2024-01-25 09:15:29
A man tending at home. Barcelona, CataloniaDavid Zorrakino (Europa Press)
“He changed the lock on the house as soon as our father died so that we couldn’t access the family home, that of all the brothers.” This is the testimony of Luisa (her fictitious name) who, along with her other heirs, had to go to trial to kick her sister out of her childhood apartment. The woman had been installed for three years. She had nowhere to stay and so, she said, she could take care of her parents. However, the other brothers already paid a person who took care of this work. After her father died, she continued to live there with her mother. The last straw, says Luisa, was changing the locks on the property. A warning that she planned to stay in the apartment and ignore the rights of her brothers.
Cases of squatter heirs are not exceptional, according to reports Antonio Martinez, the lawyer who advised Luisa and her brothers. The typical case, he points out, is that of the brother who believes he has the right to remain in the parental home because he has been taking care of his parents and does not own an apartment. “The reality is that this person does not have the economic capacity to afford renting or buying a house and uses his parents,” explains the lawyer from the Martínez Lafuente Abogados law firm and an expert in inheritance law. The problem is that “they try to justify the use of the home in the unwritten will of their parentswhich is not a title that legitimizes its use,” he emphasizes.
There are also cases in which the heirs are left without rights in the parents’ house despite having another apartment they own. Antonio Martínez says that although the profile of the occupants is that of people without economic means, there are times when they are simply people “with a hard face.” The lawyer remembers a matter in which they had to go to court to kick out a man who was living on loan in the family home while he was earning income from his rented apartment.
According to the expert, most of these matters involve family entanglements and conflicts. A lack of understanding that makes the burofax attempt, inviting the occupant to voluntarily leave the apartment, fail. “They don’t have another house to go to, so they don’t usually access it,” Martínez summarizes. The bad relationship between the brothers also dynamites the distribution of the inheritance. “It is common for courts to resolve the illegitimate occupation of the home before the division of assets,” the expert points out. “These are cases that drag on in the courts,” Martínez acknowledges.
To prevent the squatter heirs from becoming strong in the family apartment, the lawyer explains, an eviction procedure must be initiated “due to precariousness.” The same one that any owner has to invoke to evict people who use their home without right and thus recover possession. The main characteristic of these procedures is that the occupation of the home occurs without the partition having been signed, situation that in legal jargon is known as “recumbent inheritance.” This name refers to the set of assets and rights transmitted by the deceased from his death until the moment in which the heirs accept or renounce them.
In any case, these are the main questions that heirs who find themselves immersed in this problem and want to recover their parents’ house to sell or rent it must take into account.
At what point should you sue?
If an attempt has already been made to reach an agreement satisfactory to all parties involved and it has not been achieved, there is no need to waste time in suing the occupant of the home. As lawyer Antonio Martínez explains, it is advisable to act quickly because they are complex and long processes. While the situation is resolved, expenses accumulate that reduce the balance of the common accounts or damage may be caused to the home.
“In addition, as long as the heir is a squatter, it will be difficult to rent the home,” points out the lawyer. We have seen cases in which the occupant has gone so far as to boycott the rental, preventing the tenant from entering, once the contract has been signed,” says Martínez. The solution, he recommends, is to request extra compensation for the damage caused.
What procedure should be used?
The legal tool used is the precarious eviction procedure, included in article 250 of the Civil Procedure Law. “It is very similar to the procedures that are used, for example, when the tenant does not pay the rent,” explains Antonio Martínez. It is a civil procedure in which the judge is asked to order the heir to leave the occupied home.
The claim is resolved in a verbal trial, faster than an ordinary one. As its name indicates, the issue is heard before the judge in a single session known as a “hearing.” Once the claim reaches the court and is processed, a hearing date is scheduled and, after that, the judge issues a ruling. If the defendant does not appeal within the next 20 business days, he has to abandon the home or land, since, if not, the “launching” will occur, that is, the forced eviction.
What reasons can the squatter heir rely on to remain in the home?
The squatter heir does not have any legal argument in his favor to stay in the home before the signing of the partition notebook occurs, which is the document in which the deceased’s assets are equitably distributed. Now, Antonio Martínez points out, “just as happens in evictions due to non-payment of rent, if the squatter tenant has minors in his care and does not have another home, the eviction could be delayed, since the judges always look out for the interests of the minor.” .
Since March 2019, the courts that are aware of this situation must notify the social services about the existence of an eviction lawsuit. In parallel, they must also inform the defendant tenant about the social services to which he can turn for help.
In the event that social services determine that the tenant is in a vulnerable situation, the eviction process is suspended for a maximum of one month, explains the lawyer. Once the month has passed, the process continues.
How long does the judicial process last? Do the police intervene?
These processes can last up to a couple of years and can end with the eviction of the squatter heir on the date determined by the judge. If he does not voluntarily leave the home, the police intervene in the eviction or eviction.
What happens meanwhile with the expenses of the apartment?
Whoever resides and uses the house is the one who must pay the housing supply costs, such as gas, electricity, water, etc. Many times, explains lawyer Antonio Martínez, “the charges are charged against the current account of the deceased parents, holders of these contracts.” This aggravates the problem since that money is also part of the inheritance. The bank account can be left shivering if this situation continues for years and other charges such as the real estate tax (IBI) or the community of owners are covered with it. “Some expenses that the other heirs can later claim from the squatter,” says Martínez. In this case, it will be necessary to calculate the amount of supplies used plus the corresponding part of fixed costs such as IBI and the community.
The Five Day agenda
The most important economic quotes of the day, with the keys and context to understand their scope.
RECEIVE IT IN YOUR MAIL
#Squatting #heirs #legal #steps #brother #barricades #family #apartment #Rights #Economy