Squatters
Posted on April 18, 2007
Filed Under Real Estate, Crime, Economy |
5 Comments
Land occupation in Uruguay has increased dramatically in the last decade. The slowness of the judicial system and the severe economic crisis the country went through after 2002 made land invasion more common in certain areas. Even in high profile balnearios such as Punta del Este, a few very visible asentamientos (settlements) can be found, like the Predio Lobos at the Rambla Brava y Roosevelt and the barrio Kennedy, half a block from the Club de Golf. Many families now live in these asentiamentos, in spite of years of legal efforts to evict them. In that same area, in the past summers homes were occupied and terrenos invaded at a rate of two or three per month.
Fortunately, this situation may reverse itself after a new bill passed a few days ago. With the old law, the police had to remove the squatters within 48 hours of the invasion, otherwise the owner needed to go to court to evict the invaders. A process that could take years of litigation. Sometimes the squatters could be persuaded to move out through negotiation, but often involving money and resettlement elsewhere. Since most of the occupations are related to organized movements, often as soon as a family disoccupied the land as part of a settlement, a new one took its place and the process repeated itself.
In neighboring Brazil, the process is still so heavily skewed in favor of squatters that it ends up discouraging investment in properties for anything other than immediate occupation. If a plot of land or a house stays unguarded for long, it can easily become occupied by homeless families. And the process of evicting them, especially when children are involved, is difficult, lengthy and costly. In most of Latin America, property rights are not absolute. If a squatter occupies the land for a number of years and pays property taxes, the land can be claimed with little effort. As they say, possession is 9/10ths of the law. Also unlike other countries, using violence to defend your property when you or your family are not at an immediate risk can lead to jail terms, not to mention potential retaliation from the mafia-like movements associated with the landless.
With the new Uruguayan law, the squatter that invades an unoccupied home or property can get up to 3 years in jail. The new law also simplifies the requirements for reporting an invasion: anyone can do it, instead of just the owner.
This law will no doubt discourage future invasions, but it will still take some time until the legal status of the existing asentamientos are resolved. Some of them have existed long enough to be considered de facto barrios.
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- Things I Find Puzzling About Uruguay
- Real Estate Outlook in Punta del Este
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- Observations on Pricing in Uruguay
- The Effect of Exchange Rate on the Cost of Living in Uruguay
- Pros and Cons of Retiring in Uruguay
- Heating in Uruguay - Things to Consider
- Real Estate Outlook in Punta del Este
- Overview of the Impuesto al Patrimonio (Asset Tax) in Uruguay
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- What Everybody Ought to Know About Renting in Uruguay
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5 Responses to “Squatters”
wow. I had no idea this went on.
Oops.. just noticed you posted this issue back in April… funny thing.. every time I ask someone about this law, they think it was enacted a few days ago…
Good work.. as always..
I think it is because they had been working on this law for a while, but it was sanctioned very recently.
As a recent property owner in Jose Ignacio I am comforted in the knowledge that a new law was made to protect land owners from often unfair squatters laws. However, I do want to point out that Barrio Kennedy is actually not a settlement of squatters.
A closer look into the history of the Barrio will demonstrate that the government invited settlers as a part of the US agreement (hence the Kennedy name) to further relations through the association of progression act- which left many unfulfilled promises. The people of the Barrio now suffer from feelings of entitlement, for better or for worse, and a sense of injustice over conditions that were guaranteed but not realized. Barrio Kennedy is a very unique community because of this.
It’s juxtaposition with the golf course is also concerning. In a wealthy community like Punta del Este, there is no reason that these 2000 families cannot be assimilated and helped to be functional members of the larger community. Really, it would serve land owners as well to help this Barrio to do so, as turning a blind eye could cause the situation to worsen and head in the direction of Brazil.
Uruguay is a particularly lovely country because of its small size and sense of community- the safety and stability of the country is really almost incomparable in South America. Efforts should be made to preserve this. Please correct me if I am mistaken.
Thank you Jessica for the history of the Barrio Kennedy. You’ve done a much better job explaining the situation than I did
I agree that Uruguay is in a much better situation than most countries in Latin America, in this respect. However, given the current economic reality, unless the policies are well defined and enforceable this issue could turn into a major problem in Uruguay as well.