Squatting becomes illegal in England and Wales with LASPO legislation

[temper_tantrum]

Depends what you mean by "politically unnecessary". It smells bad. The only solid reason I can see for a whip was if Militwat's coterie got whiff of a "for" vote beforehand, which would have reflected badly on the leadership. In that case, whipping the vote would have made good sense from the POV of the leadership, although whipping is a weapon of diminishing returns, as John Major found out.

I mean that (as far as I know) there was no likelihood of the ConDems failing to get it through. So it was politically unnecessary for Labour to take a position (we'll leave moral necessity out of it, as they seem to).
Therefore it's another example of Labour needlessly shooting themselves in the foot and expending some of their tiny remaining reserves of political capital. Fools.

 

[SpookyFrank]

People still believe in our system of goverment because they've to a lesser or greater extent, been indoctrinated (educationally, culturally, socially) to believe it's the only game in town besides dictatorship.

As far as I can see the principal difference between our system and a dictatorship is that our system is much less efficient.

 

[wemakeyousoundb]

done
http://www.squashcampaign.org/2012/03/all-over-squatting-in-residential-properties-criminalised/
:'(

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Fuck's sake.

 

[wemakeyousoundb]

it's all right though cause we're all in it together, some more than other is all.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Well, if you're currently squatting you have a little over a week to decide if you'd rather be on the streets or in prison

http://www.squashcampaign.org/2012/08/squatting-law-to-commence-1st-september/

So just to be clear, it is not a crime to leave a property empty for years and allow it to fall into disrepair in a country with a chronic housing shortage, whether out of greed, laziness or stupidity. It is a crime to live in such a property if you have nowhere else to go. Doesn't matter if you don't break a single door hinge, don't cost anyone a brass penny, doesn't even matter if you actually stop the building from falling down. You're a criminal now.

Make no mistake, this has not been done to protect ordinary homeowners, this is just another part of the tories' grand plan to help a tiny minority to make untold sums of money with zero effort at the expense of everyone, be they tennant, owner or squatter, who simply needs a place to live.

Unfortunately for the tories and their friends some of us actually do know the meaning of 'all in this together' and live by that motto every day of our lives. These motherfuckers have declared war on the wrong people.

 

[twentythreedom]

This is really fucking terrible What about current established squats?

(ex-squatter)

 

[SpookyFrank]

What about current established squats?

The crime here appears to be living in a squat rather than taking a squat. So while the law doesn't apply retroactively if you're in a squat on september the first then you're fair game.

I'm a little bit stumped for advice to give squatters at this point. We're gonna have to wait and see what the police do, then what the courts do, before we really know where we stand. Your local squatters will be needing plenty of support whatever happens.

 

[Random]

Very shocking and sad news. To think I'd live to see a part of ancient British freedom destroyed like this... Good to see from the A.S.S. website that non-residential properties are still squattable http://www.squatter.org.uk/

 

[SpookyFrank]

It is far from over. There are important legal battles yet to be fought. There are doors to baricade and cops to be told that they can take their 'persons unknown' warrant and get the fuck on. We are not giving up. Most of us can't give up because we have nowhere else to go.

 

[purenarcotic]

What really narks me is that old mrs grimes whose house got squatted while she was out buying milk were always and quite rightly protected. You could never just walk into somebody's home while they were living there and squat it no worries, and the vast majority of squatters wouldn't behave in such a ridiculous way in the first place. And it was this argument that the government used to get support for this law, without informing the public of their rights.

It's a fucking joke. I just hope a lot of coppers turn a blind eye, because this is a complete waste of everybody's time and bloody stupid.

 

[SpookyFrank]

What really narks me is that old mrs grimes whose house got squatted while she was out buying milk were always and quite rightly protected. You could never just walk into somebody's home while they were living there and squat it no worries, and the vast majority of squatters wouldn't behave in such a ridiculous way in the first place. And it was this argument that the government used to get support for this law, without informing the public of their rights.

It's a fucking joke. I just hope a lot of coppers turn a blind eye, because this is a complete waste of everybody's time and bloody stupid.

Indeed. And like a lot of government policies that have appeared in the last few years, this one was heavily foreshadowed by apocryphal stories in the press whereby someone has popped out for their proverbial pint of milk and had their home squatted. It is in my opinion a genuine conspiracy, a premeditated effort by various parties to tell outright lies in order to get an odious piece of legislation on the books.

And yes, how exactly this will be enforced remains to be seen. Will the owner have to make a complaint to the police for them to take action or get a warrant to enter a squatted property? Will the police be all too aware that this is a huge waste of time and not bother with it at all? I can't see the government going to so much trouble to pass this law if they weren't going to take pains to ensure that it was enforced...

 

[purenarcotic]

Indeed. And like a lot of government policies that have appeared in the last few years, this one was heavily foreshadowed by apocryphal stories in the press whereby someone has popped out for their proverbial pint of milk and had their home squatted. It is in my opinion a genuine conspiracy, a premeditated effort by various parties to tell outright lies in order to get an odious piece of legislation on the books.

And yes, how exactly this will be enforced remains to be seen. Will the owner have to make a complaint to the police for them to take action or get a warrant to enter a squatted property? Will the police be all too aware that this is a huge waste of time and not bother with it at all? I can't see the government going to so much trouble to pass this law if they weren't going to take pains to ensure that it was enforced...

I remember seeing a Panorama on squatters, and it only focussed on two families who had gone out one day and come back to find squatters, so of course it painted them in a really negative light. Really pissed me off, there was no examples of positive outcomes of squatting at all.

 

[SpookyFrank]

I remember seeing a Panorama on squatters, and it only focussed on two families who had gone out one day and come back to find squatters, so of course it painted them in a really negative light. Really pissed me off, there was no examples of positive outcomes of squatting at all.

It's always the way. The one TV show I saw that dealt with squatters featured a family claiming that they were about to move into their new house when the squatters arrived. This was obviously a lie because it took several weeks and a court case to turf the squatters out, which if you are a Protected Intended Occupier and can demonstrate this fact is not necessary. When we revisitied this family in their 'home' a few months later there was still not a stick of furniture to be seen and all the walls were still painted showroom white.

I wonder why they didn't want us to know that the only thing they really wanted this property for was to sell on for easy money? Why would somebody be ashamed of the fact they're getting paid for doing nothing and contributing to the spiralling cost of housing for everyone else in the process? Seems like a fine and noble way to behave to me...

 

[editor]

Squatting will be a criminal offence from Saturday

 

[frogwoman]

 

[The39thStep]

Will this affect the banner making industry?

 

[editor]

I've had to delete the old 'Notes for new Squatters' pice on the main urban75 site (which was very popular) and have posted this instead:

Fucking Tories have criminalised squatting
Squatting now made a criminal offence in the UK – notes and advice

Will this affect the banner making industry?

Is that supposed to be funny?

 

[Pickman's model]

Will this affect the banner making industry?

no. contrary to popular belief most banners aren't made in squats

 

[Pickman's model]

I've had to delete the old 'Notes for new Squatters' pice on the main urban75 site (which was very popular) and have posted this instead:

Fucking Tories have criminalised squatting
Squatting now made a criminal offence in the UK – notes and advice
Is that supposed to be funny?

i am surprised you don't seem to have said anything about the tories' lib dem lickspittles.

 

[Schmetterling]

It's frightening how much laws/rights are regressing. And it is all about handing back power/money/etc to the monied few/control over the masses/putting women back into the home/etc. I know I am being a bit emotive here but I hope you get my point - I don't think I am very good at formulating political arguments.

Not having grown up in this country - and not having suffered under her - I could never quite understand the hatred of Margaret Thatcher. Not that I did not think she and her politics were despicable but, for instance, sentiments like 'I will be jumping with joy when she croaks it.' left me a bit, hmmm; don't really know the right word. I think my feelings were 'But she is a human.' Yeah - - I know!

But, fuck me, do I detest David Cameron and that runt Clegg.

 

[treelover]

'Indeed. And like a lot of government policies that have appeared in the last few years, this one was heavily foreshadowed by apocryphal stories in the press whereby someone has popped out for their proverbial pint of milk and had their home squatted. It is in my opinion a genuine conspiracy, a premeditated effort by various parties to tell outright lies in order to get an odious piece of legislation on the books.'



as were the welfare reforms, in that case, the seminal Panorama(again) 'Britain on the Sick'(2008) and then hundreds of leaked stories, statistics, smears leaked by the Govt(both (NL and C/D's)/DWP to the tabloids: a sinister synthesis between gov't and media is leading to all sorts of retrogressive legislation.

Hard to believe Panorama used to expose some of the unjust and retrogressive actions of govt,s corporations, landlords, etc in the past.

 

[editor]

i am surprised you don't seem to have said anything about the tories' lib dem lickspittles.

I didn't want to turn the article into one long ranting stream of invective.

 

[DaveCinzano]

It is worth bearing in mind that non-residential properties are not covered.

The What Do They Know site is useful for identifying empty commercial or non-residential properties owned by local authorities.

You are entitled to ask for and receive this information under the Freedom of Information Act. Many such requests have already been made:

http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/search/non-residential properties/

If there is no information (or only old information) up from your local council, use the WDTK site to make an up-to-date FoI enquiry.

 

[editor]

Cheers Dave - I've added that to the article.

 

[treelover]

Will this affect the banner making industry?

not funny, at all....

 

[treelover]

Oh, and remember from next year, legal aid is to be stopped in many area including I think housing..

 

[ViolentPanda]

It's frightening how much laws/rights are regressing. And it is all about handing back power/money/etc to the monied few/control over the masses/putting women back into the home/etc. I know I am being a bit emotive here but I hope you get my point - I don't think I am very good at formulating political arguments.

Your point seems eminently rational, not least because it's exactly what has happened. There's always been a tension between those who hold power and those over whom they hold power, but for the last 30 years or so the trend has been very much in favour of changing the ambit of laws and eroding rights. The excuses to do so have been most usually under the rubric of "national security", but have also been (as in this case) about the primacy of property rights over any other sort.

What we need to remember is that they hold power over us only through our consent to be governed, or at least that's what is pretended in our pseudo-democracy.

Not having grown up in this country - and not having suffered under her - I could never quite understand the hatred of Margaret Thatcher. Not that I did not think she and her politics were despicable but, for instance, sentiments like 'I will be jumping with joy when she croaks it.' left me a bit, hmmm; don't really know the right word. I think my feelings were 'But she is a human.' Yeah - - I know!

But, fuck me, do I detest David Cameron and that runt Clegg.

So you at least have an inkling now of why so many people would like to party when she dies!

 

[frogwoman]

there are a lot of non residential properties that would be great for squatting, were i of such a criminal mindset. i'm not going to visit one of them today, because that would be a terrible injustice to wreak on a hard-working owner of a building, who is busy enough with the business of wealth-creation that he has let the building go to wrack and ruin. i mean that would be terrible, so it's definitely not going to happen

 

[Limejuice]

If commercial buildings are still fair game, people just have to follow the To Let signs.