Squatters Taking Up Residence In London

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Jul 15th 2009 at 7:01PM

Squatters seem to have become a huge problem in London and the targets are some of the city's most expensive homes. Homes owned by rich foreigners have been left unattended in the wake of the economic crisis which has transformed the global economy. The London Times has an interview with a professional squatter who is living in one of London's most expensive homes on The Bishops Avenue, a street often known as "Billionaires' Row." The squatter, who lives just a few doors down from one of the homes owned by one of the world's richest men Lakshmi Mittal, says that the owners do not mind because the squatters are looking after the home. In fact, they have taken on home renovations, repairing things and doing the gardening.

Right now around 2.5 percent of all homes in London are empty, according to the Empty Homes Agency, a nonprofit that looks to put empty houses back in use. Those who job it is to tend to these homes are quite busy. The Wall Street Journal recently profiled Paul Palmer who is the Westminster City Council's empty-property officer. He investigates vacant homes and tries to find their owners. Some homes have been abandoned but others are paid up but still vacant. In some cases if a property is empty without effort on the owner's part to occupy, rent or renovate it, there is a system in British law which forces the owner to give up possession. At this point many owners sell the homes but if no owner comes forward the house can still be sold with the funds ending up in a local court where they can wait for up to seven years for the original owners to claim their money. Palmer seems to be more on the side of the squatters than the owners. The end of the Journal article has him talking about going in and having tea with one set of squatters. Is it just me or do London's home squatters sound a bit more polite than the ones we hear about in the U.S.?

Tags: empty homes, EmptyHomes, london, mayfair, squatters, westminster

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

robert Jul 15th 2009 10:42PM

Doesn't matter what they do, squatter is just another name for thief

Talleyrand Jul 17th 2009 11:43AM

We owned a house in London once, and had squatters. I would not call them thiefs by any means. Nor the squatters in Geneva, who have done in part a tgerrific job using unused buildings. An affordable roof over one's head is a right, and when the superrich buy up loads of property they hardly use, then they are actually taking space away and pushing up the prices for everyone. So, no, as much as I appreciate the good life, I do firmly believe that it is unfair for people to leave property lying around empty in high-demand areas. All revolutions have occured because of the haves and have nots. If you have a ton of money, you also have to be responsible with it or, ultimately, pay the consequences.