Vox denounces that squatting has grown by 450% in ten years and asks Podemos if it continues to see it as an "invention"

MADRID, 11 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Vox has denounced this Tuesday that illegal squatting in Spain has increased by 450 percent in the last ten years and has asked the Government to clarify its position on the matter and if it supports the words of the Minister of Equality, Irene Montero, speaking the phenomenon as "an invented problem".

At a press conference in Congress, the parliamentary spokesman for Vox, Iván Espinosa de los Monteros, has denounced the seriousness of the squatting through data provided by the Government itself, according to which there have been more than 3,849 cases known by the security forces in the year 2011 to 17,274 in the year 2021.

Despite this 450 percent increase, he has denounced that the Government has turned the most vulnerable people into "hostages" of the squatters. And now, the squatting stands as "the umpteenth" reason for division among the government partners.

As he recalled, the PSOE now proposes measures that "copy those of Vox" to expel squatters within a maximum period of 48 hours; while the Minister of Equality, Irene Montero, said it was an "invented" problem or Vice President Yolanda Díaz denied it was a problem.

For this reason, Vox asks the Executive to clarify its position in a battery of questions registered in the Lower House and points out whether a possible reason for the increase in cases could be the measures adopted during the pandemic to paralyze evictions.

Moreover, Espinosa de los Monteros has denounced that there are councilors in municipalities and cities who are dedicated to distributing squatting manuals that explain the steps to follow and even point out possible homes that can be squatted.

In his opinion, the solution would be to expand the social housing stock and offer an affordable housing solution to these vulnerable groups, instead of giving them instructions to squat properties that they do not own.

Vox also denounces that there is no legal impediment for a person to register on the register as a tenant of the house that is squatted and asks the Government if it has followed up on this type of case.