Squatting

geeza

geeza

geeza

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I have a few mates who are squatters. What are their rights as squatters. Im sure I read somewhere a long time ago that if you are a squatter in a house for 4 or 5 years then it becomes yours?

They said its a nice cheap way to live with quality people who ususally wouldnt live together (because its free!)
 
geeza said:
What are their rights as squatters.
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If they squat in any of my houses then they have the right to a late night visit from a load of blokes of dark clothes and for their gear to be donated to the local bonfire fund :D
 
In England and Wales, squatting usually refers to occupying an empty house in a city. The owner of the house must go through various legal proceedings before evicting squatters. The owner must prove that they have a right to live in the property and that the squatter does not, while the squatter has the opportunity to claim there isn't sufficient proof or that the proper notice hasn't been given.

In order to legally occupy a house you need to have exclusive access to that property, i.e., change the locks and keep the place secure like you would in a normal home. This is covered in a legal document known as Section 6, a copy of which is often displayed on the front door. There has to be no sign of a forced entry; meaning broken windows or door locks. This would prove that you have illegally broken into the property. The legal process of eviction can take a month or so, or even years, so the squatter has the time to find somewhere else to live. This is what happens when the property is owned by a council or a housing association. Private Landlords have been known to use various means of intimidation to convince a squatter to move out.

Local Council planners, who are facing rising court costs when evicting squatters (because their resources can not stretch to renovating their own properties) often resort to taking out the plumbing and toilets to deter squatters.

To show that the occupier of the squatted building is in fact in physical possession of the property, squatters often put up a section 6 notice or even multiple copies on different sides of the building. Doing so shows that there are people living there and they have a legal right to be there. This also makes clear that anyone - even the technical owner of the property - who tries to enter the building without permission is committing an offence.

Some properties are still occupied by squatters who have resisted eviction for 20 years. Squatters have a right to claim ownership of a dwelling after 12 years of having lived there if no one else claims it. St. Agnes Place in London had been squatted in for 30 years until the 29th of November, 2005, when the Lambeth Council evicted the entire street.
 
What rights do they have? Whatever rights they do have they don't deserve. IMO.
 
short version

Squat for 10 years, then HAVE TO notice the owner, if no eviction within 2 more years. Then you can apply for ownership from the land registry.

the old law where you just sit on your butt until the time runs out no longer works, Now you have to notice the owner.
 
Wow, that seems awfully wrong to me, I'd never even heard of squatting before. If I came home and I'd accidently left a window open and some ***** were sat in my living room they would be straight out after a good hiding
 
The idea or the law for squatting originally came when property prices where low and people were buying lots of houses. Except for reasons they never sold it on or rent it out, and there are lots of unoccupid houses around London and other cities. The Squatting basically put the house back in the market where before it would be just sitting there wasted. Obviously sometimes houses get passed on from the estate of someone who died and paperwork get lost and people lose track of property they own (must be really rich people). But the old law where the squatters just sits and wait wasn't fair as the landlord would have no notice, lets say they don't live in the country anymore and can't check their properties reguarly.

Therefore a new law where the squatters have to notice the landlord after 10 years came in, the landlord will then have 2 years to respond.
 
Violent-J said:
Wow, that seems awfully wrong to me, I'd never even heard of squatting before. If I came home and I'd accidently left a window open and some ***** were sat in my living room they would be straight out after a good hiding
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That would be trespassing, you have every right to kick them out. Squatters apply to people live in houses where no one lives in anymore.
 
Raymond Lin said:
short version

Squat for 10 years, then HAVE TO notice the owner, if no eviction within 2 more years. Then you can apply for ownership from the land registry.

the old law where you just sit on your butt until the time runs out no longer works, Now you have to notice the owner.
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As you say, short version. It's a fair bit more involved that that (especially in terms of whether land is registered or not), but the old adverse possession rules (which was for 12 years, not the 4 or 5 geeza mentioned), have gone. And people other than the registered owner can object. But having objected, and prevented the squatter taking the property, you then have to act to get them out, or they can apply again (after two more years), and the objection will not affect transfer of registration. So the new 10-year rule, plus the two-year grace period, amount to the old 12-years.

Oh, and we're currently still in the transitional period between old and new rules.

Essentially, under the new rules, a squatter will find it very difficult to obtain ownership, unless the existing owner does not object, or unless one of a few specific conditions is met, where the owner's objection may be overridden.
 
ok then, lets put a switched view on things. What would happen if you went on holiday for a month, some burglars came around and smashed the door down. You (the squatter) then arrives and boards the door up. Are you allowed to be a squatter then, because you did find the house unoccupied and unsecure?

(just for the record, im not a squatter, a student so almost as bad but i do pay rent!)

oh and put away your baseball keyboards please, im sure you would think twice about baseball batting a group of 10 tramps in your front room armed with smelly breath and dirty needles!
 
geeza said:
oh and put away your baseball keyboards please, im sure you would think twice about baseball batting a group of 10 tramps in your front room armed with smelly breath and dirty needles!
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I certainly would never resort to violent methods but sometimes squatters can get visited by a group of big blokes entirely unrelated to the pwner of the property, totally conincidental but it does happen sometimes :D
 
geeza said:
ok then, lets put a switched view on things. What would happen if you went on holiday for a month, some burglars came around and smashed the door down. You (the squatter) then arrives and boards the door up. Are you allowed to be a squatter then, because you did find the house unoccupied and unsecure?

(just for the record, im not a squatter, a student so almost as bad but i do pay rent!)

oh and put away your baseball keyboards please, im sure you would think twice about baseball batting a group of 10 tramps in your front room armed with smelly breath and dirty needles!
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Well, technically the squatters would be squatting until the owner gets home, then called the police, gets arrested for breaking and entering, theft and burglary probably (since thats what happened, may be not by him, then up to justice system to runs its course). He might not did it, but it'll be hard for him to disprove he didn't break in, the CPS probably go for the charge anyway. Squatting in an address where people still lives is a terrible idea.
 
Rotty said:
I certainly would never resort to violent methods but sometimes squatters can get visited by a group of big blokes entirely unrelated to the pwner of the property, totally conincidental but it does happen sometimes :D
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you may be big (if referring to you) but squatters still have rights. Id feel the same way if some randoms were chilling out in my front room, but the law would still be on their side if you smashed their knees in
 
Squatting
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