Police must move in and arrest squatters, says Minister

Police must move in and arrest squatters, says Minister

Squatting will become a criminal offence tomorrow, and the housing minister said that he expects an immediate crackdown.

Grant Shapps told The Daily Telegraph that he was “amazed” that squatting was not previously a criminal offence, a situation which has left homeowners facing weeks or months in court battles to evict people in their properties.

He said: “This is one of those things where, for too long, hard-working people have faced an eternal battle just to get their home back. I’m calling it slamming the door in the face of squatters, once and for all banishing the concept of squatters’ rights.”

The minister added that he “expects” the police to act promptly following a complaint.

“What it means, the event of stepping over the threshold of your house, going into your house when you go away for the weekend or whatever…when they walk into your house, the moment they walk in with the intention of squatting, that is when they commit the criminal offence,” he said.

“It should now just require a phone call to the police to evict them rather than days, weeks in courts trying to get them out of your house – by which time they have trashed it, used your electricity, eaten your food, and disappeared off into the ether.”

Under the new laws, part of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act, squatters face a prison sentence of up to six months and a £5,000 fine for entering someone’s home.

Crispin Blunt, the justice minister, said: “For too long squatters have had the justice system on the run and have caused homeowners untold misery in eviction, repair and clean-up costs. Not any more.

“Hard working homeowners need and deserve a justice system where their rights come first - this new offence will ensure the police and other agencies can take quick and decisive action to deal with the misery of squatting.”

Separately, a clampdown on rogue landlords who pack tenants into small properties to maximise their rental income will be launched by ministers today.

They say they want to shut down so-called “beds in sheds” that blight entire neighbourhoods and take action against other bad practice by landlords.

New guidance highlights the range of actions councils can take to clamp down on rogue landlords once and for all.

These include the full range of legal powers to stop rogue landlord activities and prosecuting landlords who persistently let illegal property.


Source:-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9510071/Police-must-move-in-and-arrest-squatters-says-Minister.html