Vow to slam door on the squatters

The Government today vowed to "slam the door" on squatters as two new shocking cases exposed the depth of the crisis in London.

Housing minister Grant Shapps said he would speed up plans to criminalise gangs who take over family homes after the Standard revealed they put an unborn baby at risk.

He said: "This anti-social and unfair practice causes misery and distress to law-abiding homeowners who should not face a legal battle just to gain access to their own home."

One band of masked squatters left a £1 million home in West Hampstead this morning - only to move into an empty flat round the corner. They had invaded the home of pregnant Kaltun Cockerell, who is due to give birth today.

And two retired nurses returned home from holiday
overnight to find their north London house trashed by a Romanian family and their possessions looted.

The two cases put Prime Minister David Cameron under added pressure today to confirm plans to end the scourge of squatting will be in place by spring.

Sisters Amelita and Lilia Olasa returned from visiting family in the Philippines to discover their New Southgate home had been taken over by Romanians.

Amelita said: "We are in shock and very, very upset. How could this happen? How are these people allowed to do this? All of our things are gone - they have thrown away everything, there is nothing left.

The Government needs to change the law, this cannot be allowed to happen." Tory MP Nick de Bois said: "I will raise this with Justice Secretary Ken Clarke tomorrow to ensure that we are on track to bring this in as fast as possible."

And Mike Weatherley, the Conservative MP who has led a Commons campaign to criminalise squatting, said: "I urge the Government to proceed quickly so this plague in London and other cities ends."
There are plans to crack down on squatting, but MPs fear it will be delayed.

Chris Bond, Enfield's cabinet member for environment, said: "These squatters are ruining people's lives. The Government needs to grasp the nettle on this and introduce legislation to protect hardworking taxpayers' property while the Mayor urgently needs to address London's housing crisis."

Ministers have published guidance for homeowners explaining where the current law on squatting is on their side, and seeking to demolish the notion of "squatters' rights".

Householders are first advised to make their property secure and alert neighbours to long periods away from home.

The guidance clarifies a "legal warning" squatters often post on the door, typically stating it would be a criminal offence to use or threaten violence to enter the property.

This distorts the law: the "warning" dates to the Criminal Law Act 1977, which prevented landlords from using violence or intimidation to evict legitimate tenants.

But under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, such a warning does not apply to a "displaced residential occupier" or a "protected intending occupier" trying to get into their home.

It is an offence for a squatter not to leave a residential property when required by the occupier.

But an interim possession order from a county court may be needed to have this enforced by police, who can arrest squatters and threaten them with six months in jail.