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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.
Public housing in Australia is one part of social housing and the other is community housing. Public housing is provided by departments of state governments. Australian public housing operates within the framework of the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement, by which funding for public and community housing is provided by both federal and state governments. According to the 2006 census, Australia's public housing stock consisted of some 304,000 dwellings out of a total housing stock of more than 7.1 million dwellings, or 4.2% of all housing stock.
The DA! collective is an art collective that squats in London, England, co-founded by Simon and Bogna McAndrew, Stephanie Smith, Samuel Conrad, Julika Vaci, Aishlinn Dowling, Sam Padfield and Murat Bulut Aysan. After squatting in three buildings, they received national attention when they squatted a townhouse in Mayfair, Westminster, Greater London in October 2008. The property, at 18 Upper Grosvenor Street, is a 30-room grade II-listed 1730s mansion worth an estimated £6.25 million owned by the billionaire Duke of Westminster, Britain's wealthiest private landlord.
Kevin David McGrath is a British businessman, philanthropist. and Executive Producer of an Oscar and BAFTA Winning Film [3]
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 Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) is a statute of the Parliament of the United Kingdom enacted by the coalition government of 2010-2015, creating reforms to the justice system. The bill for the act was introduced in the House of Commons on 21 June 2011, and received Royal Assent on 1 May 2012.
Squat Milada is a First Republic villa located in the Libeň district of Prague. Milada was intended to be demolished in the 1980s and deleted from the cadastre. Therefore it was a house which officially did not exist and it became one of the Czech Republic's best known squats, occupied from 1997 until 2009. It was then reoccupied for a day in 2012. Acting as a self-managed social centre and infoshop hosting concerts and events, Milada was also home to a number of people. Despite various plans for the site, as of 2021, the building was standing derelict.
Property guardianship is an arrangement by which people are granted cheap accommodation in return for living flexibly, often in desirable locations and unusual properties such as former commercial buildings like pubs, offices, police stations and even historically important properties. By the guardians' continued occupation these properties that would otherwise be vacant cannot be occupied by squatters.
ADM was a squat in the Port of Amsterdam, to the west of the city next to the North Sea Canal. The squat lasted from 1997 until its eviction in early 2019. Around 130 people lived on the terrain of 45 hectares in buildings, on boats and in vehicles.
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 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.
Squatting in Spain refers to the occupation of unused or derelict buildings or land without the permission of the owner. In Francoist Spain migrant workers lived in slums on the periphery of cities. During the Spanish transition to democracy, residential squatting occurred in Spanish cities such as Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid, Valencia and Zaragoza. From the 1980s onwards a new generation of squatters set up self-managed social centres which hosted events and campaigns. The 1995 Criminal Code among other things criminalised squatting, but failed to stop it. Social centres exist across the country and in Barcelona and Madrid in particular. In the Basque Country they are known as gaztetxes.
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 Malaysia is the occupation of unused or derelict buildings or land without the permission of the owner. Squatting began after World War II and is governed by various laws. Recently, the government has announced its intention to house squatters in affordable housing.
Squatting in Brazil is the occupation of unused or derelict buildings or land without the permission of the owner. After attempting to eradicate slums in the 1960s and 1970s, local governments transitioned to a policy of toleration. Cities such as Recife, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo have large informal settlements known as favelas. A more recent phenomenon is the occupation of buildings in city centres by organised groups. In rural areas across the country, the Landless Workers' Movement (MST) arranges large land occupations.
Squatting in Nepal occurs when people live on land or in buildings without the valid land ownership certificate. The number of squatters has increased rapidly since the 1980s, as a result of factors such as internal migration to Kathmandu and civil war. In March 2021, the chairperson of the Commission on Landless Squatters stated that all landless squatters would receive ownership certificates within the following eighteen months.
In Iraq, people squat both buildings and land. The Iraq War lasted from 2003 until 2011; following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, rent controls were dismantled and many people were evicted and began to squat, illegally connecting to electricity and sanitation. Buildings such as the Baghdad Stock Exchange were occupied and by 2005, thousands of people were living in a bombed-out airbase. During the Iraqi civil war (2006–2008), sectarian tensions between Shiite and Sunni Muslims led to more displacement of people and consequent squatting, which the government said it would not tolerate.
References
- ↑ "Van Antikraak Tot Tijdelijke Verhuur". Camelot Beheer BV. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
- ↑ Sinclair, Julie (28 March 2004). "London: On guard and in pocket". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
- ↑ Norwood, Graham (10 January 2010). "Property guardian schemes offer quirky homes at low rents. But not for long". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
- ↑ Creasey, Simon (October 2002). "Licensed live-in minders protect against squatters". Property Week. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
- ↑ "UK Director or various Camelot Guardian companies, Joost VAN GESTEL - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
- ↑ "CAMELOT REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT LIMITED - Filing history (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
- ↑ "Property guardian company prosecuted over former care home where more than 30 guardians lived with one kitchen". inews.co.uk. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
- ↑ "About property guardianship". Property Guardian Providers Association. PGPA. 2019-11-26. Archived from the original on 2020-08-07.
- ↑ Finchett-Maddock, Lucy (9 July 2010). "Who's guarding property guardians?". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
- ↑ The Squatters Handbook 13th edition. ASS. 2009. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-9507769-6-5.
- ↑ "PGPA list of members". Property Guardian Providers Association. 2019-11-26. Archived from the original on 2020-09-18. Retrieved 2015-09-08.
- ↑ Peaker, Giles (2018-09-20). "Property guardians and 'non-domestic rates'". Nearly Legal: Housing Law News and Comment. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
- ↑ "Dutch 'Anti-squat' concept entered into new French legislation". Camelot Property Management. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
- ↑ Taylor, Diane (27 September 2016). "London protesters occupy former HQ of property management firm" . Retrieved 14 April 2019.
