Brighton Squatters Convergence last week ish

Brighton Squatters Convergence last week ish Report will appear here soon meanwhile here is a rough draft of a leaflet to clarify some of what is going on in the changes in squatters law ting. Defend our Rights - Squatting law update as of 25th May 2012 1. Don't panic, Squatting is not illegal yet. Section 6 rights still apply. 2. You're not alone; there are thousands (estimated 20-500,00} squatters in residential properties; this will make the new law very hard to enforce and potentially unworkable. 3. Private tenants and those in social housing are also vulnerable under the laws; many groups are forming in response to the new legislation – both squat and not. Squatters are not alone in this time of housing insecurity. 4. In Holland, anti squatting legislation was successfully challenged under the European human rights legislation. People still need to be taken to court to be evicted. In the UK, legal experts are already building a case to challenge this legislation in the European Court of Human Right – under right to family life (Article 8) 5. In the government consultation, 96% of people who replied said don't criminalise squatting including the Metropolitcan Poloce, Judges and the Law society. Criminalising squatting in residential properties is not popular legislation, it has and will continue to come under attack from all sectors of society. 6.The police and bailiffs may act as if the law has already come into force. It has not. Inform them of this and refer them to the contacts at the end of this leaflet if further clarification is needed. 7. The commencement order has not been made, meaning we don't know yet when the law will take effect although we can predict it will be sometime around September. 8. The new law: Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 Section 144 Offence of squatting in a residential building The new law makes it a crime where: You trespass in a residential building, and You entered the building as a trespasser (rather than e.g. by invitation), and You know or ‘ought to know’ that you are a trespasser, and You are living in the building or intend to live there (for any length of time) It is not a crime to remain in a building after the end of a lease or licence, even if you leave and re-enter the building. The law only applies to 'residential buildings.' A building is “residential” if it is designed or adapted, before the time of entry, for use as a place to live - in other words if commercial premises are squatted and turned into residential premises by the squatter, the law won't apply. Its still legal to squat empty unused commercial buildings,eg :factories,shops,churches,community centres,warehouses,pubs,land for eco villages,etc. derelict/unused space. Penalty - If convicted of this offence by the court, the maximum penalty is imprisonment for 51 weeks or a fine not more than £5,000 or both a fine and imprisonment. Police powers - Police can enter and search squatted premises to arrest a person for squatting. Be prepared for when this legislation comes into force. We need to work as a community to fight this together. This law will be resisted all the way. Together, we will show this law is unworkableby building networks of solidarity, having regular meetings, meals, socials, football games,parties. Turning up to eviction resistances, networking with other housing groups and local communities Tell SQUASH and other groups about positive squatting case studies, illegal evictions by police and bailiffs and other information that would be useful for media and court cases. Filming can help. Timeline: May – Queen gave Royal Assent, therefore law is now on the statute books; the law is not in force until a consultation has been conducted. May-September: consultation period when the government will consult local authorities, police, and housing and affected groups to inform them and assess the impacts of the new law. During this period the law and its implementation will be clarified. September onwards: Prosecution cases will start to define how these cases are handled by the courts, eg setting precedents, punishments, evidence. There may be opportunities to repeal Section 136 of LASPO. For more and updated info check 1) SQUASH – Squatters Action for secure Homes www.squashcampaign.org Provide positive case studies and support when dealing with the media. 2) Advisory Service for Squatters (A.S.S) www.squatter.org.uk Help with court proceedings, illegal evictions 3)Squatters Legal Network sln@aktivix Assisting with legal cases, arrestee support 4) Squatters Eviction Resistance Network: evictionresistance@squat.net 07591 415860 Support and advice before, during and after an eviction attempt. The government said that it would not bring in any new laws to unnecessarily criminalise people, yet they are criminalising the homeless in the middle of a housing crisis, which makes this law unjust and unworkable. The whole process has completely bypassed any kind of democracy. It will cost the government an estimated £790 million in the first 5 years to implement even though the aim was to cut Legal Aid expenditure by £350 million a year. This new law will be difficult to interpret and enforce, taking up massive amounts of police time. Whatever they say, squatting will stay!