8/2/2019 An end to squatters rights?

1/2

14 THE BIG ISSUE IN THE NORTH 9-15 APRIL 2012

It could potentially criminaliseswathes of homeless people and costmore 700 million to implement.A controversial clause that willoutlaw squatting in emptyresidential properties for the firsttime in England and Wales wasgiven the green light in the House ofLords late last month. Thegovernment argues the change isessential to protect distressedproperty owners. Amid risingunemployment and the worsthousing crisis in a generation,however, there are concerns that itmight further marginalise some ofsocietys most vulnerable.

Under existing law, if squattersmove in to an occupied home (for

example when the residents are on

An end tosquatters rights?New laws could criminalise homeless

people who occupy vacant properties.

But as Ryan Gallagher reports, many

believe that would be a costly and

counter-productive move at the height

of a severe housing crisis

Rueben Taylorsquats with fourothers in London.Photo: APPhoto/Lefteris

Pitarakis

holiday) police already have thepowers to immediately remove them.The new law will broaden the scopeof these powers, and will extend toresidential properties that are emptyand not being lived in. It will allowproperty owners without applyingfor an eviction notice to get policeto arrest and remove squatters, whowill face a maximum one year jailsentence or 5,000 fine.

Ultimately the best way to endsquatting will not be through finesand criminal sanction but byensuring all homeless people, notjust those deemed a priority, get thehelp they need, says DuncanShrubsole, director of policy andexternal affairs at homelessnesscharity Crisis.

We are obviously disappointedthat the government is going aheadwith its plans to criminalisesquatting in residential buildingsgiven the concerns that Crisis, withthe support of Baroness Miller andother parliamentarians, haveconsistently raised as the likelyimpact on homeless people.

The reform will represent afundamental shift in how squatting isdealt with across the country,

bringing an end to the long-held

principles of squatters rights.Historically in England and Wales,squatting in empty residentialproperties has been considered acivil dispute between the squattersand the landlord. As long as asquatter has not broken in andremains in the house, they cant beforcibly removed and propertyowners have to get a court order toget people out. Within months thatwill no longer be the case.

I have been contacted time andtime again by MPs and constituentsabout the appalling impact that

squatting can haveon their homes,businesses andlocalcommunities,said Conservativejustice ministerCrispin Blunt lastyear. This is notmedia hype. It canand does really

happen, and when it does it can behighly stressful for the owner orlawful occupier of the propertyconcerned.

It is not only the cost and lengthof time it takes to evict squatters that

angers property owners it is also

A criminaloffence ofsquatting isunnecessary.Squatting isnot a majorproblem.

BITN 922_14,15 (squatters) 5/4/12 12:21 Page 14

8/2/2019 An end to squatters rights?

2/2

159-15 APRIL 2012 THE BIG ISSUE IN THE NORTH

S Q U A T T I N G

unexpected quarters. In a speech inthe House of Lords last month, LordPaul Strasburger formerly directorof Safe Estates, a security firm thatkept squatters out of emptyproperties attacked the part of thebill dealing with squatting.

He said: This clause is a blunt

instrument because its unintendedconsequence and I sincerely hopethat it is an unintended consequence is to protect unscrupulous propertyowners who keep properties vacantfor years for purely speculativereasons and, in the process, preventhomeless people having somewhereto live.

Though squatting is set to becriminalised in empty residentialproperties, campaigners haveclaimed a small victory in that thegovernment is not pursuing thecriminalisation of squatting incommercial properties (such as, forinstance, disused warehouses).Assurances have been given byministers that those who occupyabandoned or dilapidated non-residential buildings will not becommitting the new offence, and willbe dealt with through the civileviction order process. Thegovernment has also pledged thatstudents who occupy academicbuildings or workers who stage sit-ins to protest against an employerwill not be committing any crime.

That was quite a big concession towin along the way, says JosephBlake, a spokesperson for squatterscampaign group Squash. But it was

a struggle to get what is a serious

the cost of the cleaning and repair

bill which follows eviction. Whilethe property owner might literally beleft picking up the pieces, thesquatters have gone on their way,possibly to squat in somebody elsesproperty.

But a number of groups haveexpressed serious concerns about the

ramifications ofcriminalisingsquatting, theprovision forwhich iscontained in theLegal Aid,Sentencing and

Punishment ofOffenders Bill.A survey

conducted by Crisis last year showed39 per cent of homeless people hadresorted to squatting at some point, afactor that prompted organisationsincluding the Law Society, theCriminal Bar Association andhousing charity Shelter to argueagainst criminalisation.

A new criminal offence ofsquatting is unnecessary, says JohnWotton, president of the Law Societyof England and Wales. Squatting isnot a major problem and where it

does occur, there are a range of lawsboth civil and criminal that areadequate to deal with it.

While the Crown ProsecutionService has backed the new law,opposition has come from

Squatting canbe highlystressful forthe owner orlawful occupierof theproperty.

FOR AND AGAINST

Advocates of squatting argue squatters make good use ofproperties that would otherwise be left empty. A respondent tothe governments consultation on squatting criminalisation lastyear wrote: The squatting I have been aware of has been inempty buildings that have been neglected for years. The peoplewho entered them put them to good use and sometimes helpedkeep them in good repair. Other squats I have heard about havebeen where homeless people have quietly found residences inempty buildings.

I have known many different types of people who havesquatted or continue to do so families and single people youngand old and all of them were seen by their neighbours as assetsto the communities they moved in to.

But critics say squatting is a costly nightmare for propertyowners and is often a blight on communities.

The British Property Federation says: Some members havecomplained that the court process is expensive and timeconsuming, often taking up to four months to gain repossession.As it is difficult to prove that the squatter broke in, the onus is onthe landlord to prove that fact and, until then, the squatter isgiven the right to stay in the property until the court ruling ismade, which can result in further damage to the property and,therefore, higher final costs to the landlord.

piece of legislation heard properly it was debated late at night and neverproperly scrutinised.

It comes down to a lack ofdemocracy. We may see thousands ofpeople becoming criminals at somepoint, in the middle of what is one ofthe worst housing crises this country

has ever seen.There are currently more than700,000 empty homes in England,279,000 of which have been vacantfor over six months. In March newofficial statistics revealed that thenumber of people classed ashomeless has jumped by 14 per cent,with 48,510 households accepted ashomeless by local authorities in2011. The increase is the biggest innine years and was described byShelter as a shocking reminder ofthe divide between the housing havesand have-nots in this country.

The government has vowed totackle the root causes ofhomelessness, to provide affordablehomes and to bring more emptyhomes back into use to counteractany negative impact from thesquatting crackdown. Until it meetsits words with actions, however, thechances are squatting will continueunabated well into the future regardless of the consequences.

Squatting is a response to thehousing crisis that were in properties remain empty and ourhomelessness rates are rising, Blakesays, resolutely. The two things gotogether. People will continuesquatting if thats the desperate last

resort for them.

HISTORY OF SQUATTINGThe common image of squatting presented by many newspapers is of young, middle-class people dwelling in unoccupied mansions while collecting state benefits and living alife of leisure. The reality, though, is far more complex and has a long history dating backhundreds of years.

During the Middle Ages, in feudal times, squatters rights allowed peasants occupyingotherwise unused land to claim ownership by virtue of possession. The primary purposeof squatters rights is to encourage the efficient use of property for example allowing aperson who has a legitimate use for property to enjoy that use when the owner allowsthe land to lie dormant.

Amid the Peasants Revolt in 1381, and again with the Diggers in the 1640s, squattingwas a significant issue. The Diggers, founded by anarchist Gerrard Winstanley, werepeasants who cultivated waste and common land, claiming it as their rightful due.

After both world wars there were squatting movements, fuelled in part by high levelsof poverty and economic turmoil. In 1946 large numbers of squatters in England tookover empty buildings, including army camps. The next wave came in the 1960s and

1970s while the country faced a major housing crisis. It was around this time thatsquatting also became popular among some groups that saw it as a cultural movetowards an alternative style of living.

Today squatting is relatively common in most of Britains major cities. It is estimatedthat there are around 20,000 squatters across the UK.

BITN 922_14,15 (squatters) 5/4/12 12:25 Page 15