7 ms·

This reminded me of a funny (in a sense) video that got viral a while ago here in Spain, where someone had squatted on the apartment of some romanian dude. He w

by j1elo 5y ago

This reminded me of a funny (in a sense) video that got viral a while ago here in Spain, where someone had squatted on the apartment of some romanian dude. He was talking to the camera with a hammer on his hand: "spanish law says this or that, well we are going to solve this with romanian law, which says that you do not screw with me"... Blows the door lock away with the hammer and proceeds into the premise. I would love to know what happened afterwards, but I can imagine.

BrandoElFollito 5y ago
The problem in France is that we have a completely surrealist approach to property. If you want to get back to your house, police is going to stop you because you are entering by effraction when someone is lawfully permitted to stay in a place that belongs to someone else. These squatters will sue you. They have the right to live somewhere, so your place is as good as anything else. They have children, so they have more rights than you for your house. They can destroy everything, and you should be happy to get back a ruin. Like I said, I truly love my country but this is one of the few things that drive me completely crazy and where I understand violence of people getting back their house (like the Romanian dude)
- mensetmanusman 5y ago
  Can one break in when they are on vacation and squat it back for 48 hours to reclaim?
  - BrandoElFollito 5y ago
    I actually asked the question to police once (or enter by force and just stay there). They did not know.
    - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
      "don't know" = it's in that gray ares where the more sympathetic person will probably win in court.
  - pvaldes 5y ago
    Not. The 48 hours rule is fake news
- Natsu 5y ago
  What happens if one were to help these folks get into the house of a politician or three?
  - avereveard 5y ago
    Bet police response would be fairly different for the modern nobility, especially since they can claim the are state secrets involved and get a whole lot of different branches involved with the issue.
- advrs 5y ago
  I would imagine the intent of this "surrealist approach" is to disincentivize the commodification of housing (as a form of political pressure against consolidation of large real estate portfolios)
  - munk-a 5y ago
    It'd be really interesting to see some laws like that in Canada - if only by the letter - as a way to discourage buying empty homes for investment. From reading other points in the thread it seems like owning a home for investment in France is an extremely risky proposition.
    - Bayart 5y ago
      >From reading other points in the thread it seems like owning a home for investment in France is an extremely risky proposition. The amount of people owning property and the size of the real estate market says otherwise. Squatting is just one of those things with an over-sized media footprint.
      - BrandoElFollito 5y ago
        > The amount of people owning property and the size of the real estate market says otherwise You usually buy to rent. renting is ultra-complex in France as well but at least you know what you are getting into. > Squatting is just one of those things with an over-sized media footprint Right until the moment it hits you. Have you had been squatted? No? So how can you have an opinion on the impact to someone?
        Bayart 5y ago
        >You usually buy to rent. Yes, I know. Renting is part of "investing". >Right until the moment it hits you. Have you had been squatted? No? So how can you have an opinion on the impact to someone? I'm not talking about personal impact, I'm talking about social and economic impact. Just go look at the numbers for squatting in France. It's statistically irrelevant. By your logic we should all be very concerned about things that nearly never happen. That's not a sane way of living. By the same token people should only be able to discuss things that have personally happened to them. Which is nonsense.
- jokethrowaway 5y ago
  It's not your house, it's our house.
- dzhiurgis 5y ago
  Do they ever sue you tho? Don't the judges have any common sense? How about you get your friends oversquat the squatters? Who are they going to sue now?
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- moritonal 5y ago
  What happens if you make/let the property become dangerous? Are you required to maintain the property whilst not being able to enter it?
  - BrandoElFollito 5y ago
    Yes you are. You are responsible for the safety of the property; including inside. In other words if the "new tenants" get electrocuted because installation was not according to the code, you have a problem.
    - leshenka 5y ago
      So just disconnect utilities then. I don't want them to drown in my bathroom or be electrocuted. I also want to replace locks so burglars don't rob them
      - BrandoElFollito 5y ago
        You cannot disconnect utilities. You have to stop the contract with the providers and risk the fact that your new friends will be dissapointed not to have power anymore. So they will complain to the power company and tell that their children will die. And the power will be back, you paying for it. Or they will simply steal it from someone else. Or, ultimately, pass a contract with the power company. As for the locks, changing them is the first thing they do. There is even a web site "how to squat for dummies" (the title is different) where they explain in simple words what to do to have a successful squatting. There is even a web site

by j1elo 5y ago

BrandoElFollito 5y ago

The problem in France is that we have a completely surrealist approach to property. If you want to get back to your house, police is going to stop you because you are entering by effraction when someone is lawfully permitted to stay in a place that belongs to someone else. These squatters will sue you. They have the right to live somewhere, so your place is as good as anything else. They have children, so they have more rights than you for your house. They can destroy everything, and you should be happy to get back a ruin. Like I said, I truly love my country but this is one of the few things that drive me completely crazy and where I understand violence of people getting back their house (like the Romanian dude)

mensetmanusman 5y ago
Can one break in when they are on vacation and squat it back for 48 hours to reclaim?
- BrandoElFollito 5y ago
  I actually asked the question to police once (or enter by force and just stay there). They did not know.
  - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
    "don't know" = it's in that gray ares where the more sympathetic person will probably win in court.
- pvaldes 5y ago
  Not. The 48 hours rule is fake news
Natsu 5y ago
What happens if one were to help these folks get into the house of a politician or three?
- avereveard 5y ago
  Bet police response would be fairly different for the modern nobility, especially since they can claim the are state secrets involved and get a whole lot of different branches involved with the issue.
advrs 5y ago
I would imagine the intent of this "surrealist approach" is to disincentivize the commodification of housing (as a form of political pressure against consolidation of large real estate portfolios)
- munk-a 5y ago
  It'd be really interesting to see some laws like that in Canada - if only by the letter - as a way to discourage buying empty homes for investment. From reading other points in the thread it seems like owning a home for investment in France is an extremely risky proposition.
  - Bayart 5y ago
    >From reading other points in the thread it seems like owning a home for investment in France is an extremely risky proposition. The amount of people owning property and the size of the real estate market says otherwise. Squatting is just one of those things with an over-sized media footprint.
    - BrandoElFollito 5y ago
      > The amount of people owning property and the size of the real estate market says otherwise You usually buy to rent. renting is ultra-complex in France as well but at least you know what you are getting into. > Squatting is just one of those things with an over-sized media footprint Right until the moment it hits you. Have you had been squatted? No? So how can you have an opinion on the impact to someone?
      - Bayart 5y ago
        >You usually buy to rent. Yes, I know. Renting is part of "investing". >Right until the moment it hits you. Have you had been squatted? No? So how can you have an opinion on the impact to someone? I'm not talking about personal impact, I'm talking about social and economic impact. Just go look at the numbers for squatting in France. It's statistically irrelevant. By your logic we should all be very concerned about things that nearly never happen. That's not a sane way of living. By the same token people should only be able to discuss things that have personally happened to them. Which is nonsense.
jokethrowaway 5y ago
It's not your house, it's our house.
dzhiurgis 5y ago
Do they ever sue you tho? Don't the judges have any common sense? How about you get your friends oversquat the squatters? Who are they going to sue now?
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
moritonal 5y ago
What happens if you make/let the property become dangerous? Are you required to maintain the property whilst not being able to enter it?
- BrandoElFollito 5y ago
  Yes you are. You are responsible for the safety of the property; including inside. In other words if the "new tenants" get electrocuted because installation was not according to the code, you have a problem.
  - leshenka 5y ago
    So just disconnect utilities then. I don't want them to drown in my bathroom or be electrocuted. I also want to replace locks so burglars don't rob them
    - BrandoElFollito 5y ago
      You cannot disconnect utilities. You have to stop the contract with the providers and risk the fact that your new friends will be dissapointed not to have power anymore. So they will complain to the power company and tell that their children will die. And the power will be back, you paying for it. Or they will simply steal it from someone else. Or, ultimately, pass a contract with the power company. As for the locks, changing them is the first thing they do. There is even a web site "how to squat for dummies" (the title is different) where they explain in simple words what to do to have a successful squatting. There is even a web site