Squatting in England
Encyclopedia
poverty and recreation. Criminal law refers to an "occupier" or "trespasser", and Civil Procedure Rules part 55 refer to possession claims against "trespassers".
Squatting in England may be either a civil or criminal matter depending upon circumstances, and repossession by the owners, occupiers or intended occupiers may be quick or slow, and may require legal process or police action. Occupation of property is governed by the Criminal Law Act 1977
Criminal Law Act 1977
The Criminal Law Act 1977 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Most of it only applies to England and Wales. It is mainly significant because it defines the offence of conspiracy in English law...
section 6 which states that forceful entry (by anyone, including the rightful owner) against the wishes of an occupier, is usually a criminal offence and those doing so may be removed by police, even if they are the legal owners.
A Crisis
Crisis (charity)
Crisis is is the UK national charity for single homeless people. The charity offers year-round education, employment, housing and well-being services from centres in London, Newcastle, Oxford, Edinburgh and Merseyside, called Crisis Skylight Centres....
report published in 2011 states that 39% of the single homeless interviewed had squatted at some point.
History
In 1649 at Saint George's Hill, Walton-on-ThamesWalton-on-Thames
Walton-on-Thames is a town in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey in South East England. The town is located south west of Charing Cross and is between the towns of Weybridge and Molesey. It is situated on the River Thames between Sunbury Lock and Shepperton Lock.- History :The name "Walton" is...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, Gerrard Winstanley
Gerrard Winstanley
Gerrard Winstanley was an English Protestant religious reformer and political activist during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell...
and others calling themselves The True Levellers occupied disused common land
Common land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
and cultivated it collectively in the hope that their actions would inspire other poor people to follow their lead. Gerrard Winstanley stated that "the poorest man hath as true a title and just right to the land as the richest man". While the True Levellers, later more commonly known as the Diggers, were perhaps not the first squatters in England, their story illustrates the heritage of squatting as a form of radical direct action.
More recently, there was a huge squatting movement involving ex-servicemen and their families following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. This involved thousands of people occupying sites as diverse as former military bases and luxury apartment blocks
Tower block
A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, office tower, apartment block, or block of flats, is a tall building or structure used as a residential and/or office building...
in west London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
The 1960s saw the development of the Family Squatting Movement, which sought to mobilise people to take control of empty properties and use them to house homeless families from the Council Housing
Council house
A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...
Waiting List. This movement was originally based in London (where Ron Bailey and Jim Radford were instrumental in helping to establish family squatting campaigns in several London borough
London borough
The administrative area of Greater London contains thirty-two London boroughs. Inner London comprises twelve of these boroughs plus the City of London. Outer London comprises the twenty remaining boroughs of Greater London.-Functions:...
s), and several local Family Squatting Associations signed agreements with borough councils to use empty properties under licence (although only after some lengthy and bitter campaigns had been fought—most particularly in the Boroughs of Redbridge
London Borough of Redbridge
The London Borough of Redbridge is a London borough in outer north-east London. Its administrative headquarters is at Redbridge Town Hall in Ilford. The local authority is Redbridge London Borough Council.-Etymology:...
and Southwark
London Borough of Southwark
The London Borough of Southwark is a London borough in south east London, England. It is directly south of the River Thames and the City of London, and forms part of Inner London.-History:...
).
In 1969, members of the London Street Commune
London Street Commune
The London Street Commune was a movement formed during the 1960s in London. The main aim of the movement was to highlight concerns about rising levels of homelessness. They famously took control of, and were evicted from, a mansion at 144 Piccadilly in 1969, in a high profile Metropolitan police...
squatted a mansion at 144 Piccadilly in central London to highlight the issue of homelessness but were quickly evicted.
In the early 1970s, Ron Bailey and Jim Radford were closely involved in founding the Family Squatting Advisory Service, which promoted and provided information for Family Squatting Associations and direct-action Housing Campaigns. However, there was a growing conflict between the original activists of the Family Squatting Movement and a newer wave of squatters who simply rejected the right of landlords to charge rent and who believed (or claimed to) that seizing property and living rent-free was a revolutionary political act. These new-wave squatters (often young and single rather than homeless families) were a mixture of anarchists, Trotskyists
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
—the International Marxist Group
International Marxist Group
The International Marxist Group was a Trotskyist group in Britain between 1968 and 1982. It was the British Section of the Fourth International. It and its youth organisation had had around 1,000 members and supporters in the late 1970s...
(IMG) being especially prominent—and self-proclaimed hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
dropouts
Dropping out
Dropping out means leaving a group for either practical reasons, necessities or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves....
, and they denounced the idea that squatters should seek to make agreements with local Councils to use empty property and that Squatting Associations should then become landlords (or Self Help Housing Associations as they were sometimes styled) in their own right and charge rent
Renting
Renting is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property owned by another. A gross lease is when the tenant pays a flat rental amount and the landlord pays for all property charges regularly incurred by the ownership from landowners...
.
Local Authority Housing Departments, facing rising court costs when evicting squatters, often resort to taking out the plumbing and toilets in empty buildings to deter squatters. In the 1970s, some housing councils would attempt to deter squatters from entering their properties by "gutting" the houses, rendering them uninhabitable by pouring concrete into toilets and sinks or smashing the ceilings and staircases.
In 1979, there were estimated to be 50,000 squatters throughout Britain, with the majority (30,000) living in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. There was a London's Squatters' Union in which Piers Corbyn
Piers Corbyn
Piers Richard Corbyn is a meteorologist, astrophysicist, consultant, and owner of the business Weather Action which makes weather forecasts up to a year in advance, and which he also bets on.-Personal life:...
was involved. For eighteen months, it was housed at Huntley Street, where over 150 people lived in 52 flats. The union organised festivals and provided homes for the homeless.
Currently, there are a growing number of art squats in the United Kingdom. Many young artists cannot afford to rent studio or gallery space, and abandoned buildings provide them with both. Contemporary squatting in England is primarily a youth-based initiative, as artist Matthew Stone
Matthew Stone
Matthew Stone is a London based DJ and artist. He is part of South-London art collective !WOWOW!. Stone lives and works in London.He graduated from Camberwell College of Arts, London in 2004....
from the !WOWOW!
!WOWOW!
!WOWOW! is a collective in Peckham, London. Otherwise known as The Children of Pizza Mat, they are a group of artists, fashion designers, writers and musicians, who have promoted numerous art events and parties in London and Berlin.-History:...
collective in South London describes, "I was obsessed with the idea of it, but also with getting to London and being part of a dynamic group of young people doing things."
According to statistics compiled by the Empty Homes Agency
Empty Homes Agency
The Empty Homes Agency was established in 1992 as a registered charity in England that works to help people create homes from empty properties and campaigns for more empty homes to be brought into use for the benefit of those in housing need...
in 2009, the most empty homes in the UK are in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
(21,532), Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
(24,796) Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
(20,860) and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
(24,955). The fewest empty homes are in South East England
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
and East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
, but there are currently thousands of empty homes in London, where house prices have traditionally been higher as a percentage of the average wage than elsewhere in the UK.
In 2003, it was estimated that there were 15,000 squatters in England and Wales.
In 2011, the perceived eviction of a squat in Stokes Croft
Stokes Croft
Stokes Croft is the name of a road and an area in Bristol, England. The road forms part of the A38 that leads north from the city centre, before it takes the names Cheltenham Road and then Gloucester Road...
in Bristol led to riots.
Advisory Service for Squatters
In London, a group called the Advisory Service for SquattersAdvisory Service for Squatters
The Advisory Service for Squatters is a non-profit group based in London, UK, run by volunteers which aims to provide practical advice and legal support for squatters. It was founded in 1975, having grown out of the Family Squatters Advisory Service...
runs a volunteer service helping squatters. It publishes the Squatters' Handbook and has drafted a legal warning to be used by squatters.
Applicable law
Criminal Law Act 1977
The Criminal Law Act 1977 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Most of it only applies to England and Wales. It is mainly significant because it defines the offence of conspiracy in English law...
covers occupation of property at section 6. It defines "violence for securing entry" as an offence, if "(a) there is someone present on those premises at the time who is opposed to the entry which the violence is intended to secure; and (b) the person using or threatening the violence knows that that is the case." The law does not distinguish for this purpose between violence to persons or property (eg. breaking a door down).
In reference to this, the occupier of the squatted building will often put up a legal warning known as a "Section 6", a copy of which is often displayed on the front door. Typically this gives notice that there are people living there, claims they have a legal right to be there, and claims that anyone —even the technical owner of the property— who tries to enter the building without lawful permission is committing an offence.
In 1995 section 6.1(A) and other provisions were added, which override this and give the right of entry to "displaced residential occupiers", "protected intending occupiers" (someone who had intended to occupy the property, including some tenants, licensee
Licensee
A licensee is someone who has been granted a licence.- Tort law :The term is used in the USA law of torts to describe a person who is on the property of another, despite the fact that the property is not open to the general public, because the owner of the property has allowed the licensee to enter...
s and landlord
Landlord
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant . When a juristic person is in this position, the term landlord is used. Other terms include lessor and owner...
s who require the property for use), or someone acting on their behalf. These terms are defined in sections 12 and 12A. Such people may legally enter an occupied property even using force as the usual section 6 provision does not apply to them, and may require "any person who is on [their] premises as a trespasser" to leave. Failure to leave is a criminal offence under section 7 and removal may be enforced by police.
In 2001, the Civil Procedure Rules introduced new processes for civil repossession of property and related processes, under section 55. These include a fast track process whereby the legally rightful occupier can obtain an interim possession order (IPO) in a civil court which will enable them to enter the premises at will. Any unlawful occupiers who refuse to leave after the granting of an IPO is committing a criminal offense and can then be removed by police. However some of these processes may not be available unless used within 28 days of the time that the claimant knew of the unauthorised occupancy.
Adverse Possession
Historically, there is a common lawCommon law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
right (known as "adverse possession
Adverse possession
Adverse possession is a process by which premises can change ownership. It is a common law concept concerning the title to real property . By adverse possession, title to another's real property can be acquired without compensation, by holding the property in a manner that conflicts with the true...
") to claim ownership of a dwelling after 12 years of continual unopposed occupation (10 if the land is unregistered). In practice, this can be difficult, since the squatter must prove in a court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
of law that he or she has occupied the building or land continuously for the whole time. For example, St Agnes Place
St Agnes Place
St Agnes Place was a squatted street in Kennington, South London, which resisted eviction orders for more than 30 years.- History :On 1 June 1969 house number 54 was the first to be squatted. The council had acquired the unit and planned to demolish it for the extension to Kennington Park. The...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
had been occupied for 30 years until November 29, 2005, when Lambeth London Borough Council
Lambeth London Borough Council
Lambeth London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Lambeth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London...
evicted the entire street. The law of adverse possession was fundamentally altered following the passing of the Land Registration Act 2002
Land Registration Act 2002
The Land Registration Act 2002 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which repealed and replaced previous legislation governing land registration, in particular the Land Registration Act 1925, which governed an earlier, though similar, system...
. In effect, after 10 years of actual physical possession, a squatter must apply to the Land Registry
HM Land Registry
Land Registry is a non-ministerial government department and executive agency of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1862 to register the ownership of land and property in England and Wales...
to have their title recognised as the owner in fee simple
Fee simple
In English law, a fee simple is an estate in land, a form of freehold ownership. It is the most common way that real estate is owned in common law countries, and is ordinarily the most complete ownership interest that can be had in real property short of allodial title, which is often reserved...
. The original owner of the property will receive notification from the Land Registry and has the ability to defeat the application by simple objection.
Criminalisation
In March 2011, Mike WeatherleyMike Weatherley
Michael 'Mike' Richard Weatherley is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Hove in East Sussex, since winning the seat in the 2010 general election.-Before politics:...
, Conservative MP for Hove
Hove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
, proposed an Early Day Motion
Early day motion
An Early Day Motion , in the Westminster system, is a motion, expressed as a single sentence, tabled by Members of Parliament for debate "on an early day" . Controversial EDMs are not signed by Government Ministers, PPS or the Speaker of the House of Commons and very few are debated on the floor...
calling for the criminalisation of squatting. His campaign was backed by a series of articles in the Daily Telegraph in which Kenneth Clarke
Kenneth Clarke
Kenneth Harry "Ken" Clarke, QC, MP is a British Conservative politician, currently Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. He was first elected to Parliament in 1970; and appointed a minister in Edward Heath's government, in 1972, and is one of...
(the Secretary of Justice) and Grant Shapps
Grant Shapps
Grant V Shapps MP is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Welwyn Hatfield in the United Kingdom and Minister of State for Housing and Planning...
(Minister of Housing) were reported to be backing the move.
In response, Jenny Jones, Green mayoral candidate for London, said that squatting was an "excellent thing to do". Campaigners relaunched SQUASH (Squatters Action for Secure Homes) with a Parliamentary briefing chaired by John McDonnell
John McDonnell (politician)
John Martin McDonnell is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Hayes and Harlington since 1997; he serves as Chair of the Socialist Campaign Group, the Labour Representation Committee, and the "Public Services Not Private Profit Group"...
MP. This formed a coalition between housing charities such as Shelter
Shelter
Shelter is a basic architectural structure or building that provides cover. The word may also refer to:-Places:*Port Shelter, Hong Kong*Shelter Bay , various locations*Shelter Cove , various locations...
and Crisis
Crisis
A crisis is any event that is, or expected to lead to, an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, community or whole society...
, activists, lawyers and squatters.
A total of 158 concerned academics, barristers and solicitors specialising in property law published a letter in the Guardian stating their concerns that "misleading" comments were being made in the mainstream media about squatting.
Mike Weatherley replied that “the self-proclaimed experts who signed the letter, sheep-like, have a huge vested interest when it comes to fees after all”
and Grant Schapps tweeted that "these lawyers are sadly out of touch".
The Government opened a consultation entitled 'Options for dealing with squatters' on July 31 2011, which ran until October 5. It was "aimed at anyone affected by squatters or has experience of using the current law or procedures to get them evicted." The pro-squatting campaign group SQUASH stated that there were "2,217 responses and over 90% of responses argued against taking any action on squatting." Groups supporting a change in the law included the Crown Prosecution Service
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in England and Wales. Its role is similar to that of the longer-established Crown Office in Scotland, and the...
, Transport for London
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
and the Property Litigation Association. Groups against a change included the Metropolitan police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
, squatter networks, the Law Society
Law society
A Law Society in current and former Commonwealth jurisdictions was historically an association of solicitors with a regulatory role that included the right to supervise the training, qualifications and conduct of lawyers/solicitors...
, homelessness charities and the National Union of Students
National Union of Students
-British Isles:*National Union of Students**National Union of Students-Union of Students in Ireland**National Union of Students Scotland**National Union of Students Wales-Scandinavia:*Danish National Union of Students*National Union of Students in Finland...
.
Kenneth Clarke then announced an amendment to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill which would criminalise squatting in residential buildings. John McDonnell commented that “by trying to sneak this amendment through the back door the government are attempting to bypass democracy."
The amendment states that "the new offence will be committed where a person is in a residential building as a trespasser having entered it as a trespasser, knows or ought to know that he or she is a trespasser and is living in the building or intends to live there for any period."
Further reading
- Squatting the Real Story - Some chapters available online
External links
- Advisory service for Squatters - covers "legal and practical advice" and the Squatters Handbook.
- Rupture – zine for and about free parties, squats and social centres
- Wasteland (UK) - Documentary about squatting by Will Wright
- What's this place? (2008) - A booklet with stories from radical social centres in the United Kingdom and Ireland.