6 ms·

What do I even begin googling to find this in my city? Toronto.

by rfnslyr 13y ago

gaius 13y ago
It will depend on what your laws on squatting are. In the UK these are very biased in favour of the squatter; invading someone's property isn't a crime here, so the police won't do anything, it is a long drawn out and extremely expensive process for the legitimate owner to go through the courts to get an eviction order, and other than having to leave, the squatters get off Scot free. http://www.standard.co.uk/news/i-moved-out-for-decorators-and-squatters-took-over-my-house-6527260.html http://www.standard.co.uk/news/i-moved-out-for-decorators-an...
- rrreese 13y ago
  The law was changed in 2012 for residential buildings http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squatting_in_England_and_Wales#Legal_Aid.2C_Sentencing_and_Punishment_of_Offenders_Act_2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squatting_in_England_and_Wales#...
- arethuza 13y ago
  "Scot free" Worth noting that squatting was pretty much never legal in Scotland - although we do have the Right to Roam over land which I don't think the rest of the UK has.
  - Angostura 13y ago
    Right to roam was introduced into England in ummm - the 1990s, I think.
    - arethuza 13y ago
      I think it's rather more limited that the Scottish version: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_to_roam#Right_to_roam_in_Britain http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_to_roam#Right_to_roam_i...
    - _mulder_ 13y ago
      It's not as extensive as the Scottish version though. It basically just applies to government owned land (Forestry Commision, National Parks) and uncultivated moor/mountain land.
- blueskin_ 13y ago
  It used to be, but doing so to someone's home (not business premises) was made illegal in 2012.
- collingwood 13y ago
  I think invading is too strong a term here because it implies force and violence. As your link indicates, squatters can only move in to a building which is 'unoccupied'.
  - tehwalrus 13y ago
    indeed, and can only do so without "breaking" any locks or windows (so it isn't "breaking and entering," which is the legal name of burglary.) A properly secured property, where you make sure all windows are repaired and doors and windows are locked, is basically safe from squatters, assuming you get all the entrances (many old Victorian houses have common loft spaces, so when residential squatting was legal people could find one unlocked door in the street and claim a whole terrace. I heard of a priest who did it once in Lancashire somewhere and then used the row as almshouses.)
    - dagw 13y ago
      A properly secured property, where you make sure all windows are repaired and doors and windows are locked, is basically safe from squatters A common tactic is to do it in two passes. First one dude comes along, smashes in the locks and walks away. Then a couple of night later a second group of dudes come along and find the house unlocked and 'legally' move in. So you basically have to have security people check your buildings at least once a night.
      - tehwalrus 13y ago
        Indeed, that's why I said "where you make sure all windows are repaired".
  - blueskin_ 13y ago
    Theory and reality are two very different things there.
brazzy 13y ago
Toronto building guardian? But note that it doesn't necessarily exist as the whole arrangement is a reaction to a specific combination of extremely high regular rents and laws that make it hard to evict squatters but allow people to live permanently in office buildings while paying rent and bein evictable on short notice. If any of those factors doesn't hold, there will be no such "guardians". For example, I am sure it is not possible in Germany because tenancy contracts that include short-notice eviction clauses are void.
- roel_v 13y ago
  "For example, I am sure it is not possible in Germany because tenancy contracts that include short-notice eviction clauses are void." Dutch rent law is stricter than German and it's still allowed. It's a combination of a regulatory framework at a higher level, and anti-squatting not being 'renting' but 'borrowing'. (terminology is a problem here since there is no word in English for the civil law legal form that is used. The closest is 'lease' but that is used for regular renting already in English.) More to your point, it certainly exists in Germany, and is generally called "Hauswachter" (that is, the people living there, not sure about the form itself). Companies offering it are for example http://de.cameloteurope.com/ http://de.cameloteurope.com/ .
- HeyLaughingBoy 13y ago
  There is a similar situation in the US where people live for very low rent in vacant houses that are for sale. The arrangement is that in exchange for substantially below market rent (perhaps 70% less), they keep the house clean, are ready to move out with 30 days notice, and leave the house when the agent needs to show it. I have friends who did this in a nice house in an expensive town for a couple years, taking advantage of the low rent to save for a down payment on their own home.
  - JoeAltmaier 13y ago
    Yeah I looked at a house occupied by a temporary renter. She had a passel of squalling kids, probably primed for the event of our arrival. Also she kept a pot of cabbage on the stove, which she had boiling when we arrived and took the top off of, smelling up the place like no other. All this to make sure we would flee the place and never come back, thus keeping her cushy low-rent 'temporary' housing. Any wonder this is not a popular option with landlords?

What do I even begin googling to find this in my city? Toronto.

by rfnslyr 13y ago

What do I even begin googling to find this in my city? Toronto.

gaius 13y ago

It will depend on what your laws on squatting are. In the UK these are very biased in favour of the squatter; invading someone's property isn't a crime here, so the police won't do anything, it is a long drawn out and extremely expensive process for the legitimate owner to go through the courts to get an eviction order, and other than having to leave, the squatters get off Scot free. http://www.standard.co.uk/news/i-moved-out-for-decorators-and-squatters-took-over-my-house-6527260.html http://www.standard.co.uk/news/i-moved-out-for-decorators-an...

rrreese 13y ago
The law was changed in 2012 for residential buildings http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squatting_in_England_and_Wales#Legal_Aid.2C_Sentencing_and_Punishment_of_Offenders_Act_2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squatting_in_England_and_Wales#...
arethuza 13y ago
"Scot free" Worth noting that squatting was pretty much never legal in Scotland - although we do have the Right to Roam over land which I don't think the rest of the UK has.
- Angostura 13y ago
  Right to roam was introduced into England in ummm - the 1990s, I think.
  - arethuza 13y ago
    I think it's rather more limited that the Scottish version: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_to_roam#Right_to_roam_in_Britain http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_to_roam#Right_to_roam_i...
  - _mulder_ 13y ago
    It's not as extensive as the Scottish version though. It basically just applies to government owned land (Forestry Commision, National Parks) and uncultivated moor/mountain land.
blueskin_ 13y ago
It used to be, but doing so to someone's home (not business premises) was made illegal in 2012.
collingwood 13y ago
I think invading is too strong a term here because it implies force and violence. As your link indicates, squatters can only move in to a building which is 'unoccupied'.
- tehwalrus 13y ago
  indeed, and can only do so without "breaking" any locks or windows (so it isn't "breaking and entering," which is the legal name of burglary.) A properly secured property, where you make sure all windows are repaired and doors and windows are locked, is basically safe from squatters, assuming you get all the entrances (many old Victorian houses have common loft spaces, so when residential squatting was legal people could find one unlocked door in the street and claim a whole terrace. I heard of a priest who did it once in Lancashire somewhere and then used the row as almshouses.)
  - dagw 13y ago
    A properly secured property, where you make sure all windows are repaired and doors and windows are locked, is basically safe from squatters A common tactic is to do it in two passes. First one dude comes along, smashes in the locks and walks away. Then a couple of night later a second group of dudes come along and find the house unlocked and 'legally' move in. So you basically have to have security people check your buildings at least once a night.
    - tehwalrus 13y ago
      Indeed, that's why I said "where you make sure all windows are repaired".
- blueskin_ 13y ago
  Theory and reality are two very different things there.

brazzy 13y ago

Toronto building guardian? But note that it doesn't necessarily exist as the whole arrangement is a reaction to a specific combination of extremely high regular rents and laws that make it hard to evict squatters but allow people to live permanently in office buildings while paying rent and bein evictable on short notice. If any of those factors doesn't hold, there will be no such "guardians". For example, I am sure it is not possible in Germany because tenancy contracts that include short-notice eviction clauses are void.

roel_v 13y ago
"For example, I am sure it is not possible in Germany because tenancy contracts that include short-notice eviction clauses are void." Dutch rent law is stricter than German and it's still allowed. It's a combination of a regulatory framework at a higher level, and anti-squatting not being 'renting' but 'borrowing'. (terminology is a problem here since there is no word in English for the civil law legal form that is used. The closest is 'lease' but that is used for regular renting already in English.) More to your point, it certainly exists in Germany, and is generally called "Hauswachter" (that is, the people living there, not sure about the form itself). Companies offering it are for example http://de.cameloteurope.com/ http://de.cameloteurope.com/ .
HeyLaughingBoy 13y ago
There is a similar situation in the US where people live for very low rent in vacant houses that are for sale. The arrangement is that in exchange for substantially below market rent (perhaps 70% less), they keep the house clean, are ready to move out with 30 days notice, and leave the house when the agent needs to show it. I have friends who did this in a nice house in an expensive town for a couple years, taking advantage of the low rent to save for a down payment on their own home.
- JoeAltmaier 13y ago
  Yeah I looked at a house occupied by a temporary renter. She had a passel of squalling kids, probably primed for the event of our arrival. Also she kept a pot of cabbage on the stove, which she had boiling when we arrived and took the top off of, smelling up the place like no other. All this to make sure we would flee the place and never come back, thus keeping her cushy low-rent 'temporary' housing. Any wonder this is not a popular option with landlords?