Around 50 residents, including families with young children and elderly people, have been evicted from a former hotel in La Mata after a court ruled that the company which rented them rooms had no proven legal authority to do so.
Those affected insist they were legitimate tenants who paid monthly rent and signed what they believed were valid contracts.
“We are not squatters. We are victims of fraud,” several residents said as they were ordered to leave the former Hotel Sole Bello, close to La Mata beach and town square.
A large Civil Guard operation began at around 9am on Monday, with approximately 60 officers deployed from Alicante, Torrevieja and Valencia. Streets surrounding the building on Avenida del Mar were temporarily closed while the court-ordered eviction was carried out.
The operation passed without serious incident, although emotional scenes unfolded as residents carried suitcases, mattresses, clothes, furniture, children’s toys, cots and other belongings from the property.
Some occupants had already left before officers arrived. Others said they were forced to leave with little more than the clothes they were wearing.
Several families remained outside the building in temperatures above 30°C as workers sealed the entrances once the eviction had been completed.
Residents produce contracts and receipts
Many of those affected showed rental agreements and proof of payment, maintaining that they had acted in good faith and had no reason to believe the arrangements were unlawful.
They said they had paid rents of up to €750 a month, in addition to charges for electricity, water and internet. Some had reportedly paid several months in advance.
The building’s 49 former hotel rooms had been adapted with kitchens and bathrooms and were being offered as residential accommodation.
Among those evicted was Carmen, a 75-year-old woman with mobility difficulties who had lived at the property since November with her two daughters and two granddaughters.
She said she had to be helped down three flights of stairs because the lift was not working.
“I didn’t even take my clothes or my telephone because they told me to step outside for a moment. Afterwards, I wasn’t allowed back inside,” she said.
Other residents included a Colombian mother living with her three daughters, aged two, three and six, and a Ukrainian woman who had also been renting accommodation in the building.
“We are people, not animals,” one resident said.
Those affected said they had asked Torrevieja City Council to intervene and postpone the eviction while they searched for alternative accommodation.
A letter signed by dozens of residents was submitted to the municipal registry on June 22. It stated that many occupants were in situations of extreme vulnerability, had no other homes and had been paying their rent regularly.
They argued that finding affordable housing during the summer season was particularly difficult because short-term holiday prices had risen sharply.
Limited emergency accommodation
Municipal sources said affected residents must follow the established procedures to request assistance from social services.
The council reportedly arranged temporary accommodation in Guardamar del Segura for one family and was attempting to find housing for another.
However, many residents said they had no immediate alternative when the eviction took place.
Rental company’s authority questioned
The contracts shown by residents named Mazart Global Group, a company based in Pilar de la Horadada, as the landlord.
The agreements stated that the company had possession of the property and the right to operate the hotel, allowing it to rent accommodation exclusively for residential use.
They also contained standard clauses covering deposits, late payments, property damage and the responsibilities of tenants and landlords.
Payments were required in cash, while tenants were reportedly charged one month’s rent as a security deposit and a further month as an agency or management fee.
Some contracts were written in Spanish and Russian and had terms extending for a further two years.
However, the agreements did not describe the size or characteristics of the accommodation and did not clearly state that the properties were rooms inside an aparthotel.
The court later concluded that there was no evidence establishing Mazart Global Group’s legal right to rent the rooms.
According to the ruling, the right to operate the hotel belonged exclusively to Eurointerfisa, the company named on the operating licence issued by Torrevieja City Council in 2018.
Court ordered occupants to leave
Residents received formal notice on June 11 that they must leave the premises by 9.15am on Monday.
The order, issued by the civil section of Torrevieja’s Court of First Instance, warned that anyone remaining inside would be removed by the authorities.
It also stated that belongings left inside could pass into the possession of the property owner.
The legal action was initiated by Eurointerfisa as part of enforcement proceedings to recover control of the establishment.
After learning that third parties were living inside the building, the court held a hearing to allow residents to provide evidence supporting their right to remain.
Several occupants presented rental contracts signed with Mazart Global Group. However, the judge rejected their claims because the company had not demonstrated that it possessed the legal authority to lease the property.
Representatives of the owners said they had spent seven years attempting to remove a previous hotel tenant who had allegedly failed to pay rent or taxes.
They claimed that rooms had subsequently been sublet to families through unauthorised contracts.
These allegations have not been independently established in criminal proceedings.
Former hotel became residential accommodation
Hotel Sole Bello remains officially registered as a three-star hotel with the Valencian regional authorities.
The establishment operated normally from its construction in the 2000s until the Covid-19 pandemic. It was later converted informally into long-term residential accommodation.
Despite being occupied by families, the building reportedly retained much of its hotel appearance. The entrance remained open, the reception desk was empty and the former dining rooms and communal areas were closed.
Residents made fixed monthly payments for utilities because the individual rooms did not have separate meters.
Neighbours reported seeing trucks removing mattresses, furniture and equipment from the building during the night before the eviction. Property representatives also reported a small fire inside the premises shortly before the operation.
Complaints over security problems
The building had also attracted complaints from some La Mata residents over alleged crime, noise and antisocial behaviour in the surrounding area.
Police and regional inspectors visited the property in June following reports concerning activity around the former hotel.
Some tenants acknowledged that people without contracts had moved into the building and were allegedly responsible for disturbances, theft, late-night noise and suspected drug activity.
Other neighbours defended the families, saying most residents had caused no problems and were simply people searching for affordable accommodation.
The eviction has now left dozens of occupants seeking new homes while questions remain over the contracts they signed, the money they paid and whether those responsible for arranging the rentals will face further legal action.
