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England and Wales coloured cream The Library House squat in London, 2009 The Square Occupied Social Centre, a now-evicted squat in Russell Square, London. In England and Wales, squatting – taking possession of land or an empty house the squatter does not own – is a criminal or civil offence, depending on circumstances.
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.
Squatting the real story is a 1980 compendium of articles about squatting in the United Kingdom, mainly based on projects in London. It was edited by Nick Wates and Christian Wolmar , and written by among others Piers Corbyn , Ann Pettitt , Steve Platt and Colin Ward .
Although "squatting" is a criminal offence in England and Wales under Section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO), [57] the Court of Appeal has clarified that Section 144 will not bar a person who wants to claim adverse possession, based on the rule of ex turpi causa, from relying on illegal squatting ...
It also provided space for groups such as the radical women's magazine Bad Attitude, AnarQuist (the anarcho-queer group), Brixton Squatters' Aid and the prisoner support group Anarchist Black Cross. [30] The Rainbow Centre was a squatted church in Kentish Town and there was also the Hackney Squatters Centre. [12]
In the late 1960s, the Family Squatters Advisory Service (FSAS) was founded in London, England, to help defend the rights of squatters. [1] [2] In the 1973 case of McPhail vs. Persons Unknown, the Court of Appeal stated that a landowner could re-enter a squatted property and use reasonable force to evict those occupying the property, while remaining exempt from the Forcible Entry Act.
Squatting in Northern Ireland was unaffected by the recent law change in England and Wales, and remains a civil matter. [ 142 ] Squatting in Scotland is a criminal offence, punishable by a fine or imprisonment, under the Trespass (Scotland) Act 1865 .
Squatters in England have formed squatters unions. In London there was a squatters union in the 1970s and Piers Corbyn was an advocate. [3] The union negotiated with the Central Electricity Generating Board so that squatters could access amenities. The still active Advisory Service for Squatters grew out of the union. [4]