New laws threaten political protesters and gypsy rights

A mans home is his castle goes the old saying and this government is big on property rights.

So much so that a new act (Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill) is going to take away legal aid for squatters, and there are proposals to bring forward new laws to make squatting illegal. All good stuff.

Or is it?

Squatters law – the reality

Contrary to what many people think, the police already have powers to go in and evict squatters, if the person asking them is a ‘displaced residential occupier’. So if you go to the shops and come back to find squatters in your house (most unlikely in reality) – they are supposed to help you and you should not need to go to court.

Squatters rights are considerably less than people think – the only reason they sometimes stay on such a long time in properties is because the owners either delay in going to court, or get the procedure wrong. (Note – if you have squatters I have a do it yourself squatters eviction kit for you).

So why is the law being changed then?

Gypsies and protesters

Well according to an excellent post on the Nearly Legal Blog, the main casualties are going to be gypsies and travellers, and people wanting to protest by occupation.

However apparently the Ministry of Justice equality impact assessment makes no mention of Gypsies or Irish Travellers at all.

You may not like gypsies and travellers, but do you think it right that an act which will have a massive influence on their way of life is brought onto the statute book with no public discussion of its effect on their rights?

And how do you feel about protest occupation being made illegal? When you were a student, did you occupy your Universities admin building in protest at some wrong? Are you happy at the prospect of this becoming a criminal offence?

Not all trespass is bad

Throughout our history there have been politically motivated acts of tresspass – starting with the Diggers in 1649, and including the mass trespass on Kinder Scout in 1932 which it is believed led eventually to national parks and the right to roam. This is one reason why trespass has always been a civil wrong rather than a criminal offence.

It is also arguable that it is morally wrong that properties should be left empty and deteriorating for no good reason, when there are so many homeless families who could live in them.

This is just a short post, to draw your attention to the problem. For more information please read the excellent post on Nearly Legal (and also on the Guardian online here) which goes into the history of squatting and trespass and gives a more detailed explanation to the background of it all.

Since writing the above I have learned of a consultation paper which has been published today.

Photo by Matthew Levine