'House party is over' for squatters as 40 cases come to court

 
Sparks fly as Bailiffs use cutting equipment to enter the premises at Earl Street. Bailiffs supported by Metropolitan Police Officers stormed premises at Sun Street and Earl Street and evicted squatters. PICTURE BY: NIGEL HOWARD email: nigelhowardmedia@gmail.com
30 May 2013

Squatters were today told the “house party is over” in other people’s homes with nearly 40 court cases against them in four months.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling issued the warning as he published the first figures on legal action under the new offence of squatting in a residential property. It carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail or a fine of up to £5,000.

Squatters were taken to court in 38 cases between last September, when the offence came into force, and the end of the year.

Out of 32 squatters who were found or pleaded guilty at court, 25 were London cases. One of the 25 was jailed, 11 were fined, eight received conditional discharges, four received community sentences and two were otherwise dealt with.

The Metropolitan Police also intervened in nearly 100 squatting cases in London, between September 1 and May 19, to help homeowners get back their property.

Mr Grayling told The Standard: “Squatters should know that the house party is over in other people’s homes. For too long squatters have played the justice system and caused homeowners untold misery in eviction, repair and clean-up costs. This is no longer being tolerated.”

A man seeking work in London was the first to be jailed for squatting under the new offence. Alex Haigh, 21, pleaded guilty last September and was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison after police found him at a property in Pimlico.

The tougher law came in amid growing fears over home invasions in London as organised eastern European gangs and other squatters targeted family properties and empty pubs.

Previously, homeowners often had to take costly legal action to reclaim possession of their property. MPs are now calling for the law to be extended to cover commercial properties.

Mr Grayling is consulting MPs on the scale of the problem in shops, pubs and other company premises before deciding whether to back such a move.

Haigh was arrested with other squatters at a housing association flat in Cumberland Street on September 2, the day after the new anti-squatting law came into force. Originally from Plymouth, he had come to London looking for a job and had worked for a time as an apprentice bricklayer.

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