The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 received royal assent on 1st May as a consequence of which squatting of residential property will become a criminal offence as of 1st September 2012. The penalties for breaking the law include up to one year in prison and/or a fine of up to £5,000.
The relevant provision of the Act is Section 144 which states:
(1) A person commits an offence if—
(a) the person is in a residential building as a trespasser having entered it as a trespasser,
(b) the person knows or ought to know that he or she is a trespasser, and
(c) the person is living in the building or intends to live there for any period.
(2) The offence is not committed by a person holding over after the end of a lease or licence (even if the person leaves and re-enters the building). There are other provisions but this the kernel of the new offence. Photo: Nico Hogg
(a) the person is in a residential building as a trespasser having entered it as a trespasser,
(b) the person knows or ought to know that he or she is a trespasser, and
(c) the person is living in the building or intends to live there for any period.
(2) The offence is not committed by a person holding over after the end of a lease or licence (even if the person leaves and re-enters the building). There are other provisions but this the kernel of the new offence. Photo: Nico Hogg