Squatters

Last Friday, we witnessed some interesting events across the street from us. Ben was just at our doorstep, on his way out to get a few things from the store for dinner, when he heard someone shout, "Get down on the ground!" Police were storming into the house right across the street, literally breaking down the door.

We watched from our window as the police went inside and brought out three young men in cuffs and one older man simply being guided to the police van by a few officers. The rest of the officers were bringing out bags of stuff and searching the garbage bins. (We assumed for drugs.)

A large majority of the local police force frequent the cafe and most of them there I knew. And after questioning a few other people and arresting a few others, they boarded up the door and kept a few officers there to watch the place.

Jericho, our neighborhood, is fairly quiet (aside from the occasional pub goers singing their rugby/football chants at night) and this house in particular is a £1 million house...so were were surprised by what had gone down.

And although, we did receive a letter saying there was a 'drug bust' made by the authorities, my next day at the cafe I learned otherwise.

They were squatters. From what I understand in the States squatters laws are rarely in existence anymore. However, here in England squatters seem commonplace and could take months of even years to remove. The funny thing about this situation is a few things:

1) British law states: "In order to occupy a house legally, a squatter must have exclusive access to that property, that is, be able to open and lock an entrance. The property should be secure in the same way as a normal residence, with no broken windows or locks." And the cops busted down the door, so the squatters can return though the broken door and/or the back. Oops.

2) One of the squatters frequents the cafe as well, and told us there were NO drugs found at all. And the men who were arrested and released returned to the house that same night- through the back door.

They figure the cops just used the 'drug bust' as a way to force or scare the squatters out and said they would have simply let them in...they really feel it is their right to be there.

It is odd seeing and hearing both sides of the story in this case. The squatters are homeless. They see and empty house (pulled off the housing market after two years with no sale), and see a place to have shelter and keep warm. They say they're not destroying or misusing the property- they are just sleeping there.

At the same time, the police know there are no drugs now, but they also know that the older man who owns the house (but doesn't live there) is still the owner of the house and has not given permission for these people to just move in and make it their own.

So what do you do with a £1 million house that has just been sitting there unoccupied for 2+ years?

Interesting stuff...and something to think about. If you're interested, follow this link to read more about squatters history and laws here, and around the world.