Squatters: in need of shelter or no better than car thieves?

DEMONSTRATORS clashed with police outside the Houses of Parliament on Monday night as a protest against a Government Bill to criminalise squatting in residential buildings turned ugly.

Hundreds of protestors gathered at around midnight with the intention of hosting an OccupyLSX-style 'sleep-out', but police used batons to disperse the crowd and made at least 12 arrests, according to The Daily Telegraph.
 
It is another example of how squatting has become a hugely emotive issue with the power to polarise opinions.
 
What will the law change?
MPs are debating an amendment to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill that would effectively end 'squatter's rights' in existence since 1381.

Squatters currently have some protection from eviction; if they do not forcibly enter a property, its owner must obtain a court order to have them removed, which can be a costly and time-consuming process.
 
The Bill, proposed by Justice Minister Crispin Blunt, would allow owners to forcibly re-take their properties. It would also introduce tougher penalties for squatting, including imprisonment, and make it more difficult for squatters to receive legal support.
 
Are squatters really a threat?
Supporters of the Bill play on horror stories about squatting; innocent families go out for a pint of milk to find knife-wielding criminals occupying their homes when they return. These cases are actually very rare, as a 'residential occupier' can have squatters evicted by police within 24 hours. In most cases it is uninhabited buildings that are squatted. Often the property is in such poor condition that the owner does not bother to attempt to reclaim it.
 
A more credible threat is to the surrounding area. There have been numerous recent cases of buildings being squatted and used for 'free parties', which can last several days and typically involve anti-social noise and drug abuse. Police are empowered to shut down 'free parties' but in practice this is notoriously difficult.
 
Is squatting the same as homelessness?
Yes, according to opponents of the Bill. 'Government plans would rule out the last remaining option for many to gain a roof over their heads' claims the squatter advocacy group Squash, pointing out that many squatters are social outcasts such as refugees or people with mental health problems.
 
The Crisis charity agrees. "This law would be criminalising very, very vulnerable people," says head of policy at Crisis, Katharine Sacks-Jones.
 
Critics also feel the Bill would exacerbate the existing housing crisis in Britain. According to a Birkbeck study, more than 353,000 people are waiting on social housing lists and 12,000 families are classified as homeless, while more than 700,000 properties are unoccupied.   
 
Mike Weatherley, Tory MP for Hove, is among those who have tried to "dispel the myth that squatters and homeless people are one and the same", instead characterising squatters as exploitative criminals who do not act out of necessity.
 
Is the ban enforcable?
There are tens of thousands of squatters in the UK and to evict them all would put a huge strain on police, judiciary and welfare, not to mention public finances.
 
Squash spokesman Paul Reynolds told The First Post: "It’s dog-whistle politics. Squatters are soft targets, and the government is just using them to pander to traditional conservative ideologists".  

But Justice Secretary Ken Clarke, speaking on Monday before the Westminster protest, said squatters are no better than car thieves. "I have always found it difficult to see the difference between taking somebody’s car and taking somebody’s home," he said. "Anyone who has suffered from the presence of squatters in their property knows the misery they can cause."

Clarke concluded: "Existing laws provide some safeguards but making squatting in residential buildings a criminal offence will provide rather greater protection in circumstances where the harm caused is most severe."   ·