Reporter - Spain's Housing Crisis: The Evictors - video Dailymotion

DW (English)

Spain's housing crisis: How Ángela Mendoza could turn evictions into a lucrative business model.

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00:00Wherever Ángela Mendoza appears, things get serious.

00:10She evicts people from apartments for owners who've run out of options.

00:14Her team, strong men ready for a confrontation.

00:18The worst case scenario is bloodshed.

00:22Spain is facing a massive housing crisis.

00:25For many tenants, that means living in constant fear of ending up on the street.

00:29I've got nothing left. I'm ruined.

00:35Ángela's work is polarizing.

00:38For some, she's the last hope for affected owners.

00:41For others, a tool used by cold-hearted landlords.

00:46They've even threatened to kill my son.

00:50We wanted to learn more.

00:52What's it like to work for a company whose business is evicting people from their homes?

00:57What methods do they use?

00:59Where does legitimate pressure end and unlawful intimidation begin?

01:04It's another day for Ángela and her team.

01:20Most mornings, they start in Granada, in Andalusia, southern Spain.

01:25They remove squatters and delinquent tenants from apartments all across the country.

01:30Today, they're off to a small coastal town, Castel de Ferro, on the Costa Tropical.

01:36We've got a tenant in a precarious living situation who hasn't paid rent in months.

01:46He used to live there with an older woman, but she's moved out and accused him of abuse.

01:53At the moment, he's living there alone.

01:57So things could get confrontational?

02:00Yes, of course. That's why these guys are coming.

02:03What's the worst that could happen?

02:07The worst-case scenario?

02:10The worst-case scenario is bloodshed.

02:14Final checks, a quick briefing, and the operation begins.

02:21They first try ringing the doorbell.

02:27No one answers.

02:30A couple of Ángela's men attempt to get in through the stairwell at the back.

02:37Are you inside?

02:40They are now at the apartment door.

02:43Ángela hears noises from inside.

02:48She instructs her team to hold back for now.

03:00Sure enough, the alleged rent dodger opens the door.

03:05Ángela's team forms behind her.

03:10One of them holds a pair of plastic handcuffs in plain view.

03:14But despite expectations, the man remains calm.

03:17He even seems understanding.

03:19Yeah, it's true. I haven't paid for the last three months.

03:24Finally, the man signs an agreement saying he'll move out within three weeks.

03:29In exchange, Ángela promises to help him look for a new place.

03:34For her team, it's a complete success.

03:40In the agreement, he admits to being a precarious tenant who hasn't paid rent.

03:46He also says it isn't true that he couldn't afford it.

03:51She denies that her team is intimidating.

03:54She says everyone is following the law.

03:56That guy wasn't stupid. He said it.

04:00What really scares him is that one day someone could show up and throw him out by force.

04:06He says there are other companies that do that.

04:09That's how it is. Everyone plays the hand they've got.

04:12For us, it's mostly psychology and a more cooperative, social approach.

04:17Just two streets away, Ángela meets her clients.

04:22An elderly couple.

04:24They bought the apartment for their children.

04:28He signed.

04:30You're kidding.

04:35That's the best news you could have given me.

04:38I never guessed it would go so well.

04:43That's our job.

04:45You'll have your apartment back in 21 days.

04:47Thank you so much.

04:50Thank you for your faith in our work.

04:53The couple wants to remain anonymous.

04:56They say they turned to Ángela out of desperation after all talks with the tenant had failed.

05:04I don't think anyone from Spain can afford to just let someone live rent-free.

05:09And also pay all their bills.

05:12Water, electricity, everything.

05:14At least we certainly can't afford that.

05:20The housing market in Spain is under extreme pressure.

05:24Squatting is constantly on the rise.

05:30In 2024 alone, there were 16,000 similar cases.

05:37At the same time, the country's courts are hopelessly overwhelmed.

05:40In Andalusia alone, there are nearly a million cases pending.

05:45It's often years before a judge authorizes a police eviction.

05:49No wonder business is booming for Ángela.

05:52She takes us through Granada, showing us buildings her company has cleared in recent months.

05:57Often, she says, they're just tenants in trouble.

06:00Other times, she says organized groups use the properties for criminal activities.

06:06With his house here, they told me they knew where I lived.

06:11That they'd come for my son and kill him.

06:15That they'd kill me, too, eventually.

06:17It's shocking how much they know about your private life.

06:21You just have to live with the danger.

06:26Are eviction companies victims?

06:32Some here see it differently.

06:34Maria, not her real name, also wants to remain anonymous because she could soon lose her home.

06:41Together with her neighbors, she's fighting a wave of forced evictions in her neighborhood.

06:45I've got nothing left. I'm completely at the end of my rope. I'm just really terrified.

06:56I recently had breast surgery, too. My neighbor's help is the only reason I haven't given up yet.

07:08Maria says she always paid her rent on time.

07:10Now, though, the local government wants to demolish her old building to make way for a modern high-rise.

07:17Comparable housing is unaffordable, says Jose Juan Martinez from the Neighborhood Initiative.

07:23Our neighborhood, Zaidín, has always been a place for working people, ordinary folk.

07:29It's a long way from the city center.

07:31People here have never seen a tourist in their lives.

07:36Now the center is full of tourist apartments, and they're spreading out.

07:41They're pushing long-time residents out of working-class districts.

07:45I tell them, if affordable housing still existed here, the whole squatting problem wouldn't even exist at all.

07:53Tourism has exploded in Spain.

07:55Even more property owners are renting to tourists instead of locals.

08:00Since 2021, the number of registered tourist accommodations has more than doubled.

08:05The short-term profits are just too tempting.

08:10The next morning, Ángela is up at 6 a.m.

08:13She boxes four times a week to stay fit for the job.

08:20She's infuriated by accusations that say she helps greedy landlords evict the poor.

08:30Comments like that really frustrate me.

08:33A lot of people have no idea what's going on.

08:35They only ever see a small part of the reality.

08:38Every side only ever wants to see its own little bit.

08:40Ángela takes us along for another operation.

08:45The illegal occupation of a house, where a sub-letter has reportedly tried to drive her landlord out.

08:52It's an elderly man. He could be my grandfather.

08:56He's very down to earth.

08:58It's precisely because he's so kind-hearted that they deceived him.

09:02In situations like this, our job is very rewarding.

09:05When you can give someone back something they thought their whole lives to have.

09:11Only recently, Ángela's team helped the pensioner evict the tenant.

09:16Now, his home has been broken into.

09:21Where did they come from?

09:24Probably from this side.

09:26Ángela suspects a criminal enterprise has targeted the house.

09:31Her team replaces the locks and discusses what to do next with the elderly man.

09:37In the end, they opt for the practical solution.

09:42Helping him sell his house and finding new accommodation where he feels safer.

09:47Whether it's lawyers, residents, or squatters, all sides seem to agree upon one point.

09:57For far too long, the Spanish government has failed to create affordable housing.

10:02More than 90% of property is privately owned.

10:06Publicly subsidized housing is extremely rare.

10:09But that is slowly changing.

10:15About an hour from Granada, on the outskirts of Malaga, a huge construction project is underway.

10:22More than 7,000 social housing units are being built.

10:25José María López Sarezo is head of the responsible agency, and he sees this as a kind of urban planning race.

10:34After the real estate crisis, during the 2010s, housing construction practically came to a standstill.

10:44Now we urgently need new housing.

10:49Especially for younger people, at affordable prices.

10:53But developers are tempering expectations. The turnaround will take quite some time.

11:04A project like this can take more than 10 years to complete, from inception to the date tenants can move in.

11:13In Europe, there's a lot of bureaucracy for everything.

11:17Expert analysis because it's near a stream.

11:20Reports because it's near the coast.

11:21Reports because it's near a cemetery.

11:24It's all just paperwork and a lot of bureaucracy.

11:29A vicious cycle of bureaucracy.

11:32Slowed construction intensifies rental conflicts.

11:35And slow courts can't keep up with the tidal wave of disputes.

11:39For Ángela, that means she can hardly keep up with new assignments.

11:43She's not worried that will change anytime soon.

11:46To be honest, I don't see any simple solutions.

11:52Otherwise, the government would have dealt with this many years ago.

11:56I don't blame them for everything either.

11:59In the end, everyone involved in these housing conflicts is, in some way, a little bit right.

12:03The good ones aren't totally good, nor are the bad ones completely bad.

12:09And so Ángela and her team will continue responding to the growing number of housing disputes.

12:16Just as many tenants will continue to live in fear of being unable to find homes they can afford.

12:21To find homes they can afford.

12:22To find homes they can afford.

Reporter - Spain's Housing Crisis: The Evictors

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