4 ms·

> is insane that squatting is not a criminal offense No. Clearly a civil case.

• GauntletWizard 2y ago
  If someone breaks into your place of business, is it not a criminal case? Is it different if the business place has been cleared out for renovations?
• ses1984 2y ago
  Yet stealing property that isn’t real estate is criminal.
  • southerntofu 2y ago
    Squatting is not stealing. There isn't abundant access to the resource such as in digital piracy, but the squatted goods are not damaged and will return to their lawful owner. If they are damaged, that's a case of degradation, which is another offense completely disconnected from squatting (both can occur separately). Squatting rights are necessary in any property system. In many European countries they were setup after WWII because an absolute property system was failing the people: there were many abandoned buildings whose owners were dead/missing/gone and many people whose dwellings had been destroyed. Squatting saved many lives, and so did the laws that legalized squatting.