The Court of Instruction number 2 of Arrecife has condemned a woman, victim of human trafficking, to evict a home that she had occupied in Fray Luis de León street, located in the capital of Lanzarote and to compensate its owner for the damages caused. The owner's defense was represented by lawyer Erardo Ferrer.
In a pioneering ruling, Magistrate Jerónimo Alonso Herrero has ordered the condemned to pay 5,100 euros, as compensation for damages for the 17 months she lived in the property without paying rent, and another 2,000 euros, as compensation for moral damages.
At the same time, he has acquitted the owner of the property of the minor crime of coercion that had initially been imputed to him for changing the lock on the door of the house while she was living in his property.
In addition, the condemned will have to face the payment of half of the court costs, while the other half will be declared ex officio, as well as pay a fine of 180 euros.
In the house since January 31, 2024
The house passed through several hands. First it was rented by a woman who stopped paying her monthly payments, ended up leaving the property and the house was left in the hands of her son-in-law. Known as Jorge, but without further details, the son-in-law abandoned the property in February 2025 and left a tenant in it, the condemned in this case, in exchange for paying him 300 euros per month. When he left, she changed the lock on the door of the house.
According to the proven facts of the ruling, on January 31, 2024, the woman moved into the house in Fray Luis de León and continued living there until at least the end of August 2025. However, she did not have any title that proved that she could legally live in that property.
During the trial, she proved that she was a victim of human trafficking and that she only received the minimum basic income, about 258.81 euros per month. However, the Court has pointed out in its ruling that the woman should have "exhausted all the necessary measures in the legal field" to be able to tackle her "situation of need" and have gone to social services to "obtain a response to her housing need."
On February 17, 2024, when she had been living in the house for more than two weeks, the owner of the property changed the lock on the door of the building. That day, she filed a complaint with the National Police. It was then, when the owner discovered that there was a person occupying the property and reported her for usurpation that same afternoon.
The process for the minor crime was initiated by the National Police of Arrecife in April 2024 and the oral trial was held on July 29, 2025. The condemned can appeal the ruling or abide by it. In the case of not paying the fine, of two euros per day, she will have to perform community service or serve a sentence of deprivation of liberty, which can be under a permanent location regime.