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00:00In our final episode of the series, Unreported World is from the holiday island of Tenerife,
00:06where second homes and vacant hotels are being taken over by squatters.
00:10A housing crisis is gripping Spain's Canary Islands, with over-tourism blamed for much of the shortage.
00:17As a result, properties are being occupied by people struggling to find somewhere to live,
00:22or criminals looking to make a quick buck.
00:24Anya Pop has travelled to the islands to find the squatters holding homes and livelihoods to ransom,
00:31and the hard-man evictors employed to get them out.
00:37This is not the side of Tenerife that you're meant to see.
00:43A housing crisis and a squatting problem that has reached boiling points.
00:48Amid the tourist hotspots, we meet desperate people in homes and hotels that aren't theirs.
01:01Exploiting gaps in the law to occupy someone else's property.
01:10Leaving property owners feeling abandoned and at the mercy of criminal gangs.
01:14After a week, there were more than 50 people occupying the hotel.
01:37It's called the Sunshine Center of Europe,
01:40where year-round warmth keeps the hotels full and the party going.
01:47But the tourist boom is coming at a cost to those living here,
01:51disguising a hidden crisis.
01:54Across Tenerife, a housing emergency has caused soaring rents
01:58and a squatting problem that is pitting communities against each other.
02:02It's technically illegal here, but under Spanish law,
02:07once a building has been occupied for 48 hours,
02:10a court order is needed to get people out.
02:13A long, expensive process that's leading some owners
02:16to take matters into their own hands.
02:20It's 6am and we're on our way to a dawn raid,
02:23a building that's been occupied for at least two years.
02:27It's really hard to get people out using the court,
02:28so some people are resorting to companies
02:30that don't mind pushing the boundaries to get people out.
02:34All 26 apartments in this building are illegally occupied.
02:38So the owner has hired a controversial private company
02:41made up of former bouncers and some ex-convicts
02:44to negotiate directly with the squatters.
02:47The owner has the house.
02:52¿Cuánto hace que saben ustedes que el edificio ya tiene dueño?
02:56¿Cuánto hace?
02:58Señores, señores, hablo yo.
03:01Los niños están asustados.
03:03La culpa es tuya, sean un niño asustado aquí.
03:06¿Esto no es de ustedes?
03:07Pero tú eres el dueño.
03:08El que representa la propiedad.
03:10¿Y usted es la dueña?
03:12¿Y usted es la dueña?
03:13Venga, de momento sí, usted es el dueña.
03:16Roberto Perez has spent three years in prison for drug trafficking, but says he now makes
03:27a clean living evicting squatters.
03:31His men can legally enter the building's communal areas, but it's illegal for them to remove
03:36people by force.
03:39Eviction companies, known as DesOcupas, are big business in Tenerife.
03:56Roberto's has earned a reputation for its confrontational approach.
04:01You're a man who comes to breaking doors and is the same person.
04:09Let's hear your friends.
04:12I have one more clear thing.
04:16Here are families who need the gas and are vulnerable.
04:19100% I know.
04:21But here are more than half of families who have better cars than I,
04:25who have jobs, who have jobs, who have jobs and who have leave.
04:30But we're not delinquents like you said.
04:32If you know, those who I see daily work in the Colombian panadería,
04:38the others in the work, the majority of the hotels we work.
04:42The man works in the work.
04:44I don't know any delinquents.
04:47The residents say they're just normal people.
04:49They all work.
04:50They've called the police and they've just arrived.
04:53Yannet Gonzalez is leading the bloc's fight against eviction.
05:03She fled the war in Colombia in the late 90s and now has a Spanish passport.
05:09She told us that they moved into the abandoned building more than 15 years ago
05:13and fixed up the apartments themselves.
05:15But a new owner recently bought it and wants them out.
05:19What would you say to those people who think that this kind of living is wrong,
05:23that this belongs to somebody else and you have no right to just stay here for free?
05:28Claro, claro que no tenemos derecho.
05:30Nosotros la mayoría somos personas vulnerables.
05:33¿Y qué quiere decir esto?
05:35Que al querer sacarnos de aquí, claro nos pueden sacar porque no es nuestra casa.
05:39Pero nos tienen que dar una solución de vivienda.
05:43Si no, dónde vamos a ir a la calle.
05:45Yannet works as a cleaner in a hotel.
05:49She says she's happy to pay rent but gets emotional when talking about the impossibility of it on minimum wage.
06:07Roberto has managed to repossess more than ten occupied buildings across the islands since setting up two years ago.
06:14You said when you spoke to them upstairs that you knew some of them were vulnerable.
06:18There were old women there and young children.
06:37The residents we spoke to said they work and are in Spain legally,
06:41but like Yannet have been unable to find affordable housing on their low wages.
06:46This is the only thing that we have here.
06:48This is the block and we have to fix this.
06:55They're building a wall to remove access to the garage for parking or storage.
06:59They'll also have a 24-hour presence.
07:02All part of their plan to drive people out.
07:05Some people criticise the work of Dessa Cooper groups.
07:15But how do you see it?
07:16There were over 16,000 squatting cases across Spain last year.
07:26The Spanish constitution enshrines the right to a home, so removing people can take years.
07:32A new tougher law was introduced in March to protect owners from squatters,
07:38but many complain the law isn't being implemented and owners remain unprotected.
07:43We're on our way to meet Margarita, whose family hotel got taken over by squatters earlier this year.
07:49She's tried everything to get them out, but they're still there.
07:52Margarita's dad bought the hotel decades ago and transformed it into this luxury resort.
08:05Then in February this year, a small group of squatters forced their way into the hotel.
08:12Margarita's dad bought the hotel decades ago and transformed it into this luxury resort.
08:17Then in February this year, a small group of squatters forced their way into the property while it was empty,
08:23ahead of a potential sale.
08:25After a week, more than 50 people were occupying the hotel and today, I think there are more than 200 people.
08:33They say that there are some kind of mafia in the hotel that is selling this business with our houses.
08:40They sell them, but sell them.
08:41Have you spoken to the people who took over the hotel?
08:43What they asked for the occupants was 250,000 euros and that they would for them to seek a place where they would live.
08:50It was an incredible thing to understand. It was a bad thing.
08:54Spanish law dictates that even when a property is occupied,
08:59the owner must keep paying the energy bills.
09:02If Margarita refuses, the squatters can take her to court.
09:24The last one was for more than 6,000 euros.
09:28So, there is no option to not pay?
09:31We have to keep paying it. It's an incomprehensible thing, but it's like that.
09:36Surely this just incentivizes them to stay.
09:39Yes, they are like kings.
09:45We're going to try and speak to some of the people
09:47that are now living in Margarita's hotel.
09:49She hasn't been back there since they moved in
09:52because police have told her it's a gang that took it over,
09:54who are now renting out the rooms to people.
09:56There are signs of drug use.
09:58And police have declared some areas of the hotel a no-go zone.
10:10There it is.
10:14Must be soul-destroying for Margarita.
10:16She put all this work into the hotel and now everything is dying.
10:22Margarita has been told by police that the gang controlling the hotel
10:26is Moroccan.
10:27Criminal groups use gaps in Spanish law to invade properties
10:31and then charge rent.
10:33These doors aren't even here anymore.
10:36The electrics have been pulled out.
10:39But it's good to try the whole house.
10:40Hello, Jena.
10:41Hello, Good to meet you.
10:42Hello, hello.
10:43Hello, good to meet you.
10:44Hello, welcome to meet you.
10:45Hello, you and you.
10:46Yes, yes.
10:47Hello, you are actually recording today.
10:48No, we are recording today.
10:49No, no, no.
10:50Yes, no.
10:51Just want to understand a little bit what is going on here.
10:52We just want to go out of the camera first, and to see you.
10:53We just want to understand all of the story.
10:56We know that there are people living here, living here.
10:58That's why we want to talk to them.
11:00There is no problem, there is no problem, there is no problem.
11:05If you talk with me, I can't speak.
11:08Okay, but can we enter?
11:11Yes, I don't do anything.
11:13Okay.
11:14Bye.
11:15Bye.
11:17In the seven months since it's been occupied,
11:20neighbors have made more than 160 call-outs to the police,
11:23often for violent incidents.
11:26I'm Ania, a periodist from England.
11:30Hello.
11:31We tried to speak to people living in the hotel.
11:34I'm here to know the situation in this hotel.
11:39But no one was willing to talk on camera.
11:43Most people we spoke to were from Colombia
11:46and had arrived on the island within the last year.
11:49It wasn't clear if they were here legally.
11:51They told us they pay the gang for the rooms.
11:54We tried to speak to people living on this corridor.
11:57There's lots of families, we've seen quite a few children.
12:00We've seen people coming and going to work.
12:03And the thing that they're all saying is that they just can't afford to live anywhere else on the island.
12:09We spoke with one man who'd been living here for almost 30 years,
12:13but he said the rent's just too high.
12:15And this is the only place that he can afford.
12:25You can see some of Anne-Marie's over there where they probably serve food.
12:29It's very messy in here, it's very dirty, it smells.
12:32So these are the pools.
12:35And now they're full of leaves and rubbish.
12:41There are vulnerable people living inside.
12:47A recent inspection by social services documented 24 children and three pregnant women there.
12:53We spent a few hours in there.
12:56We had some really desperate stories of how people came to be here
12:59and most of them said they had no choice, they couldn't afford to live anywhere else.
13:04But the reality is we smelt urine in there, we saw what we think was human faeces.
13:10All the windows were smashed.
13:12The hotel was completely ruined and even if Margarita gets the hotel back,
13:16she'll have to spend hundreds of thousands to get it back up and running.
13:22Tourism makes up more than a third of the Canary's economy
13:25and provides jobs to 40% of the islands.
13:28But many are minimum wage and housing prices are being driven higher
13:32by property owners who prioritise short-term holiday lets
13:36over less lucrative long-term rentals, leaving fewer homes for locals.
13:41Shockingly, shanty towns are now appearing on wasteland.
13:45Some of these structures look temporary, yes, but like they've been here for a while.
13:51Yeah, this has built up over the last five or ten years,
13:54mainly as a consequence of the holiday rental boom
13:59which started with companies like Airbnb.
14:02Brian Harrison is a housing activist and has lived in Tenerife for over 30 years.
14:08What we're seeing here is a direct consequence of the policy of tourism.
14:14in the Canary Islands. No sewerage, no running water, very unhygienic conditions.
14:22People living the way they can, the best they can.
14:24These aren't unemployed people. Most of these people are working in the tourist industry.
14:29On the face of it, you'd imagine that, you know, more tourism equals more money for locals.
14:34Is that not the case?
14:35Well, for the last three years there's been record levels of tourism in Tenerife and the other Canary Islands.
14:41But obviously, I'm sure these people are over the moon with the figures.
14:44They're not helping these people at all.
14:47It's not just tenants driven into desperate situations in the Canaries, but some owners too.
14:53Carlos was medically retired so can't afford to rent.
14:56He owns an apartment in Las Palmas, but the tenant stopped paying and refuses to move out.
15:02So he's ended up living in this metal shipping container.
15:14Fighting to get his property back has cost him thousands of euros in legal fees.
15:18I've been waiting for a year for a year and I've been waiting for a year.
15:21I've been waiting for a year for two years since the first time.
15:23I've been working on a business here in Las Habitaciones.
15:27How do you feel about the situation?
15:30Is it emotional or frustrating?
15:31I've been in psychological treatment.
15:34I've had to go to the psychologist, the psychiatrist, take pastillas to sleep.
15:37You're really sick.
15:39You're losing your dream.
15:40You're thinking about it all the time.
15:42You want to take justice for your hands.
15:44You want to go to your house and go to your house and take them out of the way you need.
15:49But you don't do it because you know that the law really protects them.
15:54Today, Margarita and her husband have come to the regional court to continue their battle for their hotel.
16:01I want you to teach the images of the hotel.
16:05I didn't have anything left there.
16:09I remember a lot about my father.
16:11If my father saw this, it would give him something.
16:13I mean, it would give him an impact.
16:14I don't know.
16:17People on both sides of the housing crisis say the government needs to do more.
16:21Something we put to the Canary Islands Housing Minister.
16:24Do you think you've built enough social housing?
16:39We get a call inviting us on another Desa Cooper eviction raid.
16:46First, Roberto gives a briefing to his men.
16:51He's clearly proud of the work they do, believing he's helping those with a criminal past, like him, work on the right side of the law.
17:03We've had many denunciations, actions, threats, crimes, and a lot of things.
17:20I've never been condemned for this company and this work that we do.
17:26They were a delincuente.
17:28It's not happening.
17:29Some of them are here too.
17:30And that makes me proud that we can give them the opportunity.
17:34Their work is lucrative.
17:36For a property with multiple apartments, they charge tens of thousands of euros.
17:47The men wear Stab Vest in case of any trouble, and to ensure they look the part.
18:04The company signed a contract with the building's owner several months ago, so they have already visited to negotiate with squatters.
18:19Today they're back to keep the pressure on.
18:22They're back to the building's owner.
18:24They're back to the building's owner.
18:29In, in, in, in!
18:30In, in, in!
18:31The residents here know Roberto, and know their rights.
18:34All in the store?
18:36Go.
18:37I'm here.
18:44Jessica, let's talk with you.
18:46Come on.
18:47We've spent a long time here.
18:49We've spent a lot of time with this, we've had to have a lot of vacillated.
18:53Come on, come on, come on.
18:59Dígame.
19:00How are you?
19:01Good.
19:02Do you think everything is happening here?
19:04What is happening?
19:05Well, I'm going to explain to you clearly.
19:07We're not going to go from here.
19:08Okay?
19:09That's the joke.
19:10We're going to give you the opportunity,
19:12that we're going to have three families,
19:13that we're going to be in a house.
19:14Ah, no.
19:15That's something that no one doesn't like it.
19:17No, no, no, no, no.
19:18No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
19:39The squatters we saw were mostly families with young children.
19:43One woman was willing to speak to us anonymously.
19:57She says she arrived from Colombia last year with her husband and three daughters.
20:02Within a few weeks, her husband abandoned them.
20:05She said a Moroccan man offered her the apartment for 3,000 euros.
20:19What does it feel like when you have people going into the building?
20:23Once again, the residents call the police, but this time, things play out a little differently.
20:42Why are there so many of you waiting outside?
20:44Do you think that it's a bit intimidating maybe for those inside?
20:49How do you feel when they get quite upset when you arrive?
21:04Roberto pleads with the police officer, but to no avail.
21:28He's led down the stairs in handcuffs, filmed by his men.
21:45Outside, they surround the police to protest his arrest and continue to argue for the officers
21:50to let their boss go.
21:53But things are only getting more heated.
21:56After a few minutes, the officer uses his pepper spray to get them to back off.
22:02That situation exploded really quickly.
22:16The group say that everything they're doing is within the law and they're doing nothing wrong,
22:20but it's clear that both the people they're trying to evict who are standing here watching all this play out
22:25and the police are intimidated by the group.
22:29As soon as the police have left, the situation escalates again,
22:32as Roberto's men and the families they were trying to evict start screaming insults at each other.
22:38The Desa Cooper men decide to leave, but they'll be back to finish the job.
23:05but they'll be back to finish the job.
23:08Later that evening, Roberta is charged with coercion, which he denies.
23:14Across Spain, gaps in the law have left people and homes exposed to exploitation.
23:21It's clear that government intervention is desperately needed here,
23:25but they've given the green light to yet more hotels being built,
23:29and that will need more workers, and it's not clear where those workers will live.
23:33All of this will add yet more pressure to a situation that's already at boiling point.
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