Squashcampaign + Crisis: Gov proposes to make squatting criminal offence

http://www.squashcampaign.org/2011/10/government-bypasses-democracy-to-sneak-through-anti-squatting-laws/

Government ‘bypasses democracy’ to sneak through anti-squatting laws

Housing charities, MPs, squatters, property consultants, activists, lawyers and artists have accused the government of sneaking in an amendment to the Legal Aid and Sentencing Bill announced today by Justice Secretary Ken Clarke to “make squatting in residential buildings a criminal offence”. Campaigners say the amendment will not take into account the thousands of consultation responses submitted earlier this month and will not add any further protection to residents.

Over the past 3 months the government have been undertaking a consultation process entitled “Options for Dealing with squatters” which came to an end on October 5th. Squatters Action for Secure Homes (SQUASH) have accused the government of “ignoring the consultation” by rushing through anti-squatting laws only 3 weeks after the consultation has ended. The squatting consultation response has just been published1. 90% of responses argued against taking any action on squatting. Of a total of 2217 responses, 2126 were from people concerned about the impact of criminalising squatting. The consultation response recognised “that the statistical weight of responses was therefore against taking any action on squatting”.

The amendment states that making squatting in residential building a criminal offence will “end the misery of home-owners whose properties have been preyed on by squatters”. However strong legislation already exists to protect residents from having there home squatted. Last month 160 leading legal figures wrote an open letter which was published in The Guardian explaining that under Section 7 of the Criminal Law Act 1977 it is already a criminal offence to squat someone’s home.2

SQUASH spokesperson Paul Reynolds, said:

“ The governent is ignoring the results of its own consultation which shows that the criminalisation of squatting in empty residential properties will do nothing to protect residents who are already protected by strong legislation. This amendment will criminalise the homeless in the middle of a housing crisis who use squatting as the last remaining option to keep a roof over their heads.”

John Mcdonnell, MP for Hayes and Harlington said:

“By trying to sneak this amendment through the back door the government are attempting to bypass democracy. There was over 2,200 responses to the consultation on squatting so there is no way the government could have acknowledged all the evidence”.

ENDS

For more information and interviews contact: press@squashcampaign.org or 07415 516 105 John McDonnell MP on 07956 292 576

Notes to Editors

1. http://www.justice.gov.uk/consultations/dealing-with-squatters.htm

2. http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/sep/25/squatting-law-media-politicians

http://squashcampaign.org/ SQUASH were founded in the early 90′s; the last time the Tories tried to criminalise squatting. SQUASH re-formed in the face of the latest threat to squatting. There are 700,000 empty properties across the UK: From 2009 Empty Homes Figures:http://www.emptyhomes.com/usefulresources/stats/statistics.html A new report done by Crisis highlights the link between squatting and homelessness:http://www.crisis.org.uk/publications-search.php?fullitem=327 Photos can be used from the SQUASH Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/groups/squashmedia/

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http://www.crisis.org.uk/pressreleases.php/459/years-imprisonment-for-vulnerable-squatters-to-be-forced-through-next-week

Year's imprisonment for vulnerable squatters to be forced through next week

26 October 2011

The Government has announced this morning that it will push through measures on Monday to criminalise squatting, leaving vulnerable homeless people facing up to a year's imprisonment.

The amendment to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill will make it a criminal offence to squat in any residential property, including those that are empty and abandoned. Punishment could be up to a year's imprisonment and/or a £5,000 fine. The amendment is expected to be debated early next week, the Ministry of Justice has announced this morning.

The change comes despite independent research1 that found homeless people are often forced to resort to squatting, with 40% of single homeless people have squatted at some point. The research also found that homeless squatters are some of the most vulnerable of all homeless people, suffering from a range of disadvantages from mental and physical ill health to learning disabilities and drug and alcohol dependency.

The new measures will apply to residential properties, despite the fact that it is already a criminal offence for a squatter to refuse to leave someone's home or a house people are about to move in to2. The Government should have focussed on enforcing these existing laws rather than bringing in this amendment which offers in practice little additional protection for homeowners yet will criminalise anyone squatting in an abandoned or empty property, of which there are over 700,000 in England alone3.

Leslie Morphy, Chief Executive of Crisis, said: "A year's imprisonment for some of society's most vulnerable and desperate people is draconian and utterly counterproductive.

"Independent research is clear that 40% of single homeless people have resorted to squatting. Homeless squatters have extremely high incidences of mental and physical ill health, learning disabilities, drug and alcohol dependency and a raft of other disadvantages. They squat out of necessity, not choice, in atrocious conditions where they are least likely to be disturbed. These are people that need help - not a year behind bars and a £5,000 fine."

On 5 October a three month Government consultation into criminalisation of squatting came to an end. The Government is proceeding with this amendment despite strong concerns raised by Crisis and other expert organisations and without having issued its own response to the consultation.

Ends

Notes to editor

For further media information or to request an interview with a Crisis spokesperson, please contact Garry Lemon, Media Communications Manager at Crisis, on 020 7426 3880 orgarry.lemon@crisis.org.uk

1Detailed research findings:

Squatting: a homelessness issue was undertaken by the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR), Sheffield Hallam University on behalf of homelessness charity Crisis. The report draws on analysis from a range of previous research into homelessness and squatting.

Full research can be found here: http://www.crisis.org.uk/publications-search.php?fullitem=327

Who squats?

• 40% of single homeless people have squatted at some point, with 6% at any one time. 21% of single homeless women and 46% of single homeless people with complex needs have all squatted at some point
• People with mental ill health were consistently proven to be more likely to resort to squatting. Most recent (2011) findings are 46% of single homeless people with mental ill health have squatted, compared to 36% of those without
• Other factors which were more prevalent in single homeless squatters were: physical ill health (42%); a history of care (34%); drug dependency (47%); learning disability (15%); childhood homelessness (15%); self harm (21%)

Why do people squat?

• The evidence consistently points to squatting as a response to housing need
• Most homeless people who squat (78%) have approached a local authority for help and most of these are recognised as homeless but not considered a priority for housing
• Most homeless people try other avenues before moving into a squat but are thwarted by scarcity or expense of provision, such as hostels, B&Bs and shelters
• Squatting is often the last resort to avoid rough sleeping. 90% of squatters had slept rough

Where do people squat?

• Squatters occupy empty buildings, including flats awaiting demolition, derelict abandoned residential and commercial properties
• A key concern for squatters was that they do not attract attention to themselves
• None of the squatters interviewed in any of the research reports had squatted properties occupied by an owner or tenant
• Squats are often in poor condition with broken windows, lack of running water, heat and electricity, vermin, damp and fire risks common
• Conditions are so poor squatters' physical health can be damaged
• Squatters are often disengaged from services and welfare benefits

2Squatting, media coverage and the law

Recent media coverage misrepresenting the law around squattingprovoked a letter from over 160 legal professionals to the Guardian newspaper. It is already a criminal offence for a squatter to refuse to leave someone's home or a house that they are about to move in to. Owners of properties which are not their home can seek a possession order through the civil courts. They can also apply for an Interim Possession Order, which normally takes a few days to be made and served. Squatters are committing a criminal offence if they then do not leave within 24 hours. Squatters can also be prosecuted for related offences including criminal damage or using utilities such as gas and water without paying for them.

Find out more about what Crisis is doing to campaign against the criminalisation of squatters.

Sheffield Hallam University's Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR) is one of the UK's leading academic research centres specialising in social and economic regeneration, housing and labour market analysis. For more information, go to www.shu.ac.uk/cresr

3 Info from the Empty Homes campaign

Background on Crisis

Crisis is the national charity for single homeless people. We are dedicated to ending homelessness by delivering life-changing services and campaigning for change. Our innovative education, employment, housing and well-being services address individual needs and help people to transform their lives. We are determined campaigners, working to prevent people from becoming homeless and advocating solutions informed by research and our direct experience. We have ambitious plans for the future and are committed to help more people in more places across the UK. We know we won't end homelessness overnight or on our own. But we take a lead, collaborate with others and, together, make change happen.