Decree-law 29/2026, in force since 8 October 2026, suspends evictions of vulnerable people who have no alternative home. The rules depend on who brings the claim:
- Companies that buy homes or portfolios of non-performing mortgages well below market value: suspension until 31 December 2030, with no compensation to the claimant.
- Other claimants: the court asks the authorities for housing; without it the case is suspended, reviewed every 12 months, for up to three years. Landlords who let at affordable or social rents can claim compensation for unpaid rent, utilities and costs.
- An individual who owns two homes or fewer: the occupant’s vulnerability does not take priority; the court decides.
The decree does not mention occupation by name. It refers to procedures that include civil claims for homes occupied without consent, where the property is the occupant’s habitual home, so we cannot rule out that courts apply it to squatters; that is our reading of the text, and we have found no case law yet. It has to be ratified or rejected by the Standing Committee of Congress; the vote is expected on 12 November 2026. Its two predecessors, decree-laws 26/2026 and 27/2026, were rejected on 2 October.
The 24- or 48-hour law that did not happen
Two bills promised fast evictions: one from Junts (48 hours), admitted for debate on 18 March 2025 by 300 votes to 44, and one from the PP (24 hours), admitted for debate on 19 May 2026 by 171 votes to 164. Both sat in the amendment stage for months. When the Cortes were dissolved on 6 October 2026 they lapsed.
On 10 September 2026 Congress also approved a PP motion calling for evictions within 24 to 48 hours, with the PSOE abstaining. A motion does not bind the government. (No law in Spain sets a 48-hour clock for squatters.)
The general election is on 29 November 2026 and the new Cortes meet on 23 December. Alberto Núñez Feijóo has promised that a PP government would approve an anti-occupation bill with 48-hour evictions within its first 100 days. Even then the bill would need to pass the new Parliament, and an organic law needs 176 votes in Congress.
Catalonia in numbers
Catalonia accounts for almost four in ten occupation complaints in Spain:
| Territory | 2025 | Change on 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | 14,875 | about 9% fewer |
| Catalonia | 5,913 | 15.6% fewer (7,009 in 2024) |
| Andalusia | 1,909 | about 13% fewer |
| Valencia region | 1,805 | about 2% more |
| Madrid region | 1,269 | about 12% fewer |
The Mossos d’Esquadra count differently and recorded 7,110 complaints in Catalonia in 2025. 96% concerned the occupation of empty flats and only 4%, 284 complaints, someone breaking into a home. 80% of all complaints involved flats owned by large holders. Completed occupations fell by 20% on 2024, while the number of attempts stayed about the same (3Cat, February 2026).
The courts show the same trend. In the second quarter of 2026, 443 civil claims to recover occupied homes were filed in Spain, 9% fewer than a year earlier; Catalonia led with 89, one in five (CGPJ). And occupied homes are on the market: in the fourth quarter of 2025 idealista carried 24,058 listings of homes for sale without vacant possession, about 40% of them in Catalonia.
What this means for an owner on the Costa Brava
A second home that looks lived in is better protected. Supreme Court judge Vicente Magro advises keeping a second home furnished and with the utilities connected, so that it can count as a dwelling rather than an empty property. That is his recommendation, not a rule, but it costs little.
Proof of the moment of entry matters most. Police can act on the spot only if they catch the occupiers in the act. A monitored alarm, a neighbour who calls you and photos from your last visit are what make that possible.
A tenant who stops paying is not a squatter. Do not touch the utilities. File an eviction claim for unpaid rent, and note that decree-law 29/2026 gives the authorities two months to rehouse a vulnerable tenant or pay the debt.
Three things to do if your property is occupied
- Call 112 or the Mossos at once. Have your title, a recent Land Registry extract (nota simple), photos and any alarm records ready.
- File the complaint and ask for interim eviction in writing. State the costs you are carrying: mortgage, IBI property tax, community fees.
- Do not use force, and speak to a lawyer before touching the utilities. The Supreme Court rule covers only occupants with no right at all.
For the wider picture, including insurance and how occupation risk differs by area, see our earlier guide to okupas in Spain and how to protect your property.
Questions about squatters in Spain in 2026
Can you cut off utilities to squatters in Spain?
As a rule, it is not a crime if the occupants have no right at all to the property: Supreme Court judgment 426/2026 of 24 June 2026 held that stopping or cancelling the utilities is not coercion in that case. If the occupant has any right, even a disputed one, such as a tenant in arrears or a former owner awaiting eviction, it can still be a crime.
Is there a law to evict squatters in 48 hours in Spain?
No. The PP and Junts bills that proposed 24 and 48 hours lapsed when the Cortes were dissolved on 6 October 2026. Any new law would have to start again after the general election of 29 November 2026.
Can I cut off the electricity of a tenant who does not pay?
No. A tenant has a right to the home even in arrears, so cutting the utilities can be coercion. A judge in Roquetas de Mar warned in September 2026 that owners were wrongly applying the Supreme Court ruling to tenants and former owners.
Is a holiday home protected like a main home?
It can be. A second home that is furnished and in use can count as a dwelling, and breaking into it is a more serious offence (6 months to 2 years in prison). An empty property is covered by the lighter offence of occupation, punished with a fine.
Can vulnerable squatters be evicted in Spain now?
Decree-law 29/2026, in force since 8 October 2026, suspends evictions of vulnerable people without an alternative home, until 2030 when the claimant is a company that bought homes or mortgage portfolios well below market value, and up to three years in other cases. It does not name occupation directly, and Congress is expected to vote on it on 12 November 2026.
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Sources: Supreme Court, judgment 426/2026 of 24 June 2026 and CGPJ notes of 13 July and 23 September 2026; Audiencia Provincial de Barcelona, agreement of 7 March 2025; Código Penal, articles 202 and 245 (BOE); Ley Orgánica 1/2025 and Fiscalía Circular 1/2025 (BOE-A-2025-17153); Fiscalía Instruction 1/2020; Law 5/2018 (BOE); Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 (BOE, 7 October 2026); Real Decreto 806/2026 on the dissolution of the Cortes (BOE, 6 October 2026); Congress of Deputies, files 122/000150 and 122/000254; Europa Press (10 September and 29 April 2026); EFE (29 April and 27 October 2026); 3Cat (14 February 2026); CGPJ, report on the second quarter of 2026; idealista (20 June 2024; 22 January, 26 January and 15 July 2026); PP and idealista on Feijóo’s pledge (21 October 2026). Data checked on 29 October 2026. This article is general information, not legal advice; confirm your case with a lawyer in Spain.