Squatters – Tanya Gold – Guardian
February 21st, 2012
I know that in the 1970s squatting was popular. I’ve got a book on my shelves entitled Alternative London which tells you how to get up to all manner of things to do with accommodation of dubious legality but those times are past. Owing to comprehensive redevelopment and “twilight areas” rows of perfectly good houses were being emptied by thoughtless councils intent on demolition and with new build council housing not keeping up the result was, perhaps, coupled with the lassez faire attitude of the times, inevitable.
However we live in different times and while I have enormous sympathy with the homeless, (read the rest of this blog), on this issue I cannot see why an innocent property owner who temporarily has to look after a family property, should be so targeted. Below is my response to Tanya Gold’s article today in the Guardian.
Having had to deal with a parent’s home which was left empty for some time and NOT squatted I have to say that unexpectedly I find myself on the side of the law. Other people have had, and I may have had, to deal with the results of that house being squatted. I also write a housing blog which makes this a close call but when you look at what actually happens with squatting, it is not a victimless activity and the property owners who have to make good the damage have done nothing to deserve their plight.
The answer is to build more social housing, not allowing squatters to occupy empty buildings, but I can see how the pressure has arisen. If the places they left were in better condition than when they arrived perhaps that would be an answer but clearly they rarely if ever are.
https://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/feb/20/squatting-law-criminalise-homeless-clause-130