EXCLUSIVE My £340k home has been taken over by a FAMILY of squatters… the courts have taken THEIR side - Im heartbroken
A grandfather is pleading for help after his life-long dream of retiring to Spain is being allegedly cruelly taken from him by a family of squatters.
A grandfather is pleading for help after his life-long dream of retiring to Spain is being allegedly cruelly taken from him by a family of squatters.
Kenneth Jobe, 84, from Birmingham is exhausted after spending the last five years trying to remove an English couple from his €400,000 (£340k) property in western Spain.
Keith Barry, an expat of 33 years, and his partner have allegedly failed to pay more than €50k in rent for the three-bed house in Mijas, since 2020.
Mr Jobe claims the couple have been helped by a squatters bible that is used across the country.
The document supposedly informs would-be squatters on how to use Spains pro-tenant laws and slow justice system to their favour.
The Barrys have also allegedly moved in their two sons, both aged in their 40s, a fact that Mr Jobe claims they have neglected to tell the courts.
He told MailOnline: I cant believe the courts have sided with him, I havent got much time left.
Im just getting desperate. Its dragged me down and it has cost a fortune on legal fees.
84-year-old Kenneth Jobe from Birmingham has spent the last five years trying to remove an English couple from his €400,000 property on the Costa del Sol
Keith Barry, an expat of 33 years, and his partner have allegedly failed to pay more than €50,000 worth of rent for the three-bed house in Mijas (pictured), since 2020
Initially, a Malaga court said the family must be evicted and the locks changed. However, it was overturned on appeal last month after the squatters were deemed vulnerable and at risk of homelessness
Mr Jobe, who is still reeling from the death of his son from cancer last year, thought his nightmare was over when a Malaga court said the family must be evicted and the locks changed.
But incredibly, the ruling was overturned on appeal last month after the squatters were deemed vulnerable and at risk of homelessness.
Mr Jobe, who has been wanting to move back into the home for years, said: I just want to get into my home. The tenant is pleading poverty but has two older sons living there.
On top of that hes not been paying community fees so they also want him out.
And when I try and negotiate he outright refuses…hes a really nasty person.
Mr Jobe said he has been battling the family since 2020, when he first filed an eviction notice after they stopped paying rent for various months on the home in Buenavista.
The area is filled with affluent Brits who are sick of the squatters mess, with one video showing mattresses dumped on the porch, next to multiple cars covered in dust.
The Barrys have also allegedly moved in their two sons, both aged in their 40s, a fact that Mr Jobe claims they have neglected to tell the courts (Pictured: Mr Barry who declined to comment)
The Mijas area of Buenavista is reportedly filled with affluent Brits who are sick of the squatters mess
Liverpudlian estate agent Paul Stuart, from local firm Palm Estates, told MailOnline: The eviction was cancelled because they claimed vulnerability.
They know the law, theyve got something called "the squatters bible", which tells them all the laws and how to get around everything.
They are British and are receiving their pensions and taking advantage of the legal system. Its a terrible situation.
A close family friend branded the squatters disgusting, claiming that when he begged them to move out, they demanded a fee to do so.
He said: Its absolutely disgusting. Poor Ken has spent decades visiting Mijas and it had been his dream to spend his latter years there.
They know all the tricks in the book, Ken lost one of his two sons in April and it took such a toll on him, and now he is still dealing with this on top, its vile.
I pleaded with them to leave and they said we will work something out, and they had the nerve to demand a fee to move out.
They are holding the family to ransom, its sickening.
MailOnline Mr Barry but he refused his right to comment via a lawyer.