squash - a crime to be homeless?

8/6/2019 SQUASH - A Crime to Be Homeless?

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A CRIME TO BE HOMELESS?

A briefing on the

criminallsation of squatting.

SQUA5H



2 St. Paul's Road,London N l 2QN

Tel: 071 2268938

INTRODUCTION

According to section 58 of the Housing

Act 1985, every squatter is homeless.

The Government intends to make squatting

il lega l. Tn Octohe r 1991 the Tlome Office published

a consultation paper sett ing ou t its reasons for

wanting to change the law on ~ q l l a t t i 'Ih at paper,and the parli<lmenrary debme which accompanied

its release, recapitulated (he myths and misconcep-

tions which have been assuciatt:d wilh -squatting.

Sqll::urers have had few oppurrunities to

present th e ir casco ~ ' h a t l o w ~ is a response to

some of the miscollCl:pUOW, in onlt'r tv proviut' MP.-;

and other inTerested panics wilh a more hal:mced

appraisal of squa tt ing, squatters and th e implica-

tions of criminalisation, be fore a bill is presented to

Parliament.



1. Squatting - a growing threat to the rights of the

individual property owner?

A fundamental e rror in the

Consuhation Paper eep) lies in its

emphasis on squauing in homes

owned by pr ivate indiv iduals. "Ten

thousand peop le", it is cla imed in a

summaI)' of one pamgmph (ep para

17), apply to the courlS each year for

a possession order. Equating the

number of individual property own

ers with the number of applications

made in onc year (9,698) disguises

the fact that the vast majority of th ese

applications will have bee n multipleand made by a small number of local

authorities, housing associations and

com mercial organisations. In fact, the

great majori ty of squats arc in empty

public-secto r hOllsing (ic owned by

local authorities or housing associa

tions). Of the remainder, some b e ~ long to other public bodies (eg the

l.ocal Authorities 74 .1 %

I [olLsin,l.\ Associ;lIions - 16.'i%

Department of Transport , the Minis

try of Defence, British Rail etc.) and

others belong ( 0 large commercial

conce rns. These ha ve often been

empty for even longer than counci l

srock , and are usually in advanced

states of decay.

The Advisory Se rvice for

Squatters (ASS) opemtcs a daily

adv ice sClV ice for squatters, liccnsces

and other homeless people, adviSing

about 150 people every week. FromApril to September 1991 it co llated

infon11ation from over 2,000 squats

and found that over 90% of these

prupeI1ies were owned by local

authorities or housing associations.

Less than 1% of the properties were

found [ 0 be owned by individuals.

The resu lts are printed below.

Nn. of squatted

properties surveyed.

Laea I Authorities. 1640

I ousing Associations. 365

Commercial Owners. 145

Government and Public Bodies. S3

·Others.

Church Bodies. 4

Ownership Disputed. 1

Individuals. 2

Total 2213

Others· - 0.5%

Government & Public Bodies - 2.3%

Commercia l Owners - 6.6%



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2. Are squatters 'jumping the queue?'

'1t is unfair that local authority properties

should be squatted when there are such

. long housing lists in cerlain areas. "

(Kenneth Baker. Hansard, page 160, 15/1O/9l.)

It is often claimed that , by

squatting, people are stealing a

march on [hose who have put their

names on council hOUSing lists. In

fact, in most parts ofrhe country,

very few people are housed because

they are on this list. Councils nowa-

days accommodate only those [Q

whom they have 'statut.ory' duties,

regardless of whether they are on the

list or not. In addition, the practice of

'choking off demand' through rulings

of ' intentional homelessne5s' has

become a widespread and often

cynically deployed instrument of

housing policy in many boroughs.

Those able to establish that

they are homeless and in 'priority

need' are placed in tempomry ac

commodation as a matter of course -

which invariably means a long stay

in a bed -and-breakfast hotel. It is no

surprise then that many squauers

have been on the waiting list for

years and a high propoltion of squat'5

(about one third) contain families

who have either not been apprised

of their statutory rights, or have

opted to squat as an escape from an

often intolerable and interminable

stretch in bed-and-breakfast accom-

modation.

Some Reasons For Squatting. Percentage of squatters.

Women escaping domestic violence. 3.1

Peoplc decl,lfcd intentionally homeless. 6.3

People made homeless through mortgage default. 4.7

People moving from secure accomodation • 5.3

Students unable to obtain other accomodation. 7.9

• Owing to overcrowding, racial hanassment or health hazards.

Analysis of squatters

Those wich children under 16 - 32.2% Women under 30,wichoU[ children - 17.7%

Men under 30,without children - 21.8%

Men over 30,

without children - 14.6%

Women over 30,wimoU[ children - 13.7%

Figures raken from ASS survey of

2213 squalted properties between

April an d september 1991.



3. Are squatters excluding people from their homes?

"No matter how compelling the squatters' own

circumstances are claimed to be by their apologists,

it··is wrong Iha llegitimate occL/pams should bedeprived q( the me 0/ their propel1y. "(CP para 5)

Sect ion 7 of Ihe Crimi nal Law

Act (1977) makes it a crim inal of -

fence to refusc to le.:lVc a property

when asked to do so by or on behalf

of a ·uisplaced residential occupie r'.

The sa me procedure is available to a

·protected intending occupier", Ie an

incoming tenant of a local authority

or housing association, o r someone

w ho has recently oought a property

and i n t e n ( l ~ to live there.

Generally. squancr:o; will not

move into p r o r x : r t i c ~ that arc in a

lenable contIition because they

know lilallilcir slay will be a short

one. I ndced. thousands of squarters

have chosen 10 estab lish homes in

propcrtie:-. so f;u advanced in derelic

tion [ha[ their owners have all bur

given rhem up as I ~ y o n d repair.

Although local authorities claim thai

squ.ut<,'rs prc\·cnt people Ix:ing

housed fromlhe ·waiting I i ~ r , il is a

fact [hal e\'ery local aUlhority has

many morc homes sta nding empty

than are squalled .

Estimated number of empty homes in Britain; 768,000 (DOE).

Estimated number of

squatted properues in Britain; 17,000 (ASS) .

'1 wallt to belp tbose responSible people wbo have puttbemselves illto accomodalion

because they hUl'e seen thaI it is e m p ~ y . I think it isfair 10 ~ ) I fhall"(1), deep in Con

seroali,'e pbilosopb" is that of self-belp and ifpeople are prepared to try 10 belp them

sell'es and if be)' see 1/ propert)' is empty and no Olle is IIsillg it tllld ~ ) I moving in

they are not gOillR to hurt tllIJl?ne, bllt they u'i/I protect and help their OU'II fam i!)',

surely we ought to encourage !bal ...... .you could argue they are perhaps more so-

cially responsible ill fi lldillR emp ty prope,ry tllld sqllallillg ill there alld givillg their

family tI home than plilling them in bed & breakfast."

(Bob Hughes, MP, speaking onTI,e London Programme, May 1989.)

"



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4. Do the current criminal and civil procedures for the

recovery of squatted property really work to the

advantage of the squatter at the expense of the owner?

"Concern about the civil remedies centres on the time

it can take to regain possession and the expense.Squatters may well know and exploit the reqUirements

of he civil process .... " (CP para 33)

The Consultation Paper al-

leges that existing civil procedures

are slow, expensive and unwieldy

but neglects to mention that in cases

of urgency (and under 'expedited

proceedings') the notice period canbe severely curtailed and an effective

Possession Order can be obtained

in substam ially less than a week.

(Even w here urgency is not

proven , the re is no reason why

possession should not be regained

in three weeks. This is demon-

s[[atcd by this advertisement from

the Estates Gazette, 30/ 11 / 91. )

"TRESPASSERS OFF YOUR LANDIN UNDER THREE WEEKS"

uNEVERf"

If this is the advice you'vebeen getling . then isn't it timeyou consulted

CARTER LEMON?-1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . K.u. 1I.To Iop ' -; , " I _ 1 5M

Wyou_n110 l<now_eaIl:Gayno< I,..Ioy<I Of ""'1'IitI Suo....

Squatted properties are rarely

defended in the courts and, far from

being hoodwinked by squatters (as

the Consultation Paper seems to

suggest), judges have no discretion

to dismiSS an application fo r posses-

sion unless a 'triable issue' is raised

and usually do not do so even then.

The fact that 2,4 58 applications failedin the County Court in 1989 (CP para

17) suggests that many alleged squat-

ters were in fact tenants or licensees

and , in add ition , that councils were

attempting to evict families to whom

they had a statutory duty. The pro-

posed legislation would deny such

people the right to have such triable

issues resolved in open court and

thus remove a last line of defence for

some of the most vulncmble in

housing .

The Home Office is pal1icu-

lady concerned w ith the phenom-

enon of 'shop squarring' claiming it

often involves "the use of electricity

without payment. " (CP pard 32).

Where this occurs the police already

have powe rs to arrest those responsi-

ble and charge them with theft.

Neither is it strictly true that

an owner is prevented by section 6of the Criminailaw Act 1977 from

"breaking a pane of glass in his own

front door to obtain entry" (CP para

26a). An offence would only rake

place if there were someone on the

premises opposed to his entry. Thus

rhe law falls a long way short of

making squatters "al most invulner-

able" (CP para 8).



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5. Can hostels cope with the homeless?

: .. .squatting is no answerjor the single homeless. We haveotherprop'osals and measures to deal with that prohlem. In

London'this year we are making available substantiallyincreased investment in hostel accom.modation. "

(Kenne th Baker. Hansard, page 153, 15/ 10/91.)

I f the Government succeeds

in making squatting il legal, an ext ra

fifty thousand people will be looking

for an alternative to sleeping rough.The figu res quoted by the Govern

ment about inveSllllent in hostels

(Baker. Hansard, para 2, page 153,

15/ 10/ 91) do not come close [Q

satisfying (hat kind of demand. Bur

arc hostels rhe answer for the large

number of families now reduced to

squatti ng? And what of the sq uatte rs

who w ill have to forgo their posses-

sions and may have to scperare from

their pa!lnerS if they arc fo rced into

hostels?

IncreaSing hostel accommo

dation is a sticking-p laster approach,

covenng the wound rather than

curing if. Hous ing needs will be

fulfilled only when permanent move

on accommodation is <lvai lablc.

The Government is proud to

be associated with the protection o f

private prope rty bu t what positive

action, bar the creation of a few

more hostel places, is it offering as a

solution to the housing crisis?

Some posit ive measures to

improve the situation wou ld be :

• The extension of licences to

the occupiers of djsused and neglected propclty;

• The reinstatemcnt of secu rity

of tenure and realistic rent levels for

private (('n::m{<;;

• The re-channelling of funds,

generated from the income rece ived

by Government from th e sa le of 1.2

million counc il homes, to build new

homes and renovate publicly-ownedem pty property;

• The cxtension of self-bu ild

,:,chclIle.') LO Lhose unable ro afford

shared ownership and of mOI1gage

to-rent schemes for those in mort

gage arrears;

• Th e restoration of Housing

Denefit ~ l n d In rome SlIpport to

students and those aged 16-19;

• The creation of an independ-

ent deposits authority to prevent

landlords withholding deposits

under false pretences:

• The introduction of DSS loans

to prospective tenants to cove r de

pusits and orhcr emf)' costs.



6. Who are the squatters?

"Is the Home Secretmy aware that many Cit those

wJpo engage in squatting .... are often aggressive,

intolerant and intimidating?"

(Sir John Wheeler, MP. Hansard, Page 155, 15/10/91.)

"A1lti-social parasites" (Kenneth Baker)

1/ that s why we 'll get tough on armed robbers, get tougb Oil rapists and get

tough 01/ squCltters." (Kenneth Baker in response to rising crime figures.)

We hope that the following case histories will go some way to fe-balanc

ing what Legal Action Magazine described as "false stereotypes" (November

91). These, and thousands of others, are the real squatters;

Anja (23) and Peter (31),

pictured with Freia (3 ) and Finn (4

monehs) have been squatting in a

counc il property in Lambeth for the

last four years. Before giving birth

to Finn , Anja qualified as a cabinct-

maker; Peter is studying to become

teacher. When they first moved in,

the property had been gutted by fire

and Jacked even the most basic

amenities. Th ey invested a great

of their time and energy, as wet! as

[he little money they had, in

making it habitable once morc .

Struggling to bring LIp two

children without the incomederived from full or even part

time employmen t, they have

not had the means to rent

privately. They have recently

become licensees of Lambeth

Council.



Terry (28), pictured with

julius and Kieren (both aged 8),

has been sq uatting in a Hackney

Council fl at fo r two year:;. She

moved from S!·lefficld in order to

study as a midwife. Her bursa ry

would not cover the cost of ren ting

john (28) and Sophie (34),

pictured with Anouk (4 ) and Armel

(2), arc squatting in a block of flat s

in Ha cknt:y. II is ow ned by a hold-

ing company. j ohn is unempl oyed.

Soph ie is a potter. Their block had

been gutted by fire prior to their

moving in a year ago.

Six of the seven flats

in the block have not

been tenanted si nce

1988. the year of the

fire. The family had

been living in housing

associat ion temporal)'

accommodation in

which they had been

placed in b}' Hackney

Borough Council.

Their flat was burgled

privately and her app lications to be

housed by the Council have not

elicited any offer of permanent

accommodarion. When she mo\·cd

in to the flat she now squats. it was

in an advanced state of disrepair.

There was no electricity, no toilel.

the roof leaked and [hc property

suffered from serious subsidence.

Barring the subSidence, she has

since made good all the repairs

necessary to make the property

habitabk:. When she last spoke to

the Council. they told her they

would not re-house her until shc

had been e\·icled and was thus·r<x>f1ess·.

fou r times in two months. After

ineffective representations to the

housing association, and being told

that they wou ld be declared 'intentionall y homeless' if they moved

they felt that thcy were left with no

alternative but to squat.



Rod (22) works in a piZ;tA

restaurant. He sq uats in a council

flat in Camden which has been

untenanted for at least a decade.

He earns £ 100 a week. He is not

eligible to be housed by the coun

cil and cannot afford the huge

deposits being asked by local

a n t l l o r d

Patr ick (25) now squats in acou ncil Oat in Camden aftcr beingevicted three times in onc yea r.

f-lis prescnt home has chronicsubsidence and has been empty

fo r five years. He is on a Govern

ment training scheme and hopesto become a jo iner . He is entitled

to £50 a wee k benefit and says:'·As an ab le-bodied single person I

have no chance of being housedby the Council , and there 's no way

I cou ld hope ro save the money

required to pay a deposit fo rprivate renting out of the money [get each week. And that's even if rcou ld rely on the DSS to make

housing benefit payments

promptly."

Ineligible for hOUSing from her

local counc il , Carol (29), pictured

with Z'1chary (11 months), moved

int o a squatted council property in

Lambeth which had extensive firedamage. After the birth of Zachary,

she fell wi thin the category of 'prio r

ity need' but chose to remain where

she was in preference to a long stay

in bed-and-breakfast. Like Anja and

Peter, she has recently become a

licensee of Lambeth Council.

squash - a crime to be homeless?

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