Response - Options for dealing with squatting

By: Nicola Hughes
Published: October 2011

Response - Options for dealing with squatting

Shelter does not support further criminalisation of squatting, nor the repeal or amendments of relevant sections of the Criminal Justice Act, due to possible undermining of legitimate tenant protection and other unintended consequences, and due to the fact that criminal law already exists to deal with squatting in residential premises.

 

We believe that legal changes should be based on robust, quantifiable evidence to ensure they are proportionate to the scale of the problem and unintended consequences are minimised.