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Squatting is not the problem. Vandalism, or criminal damage, is the problem.

• jackgavigan 13y ago
  That's not correct. Squatting IS a problem, even where no vandalism or criminal damage takes place. An empty office, not far from where I live was occupied by squatters last year. It literally had a "To Let" sign up above the door. The presence of the squatter made it impossible to get a tenant in until after the squatters had been kicked out which can, in itself, be quite expensive. How do you think the landlord felt? He had to continue paying the mortgage and pay thousands more in legal fees and costs to evict the squatters and, all the time, he was losing revenue because he couldn't get a tenant in. Building can be empty for all sorts of reasons - between tenancies, pending repairs or building work, or awaiting the granting of planning permission for redevelopment. It's as if someone hacks into your computer while you're asleep, but you're not allowed to kick them off or even reboot/switch off the computer, unless you go to court first.