Nitej Davda, senior associate at Bircham Dyson Bell LLP, believes that efforts to pass laws to make squatting a criminal offence would be better spent making the existing civil process faster, less expensive and more effective.
"We shouldn't be focusing on the criminal process, but making the existing civil process more effective and much simpler. If there was one 'uniform' way to remove a squatter from premises (from the point at which the case is commenced to the eviction), it would make life more simple for those affected by squatters," explains Nitej Davda.
"In my opinion this would have been the conclusion reached had the law on squatting been properly thought through. The proposed change in legislation has the feel of being fast tracked to deal with recent high profile cases in the media such as the Cockerells and Guy Ritchie."
"Whilst the police do currently have powers to remove squatters in certain circumstances the problem as I see it is there is no evidence that those current powers are being applied effectively, meaning most property owners are forced to use the civil process in any event. Furtheremore, iin the face of cuts to police budgetswhere would the man power come from to enforce the law should it be passed?"
"I can see another major practical difficulty with the proposed change. The police are being asked to form a view on whether someone is occupying property with or without permission of the landowner. In the case of residential properties this may not be an easy case to answer, which will mean property owners will not benefit from the change. Perhaps most surprising, whilst this question is much easier to answer when considering commercial property, the Government has decided (certainly initially) to omit such properties from the ambit of the proposed change, a decision which is consistent with the feel of it being a media driven proposal."
"As is apparent from the consultation process undertaken by the Government, the vast majority of squatters (both in commercial and residential properties) are removed using the civil process and I do not see this proposed reform changing that. In light of it the focus should have been on making that process more accessible for property owners rather than passing legislation that is unlikely to significantly eradicate the problem."
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