Young, urban professional seeks home – vacant premises will do
The number of people living in squats in England and Wales has risen by 25 per cent in the last seven years, according to new figures. But contrary to popular belief, greater numbers of squatters are now professional, middle class and upwardly mobile.
The Advisory Service for Squatters (ASS), a voluntary group, believes there are as many as 22,000 people living in squats, up from 15,000 seven years ago. In 1995, estimates put the number at 9,500. The figures are believed to be a conservative estimate.
Experts say the increase is fuelled by an increase in rents and house prices, a decline in public housing stock and tighter restrictions on mortgages, meaning there are fewer opportunities for people to secure homes. This, together with a greater number of vacant properties as a result of repossessions or buy-to-let landlords unable to rent properties, has resulted in more squatting opportunities.
Agencies dealing with squatters are reporting increases in the number of cases they handle. Will Kahn, senior adviser at Tenant Eviction UK, said: "We have seen a rise in the cases relating to squatters in the last year or so. I would say this increase is a result of the recession, because there are more empty houses. We're dealing with seven to eight squatter cases a month. A couple of years ago, we were doing two a month, so it is a significant increase."
Squatters were typically associated with parts of London or other big cities. But many solicitors are now seeing a shift towards smaller towns and cities throughout England: "You do see it happening in towns such as Leicester, Peterborough, Norwich, and we've had a few cases in Bedford," said Gail Sykes from Buckles Solicitors. "We are seeing a different kind of squatter. You used to have a lot of travellers moving in and camping on land. We now tend to be dealing with people breaking into or obtaining access to clients' vacant properties. We've seen that change within the last 18 months."
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