"Hello! My name is Trudy and I am a 17 year old A level student. I am aiming to read law at university, and I'm highly interested in commercial law, land law and inequalities within the law. "With the number of empty homes having increased by 19% (268
,385) in 2020, and an estimated 98,300 homeless families (including over 129,000 children), homes must be brought back into circulation to arrest this crisis. As mentioned before, the unprecedented challenges engendered by Covid-19 have made it a time where many people, regardless of their background, are at risk of losing jobs. Many homeless people are forced into a cycle of poverty through social or systemic problems; very few people choose to be homeless. Although the right to housing is not mentioned in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the right to sufficient housing was given legal recognition in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights where article 11(1) states they ‘recognise the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living…food, clothing and housing.’ Yet the UN argues that as ‘the right to life cannot be separated from the right to a secure place to live…in the context of a right to live in dignity and security’, the right to a home should be a human right because housing is a vehicle towards inclusivity and equality for homeless people – an idea stressed by the United Nations housing envoy, Leilani Farha.
The current issue regarding squatting and the law
Those that are unable to afford their housing costs without depriving themselves of necessities, or lack eligibility for Housing Benefit/social housing, may resort to squatting out of desperation – as opposed to rough sleeping. It is a result of deficient support for homeless people. Unlike the law of Adverse Possession (allows a person who possesses another’s land for an extended period to claim legal title to it) which gives rights to squatters, squatting in a ‘residential building’ became a criminal offence under s 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. Arguably, this legislation demonises homeless people, only resulting in further resentment of those in dire need. The undemocratic and unscrutinised nature of this legislation undermines the rule of law, yet also hinders buildings being brought back into use. Thus, these properties that could easily be renovated, may be forgotten – causing economic immobilism. Even more strikingly, existing adequate legislation was already in place to deal with squatters – such as the Land Registration Act 2002 which protects registered proprietors by making the squatter apply to the Land Registry to become the owner of the land once they have been in adverse possession for at least ten years.
Criminalisation makes it harder for such individuals to seek shelter from dangerous sleeping, forcing them into hidden forms of homelessness; resulting in third sector organisations being unable to contact those squatting. If squatting creates a risk of imprisonment and violence, it is more probable that they will be keeping a low profile in unoccupied and derelict buildings. The stereotypical image of squatters benefitting from sumptuous housing is far from the harsh reality of it.
Lessons from other countries
The Finnish government implemented the ‘Housing First’ policy in 2008, where the NGO, Y-Foundation, buy the flats on the private housing market then renovate them. To enable this, the NGO receives reduced loans from the state to buy the housing, regular loans from banks, and the Finnish Lottery supports them when they purchase apartments on the private housing market. They later use the rental income to repay the loans. Homeless people obtain a flat without any prerequisites, and social workers (paid by the state) help them with applications for social benefits and provide counselling. Though creating houses is expensive, the CEO of Y-Foundation, Juha Kaakihen, has found that it is cheaper than leaving people on the streets. In Geneva, the informal occupation of 190 empty properties in the 70s and 80s, eventually contributed to the development of community-led housing initiatives. This accentuates the potential for collective action to address the shortage of affordable housing and utilising this approach could reduce the waiting list for social housing, ensuring more people are brought into stable housing faster. Of course, hygiene and safety standards will need to be discussed with a regulatory body. The negative effects associated with forgotten properties, like vandalism, wasted financial resources, reduced market values in neighbouring houses and local businesses, clearly illustrates the dire need for society to solve this problem.
Facilitating the use of vacant properties
There must be a political and social will. Having a strategic approach where more scrutiny is given to legal instruments and attitudes of those in that sector (like the Law Commission’s failure to recognise the wider systemic problems like rising house prices, and instead characterising squatters as blameworthy and absentee landowners as blameless), is a doable starting point. Socially and linguistically, we need to refrain from referring to the homeless derogatively. Describing those in need with a negative semantic space, ‘tramp’ and ‘ragged’, only further discriminative stereotypes.
Informally occupying empty properties/land may be the only option for people if no measures are taken to ameliorate the supply of reasonable housing in the UK. Needless to say that this would be highly undesirable, due to concerns about the safety and quality of available accommodation, but most saliently: the vulnerability of those concerned. Therefore, if we are to allocate unoccupied homes, it must be a thorough thought process. Homelessness is a societal problem; the government alone cannot solve this issue. Firstly, to discourage people from leaving properties unoccupied, tax increases could be put in place. For example, councils could charge three times the annual Council Tax charge for deterrence. Through delegated legislation, local authorities can address the homeless people and give them housing suited to their needs – extrinsic factors like separated families, domestic abuse and those with disabilities will need to be taken into deep consideration when assigning homes. Having engaged with absent landlords/owners through the Land Registry, powers such as Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOs), a provision under the Housing Act 2004 which aims to bring empty private sector property back into use by giving local authorities the power to take over management of residential properties that have been empty for two years, ought to be used more frequently – as opposed to relying on private landlords to house those in need.
Using vacant land
As well as allocating unoccupied homes, efficiently using other land will be beneficial in the long-term, as some areas may need more vacant homes to address the issue. The US-based study by Loftus-Farren (2011) documents strategies that have been implemented by local authorities to assist people occupying land in encampments for unspecified periods, such as permits and new local ordinances – demonstrating the possibility for churches to aid the homeless on vacant land they own, provided they can obtain consent from planning authorities. Moreover, the Covid-19 pandemic led to many high street businesses with small online presences struggling with cash flow problems, thus having to close via liquidation. Similarly to abandoned housing attracting undesirable consequences, empty shops may cause a negative feedback loop – discouraging investment. To address this, along with EDMOs, councils can transform dilapidated buildings and encourage land redevelopment by using the government’s new permitted development rights (allowing unused office buildings to be easily transformed into residential property) and s 77 and 78 of the Building Act 1984 which gives the Council power to deal with buildings/structures that are a danger to the public.
To conclude, the escalating predicament of homelessness is a social wrong that needs to be addressed and countered, as elaborated upon above. This will require legal measures and a collective effort to ensure that the epidemic of homelessness is abolished. With action from all sectors of society, only then, would we be able to constructively eradicate it, lastingly.
The opinions of this article are solely those of the author and are not intended to provide accurate legal advice for anyone to rely on. While the content is intended to be factually correct, the author does not accept any responsibility or liability arising from the use or misuse of this article or any loss/inconvenience/damage stemming from this. Legal advice should be sought from a qualified professional, not this blog. The opinions represented in this blog are personal and belong solely to the author, and do not represent those of the people, institutions, or organisations that the owner may or may not be associated with in a professional or personal capacity, unless explicitly stated, nor do they necessarily represent those of the blog owner. The views expressed by any podcast guest are their own entirely, and do not necessarily reflect those of the blog owner . The blog owner is not responsible and liable for any discrepancy, if any. Any content provided by this blog or its companion podcast is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organisation, company, individual, or anyone or anything.
Sources:
-Ben King, 'Unemployment rate: How many people are out of work?' (BBC News, 18 May 2021) <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52660591> accessed 16 July 2021
-Dan Lewer, 'COVID-19 among people experiencing homelessness in England: a modelling study' [2020] 8(12) The Lancet Respiratory Medicine
-Chris Bailey, 'Facts and Figures' (Action on Empty Homes, 11 November 2020) <https://www.actiononemptyhomes.org/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=7fc1b173-be8a-4f4e-a514-adf251088dac> accessed April 16 2021
-Mowbray, C. T. (1985). Homelessness in America: Myths and realities. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 55(1), 4–8. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.1985.tb03417.x
-Andy Slaughter, 'House of Commons Hansard Debates for 01 Nov 2011 (pt 0004)' (UK Parliament, 1 November 2011) <https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm111101/debtext/111101-0004.htm> accessed 16 July 2021
-United Nations Special Rapporteur, 'Adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living' (United Nations Human Rights, 8 August 2016) <https://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?si=A/71/310> accessed 16 July 2021
-Professor Danny Dorling, 'The Case Against Section 144' (Squatters' Action For Secure Homes, 4 March 2013) <http://www.squashcampaign.org/repeal-law/the-case-against-section-144-2/> accessed 14 April 2021
-Sam Tsemberis, 'Housing First' (TEDxMosesBrownSchool, 4 May 2012) <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsFHV-McdPo> accessed April 12 2021
-Juha Kaakinen, 'Housing First - a way towards ending homelessness' (TEDxBratislava, 19 September 2014) <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6DPjCmc3BM> accessed 13 April 2021
-Adriana Rabinovich and Lena Poschet, Living differently - The Cooperative of Associative Housing (CODhA) (Lausanne, Laboratoire de recherche en économie et management de l'environnement 2006) 223
-Hye-Sung Han, 'The Impact of Abandoned Properties on Nearby Property Values' [2013] 24(2) Housing Policy Debate 311-334
-Law Com No 271, above n13, para 2.70, 'Land Registration for the Twenty-first Century A Conveyancing Revolution Land Registration Bill and Commentary' (Law Commission, 9 July 2001) <http://lawcom.gov.uk/app/uploads/2015/04/Lc271.pdf> accessed 16 April 2021
-'Tramp wins rights to prime land' (BBC News, 24 May 2007) <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6687931.stm> accessed 15 April 2021
-Karen Mcveigh, 'Ragged millionaire who only wanted a place to live' (The Guardian, 24 May 2007) <https://www.theguardian.com/money/2007/may/24/property.communities> accessed 14 April 2021
-Loftus-Farren, Zoe. “Tent Cities: An Interim Solution to Homelessness and Affordable Housing Shortages in the United States.” California Law Review, vol. 99, no. 4, 2011, pp. 1037–1081. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23018618. Accessed 21 July 2021.
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