External links
| Influences |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Squatter groups | ||
| Legalized squats | ||
| Former squats |
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| Notable squatters | ||
| Legal framework | ||
| Linked topics | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Predecessor | Family Squatters Advisory Service |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1975 |
| Location |
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Area served | United Kingdom |
| Services | Legal and practical advice to squatters |
| Website | www |
The Advisory Service for Squatters (A.S.S.) is a non-profit group based in London and run by volunteers. It aims to provide practical advice and legal support for squatters. It was founded in 1975, having grown out of the Family Squatters Advisory Service. After being based for many years in St. Paul's Road in Islington, A.S.S. moved its offices to Whitechapel High Street, in the same building as Freedom Press.
In the late 1960s, the Family Squatters Advisory Service (FSAS) was founded in London, England, to help defend the rights of squatters. [1] [2] In the 1973 case of McPhail vs. Persons Unknown, the Court of Appeal stated that a landowner could re-enter a squatted property and use reasonable force to evict those occupying the property, while remaining exempt from the Forcible Entry Act. Thus, as a result of this ruling, all power lay in the hands of the possessor of the property, rather than the occupants. [3] This case sparked a division amongst those fighting for squatters' rights at the FSAS, for new-wave advocates thought that the FSAS did not do enough to protect the unlicensed squatters' rights. The division gave rise to a different organization called the All London Squatters (ALS). The ALS was geared more toward direct action and was open to licensed and unlicensed squatters, thus it was perceived as more militant. As tensions heightened in London, FSAS split even further. The division between those for and opposed to unlicensed squatters grew deeper, and by 1975, splits within the group led to its dissolution and the Advisory Service for Squatters (A.S.S.) was formed by one faction. [1]
A spokesperson for the group told The Independent in 2003 "Today's squatters are highly organised and efficient. Many have full-time work, and drug problems are rare." [4] Speaking to The Independent in 2011, A.S.S. estimated that there were between 15,000 and 17,000 squatters across the UK. [5] Squatting in residential buildings was criminalised in England and Wales in 2012 by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, prompting A.S.S. and the campaign group Squatters' Action for Secure Homes (SQUASH) to release advice on the changed legal situation. [6] A representative of A.S.S. told Vice News in 2020 that the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom had resulted in a general increase of illegal evictions by bailiffs and members of the public in London. The Metropolitan Police responded that for most bailiff actions the police were not involved. [7]
The A.S.S. publishes the Squatters Handbook which both serves as a guide for how and where to squat and explains the legal issues involved. 150,000 copies have been sold since 1976. The thirteenth edition was published in 2009, and the fourteenth in October, 2016. The Squatters' Handbook details guidelines on how to find property to squat in, what to do in confrontations with the police, how to maintain the property and set up temporary plumbing, and generally how to survive while squatting. It can be purchased for a small fee from the Advisory Service. [8]
In June 2008, the A.S.S. was subject to controversy in the mainstream media after Eric Pickles, Conservative MP for Brentwood and Ongar, criticised councils for listing the Squatters Handbook and contact details for A.S.S. on their websites. He said "Homeowners will be horrified that town halls are giving squatters the green light to break into law-abiding citizens’ homes [...] Promoting such lawlessness is breathtaking, but is sadly an indictment of social breakdown that has become rife under Labour and the prevalence of human rights laws." [9] [10] Durham County Council was one of seven councils reported to be recommending the guide. [9]
In response, the A.S.S. issued a press release explaining that councils listed it "because we offer free advice to homeless people and those with housing problems [...] A.S.S does not promote lawlessness, as squatting is still legal. We help disadvantaged people to find housing, to help themselves when no-one else will. We often recommend that people who are eligible for Priority Need Housing apply to their local Council." [11]
In 2011, an A.S.S. volunteer won a case (Voyias v Information Commissioner and the London Borough of Camden EA/2011/0007) against Camden Council and the Information Commissioner's Office which compelled the council to release a list of empty properties. [12] [13] The Daily Mail then wrote an article entitled "Professional agencies marketing empty homes to potential squatters?" which criticised the decision, leading A.S.S. to respond that the article was "misleading and inaccurate". [14] The following year, A.S.S. responded to two Daily Mail articles written by Max Hastings and Andrew Levy which both talked about "Moldovan squatters", describing them as lacking in evidence and "clearly designed to stir up tensions against people because of their nationality". [15]
| Influences | | |
|---|---|---|
| Squatter groups | ||
| Legalized squats | ||
| Former squats |
| |
| Notable squatters | ||
| Legal framework | ||
| Linked topics | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there were one billion slum residents and squatters globally. Squatting occurs worldwide and tends to occur when people who are poor and homeless find empty buildings or land to occupy for housing. It has a long history, broken down by country below.
St Agnes Place was a squatted street in Kennington, south London, which resisted eviction orders for more than 30 years. When a number of derelict houses were scheduled for demolition to extend Kennington Park in 1969, squatters occupied the properties and a High Court injunction prevented the demolition. The street was run by a housing cooperative until 2005, when Lambeth London Borough Council obtained an eviction order. Demolition was completed in 2007.
Self-managed social centres in the United Kingdom can be found in squatted, rented, mortgaged and fully owned buildings. These self-managed social centres differ from community centres in that they are self-organised under anti-authoritarian principles and volunteer-run, without any assistance from the state. The largest number have occurred in London from the 1980s onwards, although projects exist in most cities across the UK, linked in a network. Squatted social centres tend to be quickly evicted and therefore some projects deliberately choose a short-term existence, such as A-Spire in Leeds or the Okasional Café in Manchester. Longer term social centres include the 1 in 12 Club in Bradford, the Cowley Club in Brighton and the Sumac Centre in Nottingham, which are co-operatively owned.
Jack Tafari was a sometimes homeless Rastafari activist who advocated for himself and other homeless people, in the US and the UK. He was best known for promoting "sanctioned tent cities" as transitional housing for homeless people, including himself, in Portland, Oregon, United States.
The Frances Street Squats were a set of six squatted houses, including one women-only building, that existed between February and November 1990 in Vancouver, Canada. They were occupied by SAVE and took a stand against development which was generally supported by local people. The Vancouver Police Department evicted the buildings.
Camelot Property Management Ltd. is a vacant property management firm started in the Netherlands in 1993. Camelot manages commercial and residential properties on behalf of landlords and property developers by assigning people to occupy vacant buildings to deter squatters.
In England and Wales, squatting—taking possession of land or an empty house the squatter does not own—occurs for a variety of reasons which include needing a home, protest, poverty, and recreation. Many squats are residential; some are also opened as social centres. Land may be occupied by New Age travellers or treesitters.
Historically, squatting occurred in the United States during the California Gold Rush and when colonial European settlers established land rights. There was squatting during the Great Depression in Hoovervilles and also during World War II. Shanty towns returned to the US after the Great Recession (2007–2009) and in the 2010s, there were increasing numbers of people occupying foreclosed homes using fraudulent documents. In some cases, a squatter may be able to obtain ownership of property through adverse possession.
The Really Free School was a collective squatting a series of buildings in central London in 2011 to use as free schools. They organised lectures and workshops, stating "in this space, aside from the fact that you will not spend one penny inside these doors, you can also come and engage in a collective learning process directed by your own desires, ideas, questions and problems."
Squatters' Action for Secure Homes (SQUASH) is an activist group formed first in the 1990s in the United Kingdom to represent the interests of squatters and to fight the proposed criminalisation of squatting. It then reformed in 2011, when there were again parliamentary discussions about making squatting illegal. After squatting was (partially) criminalised in 2012, the group continues to monitor arrests and convictions.
Squatting in Australia usually refers to a person who is not the owner, taking possession of land or an empty house. In 19th century Australian history, a squatter was a settler who occupied a large tract of Aboriginal land in order to graze livestock. At first this was done illegally, later under licence from the Crown.
Squatting in the Republic of Ireland is the occupation of unused land or derelict buildings without the permission of the owner. In the 1960s, the Dublin Housing Action Committee highlighted the housing crisis by squatting buildings. From the 1990s onwards there have been occasional political squats in Cork and Dublin such as Grangegorman, the Barricade Inn, the Bolt Hostel, Connolly Barracks, That Social Centre and James Connolly House.
Squatting in the Netherlands is the occupation of unused or derelict buildings or land without the permission of the owner. The modern squatters movement began in the 1960s in the Netherlands. By the 1980s, it had become a powerful anarchist social movement which regularly came into conflict with the state, particularly in Amsterdam with the Vondelstraat and coronation riots.
Oval Mansions are eight separate blocks of tenement housing in Kennington, south London. The blocks stand between the Oval cricket ground and the Oval Gasholders. After being occupied by one hundred squatters from 1983 until 2000, the buildings were sold off by Lambeth Council in the early 2000s.
Squatting in Nigeria refers to a person who is not the owner, taking possession of land or an empty house. Squatters migrate from the countryside to informal settlements in cities such as Abuja, Port Harcourt and in particular Lagos. Lagos had a population of over 14 million people in 2019 and many slums, including Makoko.
Squatting in Slovenia is the occupation of derelict buildings or unused land without the permission of the owner. Housing was illegally built from the 1960s onwards and informal settlements have been set up by Romani people or poor immigrants. In the capital Ljubljana, there is the autonomous zone of Metelkova and the Rog self-managed social centre was evicted in early 2021.
Squatting in South Korea is the occupation of land or buildings without the permission of the relevant authorities. From the 1950s onwards, shanty towns called P'anjach'on formed around cities, in particular the capital Seoul. As well as providing housing, squatting is used as a tactic by groups opposing gentrification and striking workers.
Squatting in Ghana is the occupation of unused land or derelict buildings without the permission of the owner. Informal settlements are found in cities such as Kumasi and the capital Accra. Ashaiman, now a town of 100,000 people, was swelled by squatters. In central Accra, next to Agbogbloshie, the Old Fadama settlement houses an estimated 80,000 people and is subject to a controversial discussion about eviction. The residents have been supported by Amnesty International, the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions and Shack Dwellers International.
Squatting in the Philippines occurs when people build makeshift houses called "barong-barong"; urban areas such as Metro Manila and Metro Davao have large informal settlements. The Philippine Statistics Authority has defined a squatter, or alternatively "informal dwellers", as "One who settles on the land of another without title or right or without the owner's consent whether in urban or rural areas". Squatting is criminalized by the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992, also known as the Lina Law. There have been various attempts to regularize squatter settlements, such as the Zonal Improvement Program and the Community Mortgage Program. In 2018, the Philippine Statistics Authority estimated that out of the country's population of about 106 million, 4.5 million were homeless.
Squatting in Liberia is one of three ways to access land, the other being ownership by deed or customary ownership. West Point was founded in Monrovia in the 1950s and is estimated to house between 29,500 and 75,000 people. During the First Liberian Civil War 1989–1997 and the Second Liberian Civil War 1999–2003, many people in Liberia were displaced and some ended up squatting in Monrovia. The Ducor Hotel fell into disrepair and was squatted, before being evicted in 2007. Recently, over 9,000 Burkinabés were squatting on remote land and the Liberia Land Authority (LLA) has announced it will be titling all land in the country.
