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Will U.K. Authorities Stand Up to Squatters?

By Bruce Carton

It appears that a growing number of members of the U.K. parliament have finally had enough of the odd "squatting" situation in the United Kingdom and may take action. As I noted here back in October, squatting -- which occurs when people decide to occupy an empty property -- is merely a civil offense in the U.K., which leads to some bizarre and unnecessary challenges for property owners. As a result, for example, when hotelier Connan Gupta moved out of his house in Camberwell for a week while it was being renovated, he returned to find 10 unwelcome Italian students who had moved in and changed the locks. Gupta learned that the police were powerless to help him because under existing U.K. law, squatters may legally enter an empty property if they do not cause damage when gaining access. To his dismay, Gupta was required to hire lawyers and begin a lengthy process of trying to evict the squatters. "It's as if the squatters have more rights than I do," he said at the time. This may change soon, however. On April 4, an "early day motion" and petition calling for squatting to be criminalized will be presented at Downing...

Full post as published by Legal Blog Watch on March 30, 2011 (boomark / email).