Squatting Law is Being Misrepresented

The Guardian reports a letter from 160 leading legal figures saying a change in the law relating to squatting is not needed and accuses ministers of fostering “ill-informed debate”.

The letter, published in the Guardian today, says that ministers' obfuscation and media misreporting have created "fear for homeowners, confusion for the police and ill-informed debate among both the public and politicians on reforming the law. [In] failing to challenge inaccurate reporting, ministers have furthered the myths being peddled around squatting".

The government is currently carrying out a consultation on whether to make squatting a crime. The consultation ends on 5 October 2011.

Responding to the lawyers' letter, housing minister Grant Shapps said:

"The guidance I published earlier this year makes clear to homeowners where the law stands on squatters, however commonsense suggests there should be quick and tough sanctions available when someone's home is squatted, without the homeowner necessarily needing to bring a civil case.”

However, as many commentators have pointed out, it is already a criminal offence for anyone who goes on to residential premises and remains as a trespasser to fail to leave those premises on being required to do so by a displaced residential occupier (a homeowner) or protected intending occupier (someone intending to move into the property).

There’s a further explanation of those terms and summary of the relevant law in my post Squatters in My Home! Can I Call the Cops? and a more general look at the consultation in Squatting: Should It Be Made a Crime?

The police can arrest any trespasser who does not leave. The displaced or protected occupier can use force to enter the property and reasonable force to remove the trespassers. 

Arguably, the criminal law does not need changing, but there does appear to be a problem with knowledge of that law and with its enforcement.

Rather than adding headline-grabbing new offences to the statute books, it might be more useful if the outcome of the consultation led to an improvement in the enforcement of existing offences, so that the interests of homeowners are protected properly and quickly.

That means working with the police and ensuring they are adequately trained and resourced to deal with the problem.

It doesn’t make for such a good sound bite though.