Stealing houses set to become illegal

Fella

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19429936

Excellent news.

As an aside my uncle went on holiday once & when he returned he found his house full of squatters who refused to move. Most unfortunately for them he associated with a bunch of people who had a baseball-bat approach to such situations. The squatters found that in fact they could & would move out immediately.

vivatifosi

I read this and immediately thought where's SquatNow when you need him? It would make for an interesting debate.

Currently finding it hard to see anything bad in this news - particularly for those returning from holiday like fella's uncle - but I would like to hear the other side of the story too to be able to make a more balanced judgement.

michaels

I guess the threat of squatting may be one factor that would encourage home owners to rent out/sell homes that otherwise might be kept empty?

Having said that I can not see why it should not be illegal, the hardship people go through when they return from holiday/hospital to find their house stolen must be unimaginable.

Carl31

Im in 2 minds about this news

First, its great that landlords can now evict those that choose to illegally use their property with ease. It should be their right already

However, in many cases squatters use properties that have laid empty for months or years. Why not make use of them? Their should be something in the middle ground that stops empty properties going to waste

princeofpounds

The new rules only apply to houses in occupation, so squatting in empty buildings is not criminalised, although of course people may be less willing to take the risk

James_N

vivatifosi wrote: »

I read this and immediately thought where's SquatNow when you need him? It would make for an interesting debate.

Currently finding it hard to see anything bad in this news - particularly for those returning from holiday like fella's uncle - but I would like to hear the other side of the story too to be able to make a more balanced judgement.

The other side of the story is an organised attempt to occupy a long-disused commercial property in a city centre, where the owners seem to have no intention of using a perfectly good building. This focuses attention on the site, and can force action. It is equally "criminal" to leave buildings like this empty through commercial opportunism or stupidity - I don't know which.

However, for every "noble" headline case like that, you have more cases like the person returning from hospital or holiday, to discover not only that criminals have moved in, but that also the law is against you: the criminals could thumb their noses at the police, take over utilities, use "rights" if the owner sought to enter or remove the criminals.

I have heard that early and robust action (like having large friends who do gym workouts and have interesting dogs, who enjoy friendly banter and persuasive argumentation ) works if used before the plod become involved - the plod will tend to keep out of it, and if Mr Squatter is outside the property ranting while large builder friends change locks and replace broken window locks, then Plod is unlikely to intervene.

Of course, such "dangerous" action by an owner ought not to be necessary. The alternative is expensive and lengthy court action. Either way, innocent people have their lives damaged by criminally minded idiots, who use the law to get away with theft and extortion.

This is a good law, long overdue.

chris_m

Carl31 wrote: »

However, in many cases squatters use properties that have laid empty for months or years. Why not make use of them? Their should be something in the middle ground that stops empty properties going to waste

I'd guess there's a fair chance that such properties haven't been visited or looked at by the owner/representative for a long time either. Hence, it's unlikely that anyone will look at them, so will not raise a complaint. I can't see the police being expected to shift squatters out unless an owner reports them. Not that I agree with squatting, but I can't see this new legislation changing such situations.

As to getting empty properties back into use, local councils do, IIRC, have some powers to take them over and house people in them.

Mr._Pricklepants

Carl31 wrote: »

However, in many cases squatters use properties that have laid empty for months or years. Why not make use of them?

Homeowner rights should be absolute and this law is a step in the right direction.
If a homeowner wants it to lay empty, that's his/her decision and no-one else's. The notion that a property or any other asset becomes public property when empty for a prologned period of time is ridiculous.

Carl31

Mr._Pricklepants wrote: »

Homeowner rights should be absolute and this law is a step in the right direction.
If a homeowner wants it to lay empty, that's his/her decision and no-one else's. The notion that a property or any other asset becomes public property when empty for a prologned period of time is ridiculous.

Why? Its just a waste of land if lays un used. If people decide they dont want it then take it off them and put it to good use. If this was the case, maybe there would be less requirement for people to squat?

Mr._Pricklepants

Carl31 wrote: »

If people decide they dont want it then take it off them and put it to good use. If this was the case, maybe there would be less requirement for people to squat?

Who says they don't want it?
Maybe the just want it to lay empty, can't be bothered with renters and just keep it as investment?
The only scenario where intervention would be needed is when a property becomes a health and safety risk and then it's up to the local council to intervene, not squatters.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Of course people should be able to go on holiday without strangers breaking in and taking up residence in their absence. How often does that actually happen though?

Empty, long-abandoned properties are a blight on residential and commerical districts. I have no problem with squatters at least making use of them, and drawing attention to the ridiculous waste of useable space.