Squatters out

[commoner]

Looks like squatters rights are to be a thing of the past....but not in Scotland......look out Scotland you could become the squatters paradise.Any thought on that guys/

[ummmm]

I think it was already a criminal offence in Scotland.

[albaqwerty]

quote from Factor30 in news thread:

I agree. Scotland addressed this a while ago- almost 150 years ago!
("Squatting has been illegal in Scotland since 1865. From tomorrow it will be a criminal offence in England too.")
end quote.

Nice to know that England are finally catching up :-)

[commoner]

AW! alba...just when I was about to find a million pound empty mansion and move to Scotland....spoilt me day now ;-))

Surprised in some ways but not in others at the number of what for the want of a better word..dogooders..who are saying it's a really bad deal for the homeless ..surely homelessness is no excuse to just take somebody else's house?...in some cases when they are just away on holiday or even down the Tesco....

[ummmm]

They are not talking about squatters moving in and taking over someones home. They are talking about the squatters that have taken over an abandoned building. The house on the news this morning has been empty for 12 years.

[marval]

It is about time, I can't believe it has taken so long.

[Old_Geezer]

Seems to be more than one thread on this.
http://www.theanswerb.../Question1166266.html
to avoid posting again ;-)

[Old_Geezer]

They need not be abandoned, they can simply not presently be lived in.

[commoner]

OG I only post in CB...so wouldn't see any other post on the subject..

ummm...I think it covers all forms of squatting ...otherwise it's a waste of time....

[ummmm]

I know it does but the argument was the effect it could have on some homeless people.

No, not all buildings have been abandoned but 1000's have. Like I said, the house on the news was a large house owned by the council which has been empty for 12 years.

[NOX]

I'm going to stick my hand up here and be labelled a do gooder. I'm not talking about homes which are lived in which are taken over, but many landlords myself included on occasions leave properties empty that ought not to be. Criminalising homeless poor people in favour of landowining middle classes is a law straight out of the middle ages and we should all hang our heads in shame that we allow such callous stupidity by our law makers.
I have had squatters 3 times, once they became tenants after we all had a chat, once I circumvented the law and removed them myself and once after some negotiation they left after a specific period of time. Most people squat because they have other social issues, these need addressing not by adding a criminal conviction but by actually helping to solve the underlying problems.

[ummmm]

I agree, Nox.

The squatters that take over peoples homes while they are on holiday deserve a criminal conviction, imo. Moving into an empty building that has stood empty for a long time is not the same.

[commoner]

Nicely put NOX but you are now in a position (or would be if your properties were being squatted in) where to get rid of them, because of the new law, you would have to criminalize them....or leave them where they are and say nowt....or talk nicely to them and hope they would go...does that make sense?

All new laws bring new unforseen problems....which with hindsight seem obvious...but lawmakers are just humans and don't posess hindsight....

[NOX]

No but one would hope that they possessed common sense...which they clearly don't.

[commoner]

Thing there is that the "lawmakers" are some of the very people who own these empty properties and "no miserable homeless poor helpless squatters" are going to take them off em....

And that's their brand of commonsense to their shame!

[ummmm]

Is it still the law that if you've lived somewhere for 11 years without paying rent then you can claim it as your own?

My grandad lost acres of land in Ireland by not charging rent.

[NOX]

Adverse posession is still possible just more difficult now than it used to be Ummm.... I claimed a few things myself over the years.

[ummmm]

It was actually said that some squatters actually improve the buildings they are squatting in.

[Old_Geezer]

In my opinion moving into an empty property, regardless how long it hasn't been used as a home, is not sufficiently different that it should be condoned. If something doesn't belong to you then you have no right to commandeer it and use it. Folk should solve their problems morally, not impose it as a problem for someone else.

What happens if by some miracle all empty property was brought into use housing those presently homeless ? Who then is picked on as scapegoat rather than actually solve the real issue ? What excuses for not sorting it will be used then ?