An early day motion calling for squatting to be criminalised and a petition to be presented on April 4 at Downing Street are part of a new campaign.
The proposed new law will mean that home owners will no longer have to go through the civil courts in order to evict squatters from their properties.
Instead the police will be able to force entry and arrest anyone who has occupied a property without the consent of its owners. In Scotland, squatting is illegal and offenders can be jailed for up to 21 days.
At present, squatters may legally enter an empty property provided they do not cause damage when gaining access. Existing laws protect squatters by preventing a homeowner from forcing their way back into a property using force.
It is estimated that there are over 100,000 instances of squatting each year in the UK. In Scotland where it is already a crime the issue is far less widespread.
The early day motion has so far been backed by 21 MPs, and is proposed by Brighton and Hove’s Mike Weatherley.
Weatherley said: “In one example, squatters in Brighton made a freedom of information request to see which council homes were empty. An obvious strategy to target homes, it clearly demonstrates the level of organisation that squatters are now achieving.
“The problem is that squatting is not a criminal act so they get evicted from one home and simply move on to another, to then be evicted and evicted and evicted.
“Brighton and Hove has been plagued by a number of repeat squatting cases, and in at least the last seven years, police have made no squatting prosecutions due to the difficulties in obtaining evidence where technical criminal infringements have been made.
“We need to criminalise this act so these people can be held to account for their actions and we hope that the recent media attention around this topic will drum up enough support for the EDM to be submitted for debate in the House of Commons.”
The very simple motion says: This House believes that squatting should be criminalised.
An amendment has been tabled: “With the exception of the squat in the house of Saif al-Gaddafi in North London”.
Among non-parliamentary supporters of the motion is eviction firm Landlord Action, which has done its share of getting rid of squatters, who typically move into empty houses that are for sale, rather than rental properties (tenants who overstay their welcome after being told to leave are technically not squatters).
Also supporting the initiative is another eviction firm, Landlord Assist, which wants the Government to take further action by removing websites which provide an advisory service and details of empty properties for squatters.
The Gaddafi house had been on the market with Knight Frank, before the Gaddafi assets in the UK were frozen by the Treasury and is now occupied by protesters.
Any agent who has suffered the experience of squatting or feels strongly on the subject can sign the petition, and also ask their local MP to sign the early day motion.
To achieve both objectives, go to: www.LandlordAction.co.uk/Squatting
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Comments
Remember most empty properties attract full Council Tax from the Owner so there is not much of an advantage in keepting them empty for a prolonged period.
Long overdue but should be accompanied by some measures to ensure properties don't lie idle, ie a minimum make it seriously uneconomic for that to happen.
And this should apply not just to property owners but to local authorities as well. Bringing the vast number of empty properties back into circulation - sold at whatever price (market value) to whowever wants them, be it private individuals, would-be landlords for refurbishment and letting, or large professional property companies, would only be a good thing.