Squatting becomes illegal in Britain

Squattng has always been tolerated under the law in the UK – until now. Once again, this is a case of blaming the victim

New UK law slaps homeless in face

Homeless squatters would face jail or a fine from September 1 in England and Wales as squatting in residential buildings becomes a criminal offence.

RT,

1 September, 2012

New laws on squatting raised concerns among the homeless in the UK as police will be able to arrest the squatters right on the spot and charge them with a six-month prison sentence, a £5,000 fine, or both.

The law, which was backed by the Labour Party, was criticized by the campaigners saying it could lead to an increasing number of vulnerable homeless people.

Leslie Morphy, chief executive of the homeless charity Crisis, slammed the British government for criminalizing vulnerable people who are just trying to find a place off the streets.

Saying that the number of the homeless in England alone has risen to more than 50,000 (14 percent higher than in 2010-11), Morphy asserted that the new measures will fail to address the underlying reasons of squatting such as housing crisis in the UK.

“The Government needs to tackle why homeless people squat in the first place by helping not punishing them”, she added.