Renting

Squatting: How to Act against Squatters

If your home is squatted, acting fast and well is decisive. We explain the legal routes and timelines to recover it.

Urgent consultation

Renting · Updated January 2026 · 6 min read

Squatting of a home is one of an owner's biggest worries. Speed and the chosen route are key to recovering it.

Breaking and entering vs. usurpation

Breaking and entering a dwelling: if it is your primary home (or a second residence in use), it is a more serious offence and allows faster action, even police action in flagrante.
Usurpation: if it is an empty property that is not a dwelling, the route is usually slower.

Routes to recover possession

Criminal complaint for breaking and entering or usurpation.
Civil eviction for precarious possession or the specific procedure against illegal occupation.

Prevention

Alarms, keeping the home not apparently empty and acting in the first hours make the difference. Do not try to remove them by force: do it through the legal route. We advise you from minute one; buying an already-occupied flat is a different matter.

Frequently asked questions

We answer your questions

Can I remove squatters by force?

It is not advisable: it can backfire. The correct approach is to act through the legal route (a criminal complaint for breaking and entering or usurpation and/or eviction), and to do so as quickly as possible.

Is it faster if my primary home is squatted?

Yes. If it is your dwelling, it may constitute breaking and entering, a more serious offence that allows faster action, even police action if caught in flagrante. For empty properties the route is usually slower.

Have a squatting problem?

We analyse your case and guide you through the fastest route to recover possession of your home.

Request a consultation