Squatters - who are they?

Anyone who is convinced of the truth of the statement "My house is my fortress" will be very surprised to learn that this is not always the case. Remember the tale about the fox and the hare, where the cunning cheat has brazenly occupied the hut of its slanting friend? Fairytale lies, but there is a hint in it ... Similar situations, when leaving your house for a couple of hours, you lose it for a long time, if not forever, sometimes happen in real life.

Who are the squatters?

Squatters are people who occupy other people's premises (often empty, but often populated) and master them for their own dwelling, doss house, place for holding various events, etc.

The main principle of the squatter: "Why pay for housing, if you can get it for free?". Squatting as a phenomenon has been for many years and even centuries, but it acquired mass character in the 20th century, as a result of revolutions, protests, wars, natural disasters and overcrowding of the planet. The strongest squatting is prevalent in countries where housing costs fabulous money, and laws do not imply severe punishment for squandering a house or apartment. Such an atmosphere favorable for the "breeding" of squatters has developed, in particular, in Great Britain.

The history of squatting

Some historians argue that squatters are people who first announced themselves in the 14th century, after the peasant uprising of 1381 in England. The remaining pogroms without habitation of the person seized other people's real estate and remained there forever.

The case of the first squatters was continued by diggers in the 17th century (during the time of the English bourgeois revolution). They were also peasants, but they acted exclusively for ideological reasons, believing that land can not be private property, but should be populated and cultivated by communes. Diggers are called the ideologists of the modern skovotting, to representatives of which this style of life is close.

The flowering phenomenon occurs in the 60s of the 20th century, when rich people who owned several immovable objects, handed them over for a lot of money, and all this against the background of an acute shortage of housing. In the cities of Western Europe, a lot of luxury buildings were empty, and the army of the homeless became more and more numerous.

Some British political forces even called for legalizing squatting, allowing people without a roof over their heads to temporarily occupy non-residential premises, but these attempts failed.

Quite often squatting was of an ideological and political nature when opponents of the existing system created communes and even announced their independence.

Squatting in the UK: history

As noted above, the most squatting is common in the UK. So it happened historically, and the legislative base of this country is ideal for those wishing to take someone else's "hut".

London is one of the most expensive cities in the world, and not everyone can afford to buy housing there. In this case, according to sociologists, only in the central part of the British capital there are more than eight thousand empty houses. In Westminister they are about three and a half thousand and about the same number - on Bishop Avenue.

As for the last of these regions, it is something like the Moscow Rublyovka. On the street of billionaires are the most luxurious mansions, often empty. Often they belong to foreigners who visit their London apartments only occasionally, and this is actually an unattended space is a tasty morsel for squatters. Many houses on Bishop Avenue are occupied by representatives of this movement. And many owners know about it. Moreover, they do not interfere and are even glad that someone is looking after their property.

The law is to help

So, what is there in British law that allows squatters to feel at home everywhere?

First, since the Middle Ages, the local guards of law do not have the right to break open doors to penetrate into someone's home. And in 1977, this rule was reinforced by a new law, according to which the police can not get into the premises, if it is impeded by the one who is in it.

Secondly, in England and Wales (unlike Scotland and Ireland) until recently, the illegally occupied building was not considered a criminal offense, but was an object of civil law. That is, squatters could not be afraid of severe punishment. And only now, after a series of high-profile cases, the situation has changed: for self-seizure, you can get six months in prison.

Thirdly, contracts for renting premises in England are usually concluded both in writing and orally. Therefore, the police are very difficult to understand, arbitrarily a person settled in the room or in agreement with the owner.

Well, fourthly, according to English law, you can only evict someone from the premises through a court. A lawsuit can last a long time, and all this time the squatter will occupy someone else's house, and the owner will clobber. And the longer a person has lived in this or that place, the harder it is to evict. So let's say, after twelve years of living indoors, the latter becomes the property of the person who occupied it, even if it is illegal. As for eviction, if the occupied housing is solely owned by the owner, then you can do without the court - the police are authorized to drive the squatter. But often she does not hurry with decisive actions.

Who goes to squatters?

Many think that squatters are exclusively antisocial elements (drug addicts, alcoholics, homeless people). This opinion is erroneous. The squat movement at all times literally abounded by representatives of the cultural and political elite: artists, writers, musicians, public figures, revolutionary politicians and other progressive personalities whose lifestyle does not fit very well into the social framework. Although, of course, a certain percentage of antisocial citizens among squatters is also available.

Typology of Squatters

Dutch sociologist Hans Pret made a classification of squatters, dividing them into five types:

1. Forced - people who lost their own housing and therefore encroaching on others. Among the representatives are the working class, immigrants, former prisoners, homeless people, etc.
2. Political squatters are subjects who, occupying a premise (often state or municipal), by their actions try to draw public attention to some problem.
3. The carriers of an independent housing strategy are citizens who believe that housing should not be empty, when so many people need it, and this should become a state position. That's what they are doing when squatting.
4. Socio-cultural squatters occupy the premises in order to form in them any centers (spiritual, social, cultural).
5. Conservative squatters capture buildings in order to prevent its demolition.

Fighting squatters and helping them

In addition to legislative in the fight against squatters, other measures are being taken. So, for example, special companies are created that look after vacant buildings and lease them at a low price. Among the main duties of such firms is to protect the house or apartment from the penetration of squatters.

On the other hand, there are organizations that provide assistance to the latter. One of them even issued a "Pocket Guide to the Squatter", which tells how to find rooms and capture them.

Is there squatters in Russia

Squatting as a phenomenon has manifested itself in the expanses of the former Soviet Union. The first cases of seizure of premises took place during the years of perestroika, when state control over all spheres of life weakened, the social sphere began to collapse and many buildings were abandoned. Here, in the non-residential premises and advanced young people settled in, mastering the former (often dilapidated) houses of culture, baths, museums, libraries, kindergartens, etc., adapting them to artists' studios or rehearsal halls for musical groups. But the political and forced squatting in Russia and the CIS countries did not take root.

The most famous squats are the Moscow "Kindergarten" and the Petlyura center , as well as St. Petersburg squats at Pushkinskaya 10 and Vladimirsky Prospekt.

The most famous squats of the world

Although it is believed that the birthplace of squatting is Great Britain, it went far beyond its borders, and some communes of different "nationalities" even became legendary.

To the most famous squats of the world are, for example:

• Association of Free Artists "Taheles" in Berlin, which existed from the beginning of the 90s until 2012.
• The commune of refugees who settled the former luxury hotel Grande Hotel in Mozambique. The doors of the squat are open from the seventies to the present day for all comers.
• Rivoli in Paris - the building of the bank, equipped with artists for workshops and exhibition hall.
• Can Masdeu in Barcelona - a room once used for leprosarium, now occupy adherents of a healthy lifestyle, broke a piece of the village in the city.

As you can see, squatting is not always a negative phenomenon. In many cases, if it were not for the insolence of the "invaders", orphan buildings would be doomed to destruction, and progressive forces to homelessness.