Netherlands: Camelot is using people in need of housing as ‘real estate pawns’ and as ‘out-sourced dwellers’ that only serve to facilitate speculation

By: fawda - March 12th, 2014  Filed under: News
Camelot_antisquatted_castle

Accusation of Camelot Europe by Bond Precaire Woonvormen

Camelot Europe is an international vacant property management company, that started in the Netherlands. Their business is vacant property management services to provide real estate clients with a ‘cost effective, high quality and flexible solution’ to protect vacant properties against vandalism and such. Camelot provides these services in the UK, Ireland, Scotland, France, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium and is now attending Mipim 2014.

Its ‘services’ to the real estate sector are in fact a way to maximise profit from vacant properties by exploiting people in need of a house. Camelot was one of the first Ductch ‘antisquat’ companies that came up with the idea of having people in need of housing live in empty buildings as ‘property protectors’ on temporary flex-contracts and without any tenants rights. These dwellers can be kicked out of their house on a two weeks notice, are deprived of privacy as Camelot will randomly inspect their premises to see if they ‘behave properly’, and are forced to agree to a set of conditions that constrain their freedom of behaviour and mobility. [Read More]

Tags: , , ,

Amsterdam Metropolitan Area has no place on Mipim

By: fawda - March 12th, 2014  Filed under: News

Accusal of Amsterdam Metropolitan Area by speculation research collective SPOK

The Mipim is celebrating its 25th birthday this year. As all previous years, a lot of Dutch companies and local governments will be present, the latter also paying € 1600,- for an entrance fee probably paid for from our taxes. One of the local Dutch authorities present for the Mipim festivities, that really should have stayed at home to work on solving the serious housing shortages in its area, is the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area.

Despite the continuing Dutch policies promoting home-ownership, in Amsterdam alone 270.000 people are searching for an affordable house to rent. They cannot afford or are not interested in buying a house. Nor can they rent on the liberalised (expensive) rental housing market in Amsterdam where prices have become extremely high, as one of the results of the home-ownership promotion policies. [Read More]

Tags: , ,

Scandal of Europe’s 11million empty homes

By: sisulscz - March 7th, 2014  Filed under: News

FROM THE GUARDIAN, MAINSTREAM UK PRESS

There are more than 700,000 vacant homes in the UK, something housing campaigners say is a shocking waste. Photograph: Martin Godwin

More than 11m homes lie empty across Europe – enough to house all of the continent’s homeless twice over – according to figures collated by the Guardian from across the EU.

In Spain more than 3.4m homes lie vacant, in excess of 2m homes are empty in each of France and Italy, 1.8m in Germany and more than 700,000 in the UK.
[Read More]

Tags: ,

Calais: Communiqué, 3 impasse Leclercq re-squatted

By: fawda - March 2nd, 2014  Filed under: News
2014-02-28_3_impasse_Leclercq_Calais_boarded_up_after_illegal_eviction

Hello neighbours, hello whoever concerned,

We are the people who squatted the house on 3 impasse Leclercq, Calais. On Friday February 28th, the police arrived at the house and smashed the door to get inside to the house. They use violence to get in and took all of us to the police station. Four hours later, we were all out without charges. Living in a house has nothing illegal. The police is well aware of that but they don’t respect the law in Calais. Justice has to decide if we have to go, not the police. [Read More]

Tags: , ,

Illegal Eviction of Occupied House in Calais

By: midnight - March 1st, 2014  Filed under: Communique
Eviction_squat_3_impasse_Leclercq_Calais

The mayor of Calais ranks amongst the most extreme Right in France!

Today (28/02), an occupied house belonging to the Municipality, located at 3 Impasse Leclercq, was illegally evicted in the early afternoon despite conclusive and legally sound evidence of it having been occupied for at least three days (meaning it should be entitled to a court case and notice under french law)! The media had been informed several hours before the eviction and two leading newspapers in the area had published proof of occupation. “La Voix de Nord” published an article showing a picture of this proof, sealed registered letters with the sent date, Wednesday, February 26, 2014 in which there were testimonies and timestamped photos showing that the occupation of the building had been for longer than 48 hours. [Read More]

Tags: , , ,

Calais: Come on! Come on! Communiqué regarding the occupation of a number of buildings

By: midnight - February 28th, 2014  Filed under: Communique, News

We are a group of people from different countries and different political backgrounds who are fighting for the right to housing for everyone, whatever their origin. We announce that we have been occupying (now for more than 48 hours), empty and abandoned public buildings in different parts of the town of Calais, and intend to continue these occupations and maintain them as “legal squats” for as long as possible:

Why here and why now? There are more than 4,000 buildings empty in Calais, which represents 9 % of homes (500 of these are the property of a single, large, housing association- the major ‘social’ landlord in the city), and yet against this backdrop more than 500 people are on the streets, out of sight of any dignified solution and used only as sound bites by politicians who proport to offer assistance and in reality offering nothing. To address this situation they (the town hall/authorities) have turned Calais into a ghost town . [Read More]

Tags: , ,

Camden, London: Two charged with Section 144 after council house occupied in protest of sell-offs and then evicted

By: midnight - February 25th, 2014  Filed under: News, Press release

Update 25-02 11pm: Both people charged with Section 144 and bailed for plea hearing next month in Highbury Corner Magistrates Court.

Update 25/02 12pm: Police broke in to arrest two people on suspicion of Section 144 LASPO (see  video).

Update 24/02 5pm: Police have showed up and said “Oh it’s a protest, happy days” and within two minutes all four cop cars left.

Article from 23-02 12pm: Camden Housing Action Group is occupying council property on Southampton road to protest against its selling off to private developers.

[Read More]

Tags: , , , , ,

Calais: Fascist attacks continue against Rue Émile Dumont, Coulogne & call-out for assembly

By: midnight - February 24th, 2014  Filed under: News

UPDATE 8AM Monday 24/2:

Local Calais media are reporting the demonstration of around 50 racists continued through Sunday. The fire brigade were called after a group of men were spotted nearby by neighbours with jerrycans of petrol to prepare more molotov cocktails. [Read More]

Tags: , , , ,

Calais: Communiqué from people inside Rue Émile Dumont, Coulogne

By: fawda - February 23rd, 2014  Filed under: News
squat_122_rue_Émile_Dumont_Coulogne

Saturday’s news from the inhabitants of 122 Rue Émile Dumont in Coulogn (suburb of Calais)

“We’re writing to you again with the latest news from the front. Our aggressors have reached a new level of violence. On Saturday 22, we were attacked by intensive volleys of stones from two in the afternoon until half past midnight. Around 4.30 pm, one man who had threatened on the fb page of ‘Sauvons Calais’ (‘Save Calais’) to kill some migrants and throw them into the canal threw a rock, from 6 metres away, which hit the neck of a friend who had gone outside to talk with some of the neighbours. When we went outside to eat in the garden, we received a rain of some 20 stones in just a few seconds. As the numerous attacks on the roof and the windows went on, the crowd shouted encouragement every time a stone hit its target. [Read More]

Tags: , ,

London: MET plans to criminalise homelessness in 6 boroughs – Protest Wednesday 26th 10am

By: dolph-l - February 23rd, 2014  Filed under: News

Over 500 protesters expected to confront London Mayor Boris Johnson’s Question Time on Wednesday

The Met have announced plans to make ‘rough sleeping’ a crime in 6 London boroughs. Operation Encompass will be in effect in Camden, Islington, Lambeth, Southwark and Westminster, alongside Croydon.

We are opposed to this latest attack on Homeless people and will protest at City Hall to tell Boris Johnson and the Greater London Authority (GLA) to call off this hideous campaign criminalising some of the most vulnerable people in our city. Already there have been arrests of people whose only crime is to be homeless due to the lack of Shelter spaces and suitable accomodation. [Read More]

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Barnstaple, North Devon: Local Pub Squatted

By: dolph-l - February 23rd, 2014  Filed under: News

Residence of Forchers housing estate in Barnstaple, North Devon have occupied their pub The Borough Arms which is due to be knocked down to make way for flats as part of a “regeneration” scheme.

The locals have taken their building back and hope to save it from from the re-development as they highlight a lack of local facilities.

The occupation, which has been underway for a week has been met with positive media attention, click here for mainstream media video full report . [Read More]

Tags: , , ,

Richmond, London: Bailiff arrested after rooftop protest against illegal eviction attempt

By: dolph-l - February 21st, 2014  Filed under: News

A squatter staged a rooftop protest and a bailiff was arrested after a stand-off in Richmond on Wednesday afternoon.

The bailiff, a 30-year-old man, was arrested after letting himself into the commercial building, 127-133 Sheen Road, by putting his hand through a letterbox to undo a latch.

The arrest came after the road was closed in both directions, causing major traffic problems, after a squatter locked himself on the roof of the three-storey building, threatening to jump unless people left. [Read More]

Tags: ,