Hove MP's campaign sees squatting criminalised (From The Argus)
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Hove MP's campaign sees squatting criminalised
3:20pm Thursday 27th October 2011 in News By Tom Moseley, Parliamentary Correspondent
Plans to make squatting illegal are to become law after a campaign by a Sussex MP.
The proposals from Justice Secretary Ken Clarke are due to be debated in the House of Commons next week.
If they are passed after a vote, the measure will be added to a bill currently making its way through Parliament.
It should become law by early next year.
Yesterday (October 26) the Government published details of its proposals which had been put out to consultation.
Despite responses from homeless charities and organisations including the Squatters Network of Brighton, the Government said it was concerned about the impact squatting has on property owners.
In his conclusions Justice Minister Crispin Blunt said: “Law-abiding property owners and occupiers should be able to enjoy their entitlements to their property without undue interference from those who have absolutely no right to be there.”
There have been a number of high-profile squatting battles in the Brighton area in recent years and Hove MP Mike Weatherley has long campaigned for it to be made a criminal, rather than a civil matter.
Last night he said: “I have said right from the beginning that squatting in people’s homes is wrong and should be criminalised.”
But Caroline Lucas, Brighton Pavilion’s Green MP, said laws already existed to protect homeowners from squatters.
She said: “We must not allow those who publicly misrepresent the law on this issue to cause the unnecessary criminalisation and prosecution of homeless and vulnerable people.”
Disused factories, warehouses and pubs will not be included.
Exemptions have been created for people who enter a building “in good faith” for example by being duped by a bogus letting agent.
Comments(13)
left UK
says...
4:00pm Thu 27 Oct 11
Joshiman wrote:I'm With you on this one 100% it should have been made law years ago
Everyone agrees apart from the Belgium. Disused factories, warehouses and pubs will not be included. Pubs ehhhh
ripmaxman
says...
4:24pm Thu 27 Oct 11
It takes months and months to get squatters removed from premises and they normally leave it such a bad state the owner has to pay for all the cleaning and repairs.
It happened to a friend of mine a few years ago and it cost her nearly £30000 to get her house fixed!
If she feels so strongly about evicting squatters then she should be prepared to pay for any damage.
I think the Green party has the right name green by name and green by nature.
Nick Brighton
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4:45pm Thu 27 Oct 11
george smith
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4:59pm Thu 27 Oct 11
Ballroom Blitz
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5:05pm Thu 27 Oct 11
davyboy
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5:53pm Thu 27 Oct 11
RickH
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7:20pm Thu 27 Oct 11
nocando
says...
8:08pm Thu 27 Oct 11
stir up
says...
8:21pm Thu 27 Oct 11
Servalan
says...
8:34pm Thu 27 Oct 11
davyboy wrote:Exactly - it's already illegal to tresspass, break & enter, and do wee-wees in someone elses kitchen. What a non-story.
squatting, as i understand it, is entering a property that doesn't belong to you, and living there for free. in other words, breaking and entering, which, i believe, is already a criminal offence. having said that, if you are going to leave a property vacant, it is your responsibility to ensure it is properly secure
If you come home and find squatters there, dial 999!
Vigilia
says...
10:25pm Thu 27 Oct 11
She said: “We must not allow those who publicly misrepresent the law on this issue to cause the unnecessary criminalisation and prosecution of homeless and vulnerable people.”
This woman is priceless & one can only be thankful that she is a lone voice bleating in the wilderness in Parliament & can do no harm, unlike her local Green administration that can do irreparable harm to the City in four years.
The civil procedures remedy to squatters tales time and expense, not to mention the cost of rectifying the damage done to one's property. If having someone expropriate your belongings in the street, or climbing through a window to expropriate your property is criminal, why shouldn't having the property itself be criminalised?
"Homeless & vulnerable people" have a wealth of welfare state facilities available to them without resorting to the lawlessness of squatting.
Wake up to reality, Mrs Lucas, and heed the concerns of the majority of your electorate & not only the fringe anarchist elements.
Hove person
says...
10:35pm Thu 27 Oct 11
Joshiman says...
3:51pm Thu 27 Oct 11
Disused factories, warehouses and pubs will not be included. Pubs ehhhh