Utrecht: squatted floors on the Oudegracht 106-108 illegally evicted

By: fawda - October 2nd, 2022  Filed under: Communique, News

Utrecht (Netherlands) – Late Saturday evening the police nevertheless proceeded with an illegal eviction to protect the interests of the owner Caron Realestate & Management BV.

Earlier in the day, squatters had announced that they had been using the upper floors for several days.
In response, the police responded accordingly, and an officer of justice explained to the owner that a procedure will be initiated, that he could file a complain and have his arguments for a possible urgent case reviewed by the investigation judge.
This is a new procedure to get squatters out of a property faster that went into effect on July 1, 2022. [Read More]

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Utrecht: neccesity breaks law

By: fawda - October 1st, 2022  Filed under: Communique, News

Squatted buildings in central Utrecht to celebrate 12 years of squatting ban

Utrecht (Netherlands) – On October 1, 2022, exactly 12 years after the Squatting and Vacancy Act (Wet Kraken en leegstand) came into effect, the office spaces above the Intersport on Oudegracht 106-108 were squatted. The squatters aim to demonstrate that squatting is still a legitimate option in addressing and combating the housing crisis and homelessness. Although the law is supposed to combat vacancy, vacancy rates have only increased since the squatting ban. At the same time, there is an unprecedented housing crisis, which means that people searching for a house are on waiting lists, miss out on houses because investors outbid them and, when they do manage to get a house, have to work their asses off to pay the rent. This while squatting and the squatting movement have been criminalized and persecuted. [Read More]

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Utrecht: Building on the Archimedeslaan resquatted

By: fawda - October 3rd, 2021  Filed under: Communique, News

On October 1, 2021, exactly 11 years after the Kraken en Leegstand (squatting and vacancy) law came into force, the buildings on the Archimedeslaan 16 were resquatted. The squatters protested against the continuing vacancy of the former student housing. Although the law should prevent vacancy, the vacancy rate has only increased since then. This while squatting and the squatting movement have been criminalized and prosecuted.

The squatters want to show that squatting is still a legitimate option in addressing and fighting the housing crisis and homelessness. Indeed, squatting still serves as an effective tool against speculators and housing corporations who use houses as tools to make a profit. The squatters wonder why, in times of a real housing crisis, the development of houses is delegated to profit-oriented organizations. [Read More]

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Netherlands: New Squatting Law. Squat Wars IV, Return of the squatting ban

By: fawda - July 6th, 2021  Filed under: News

The Dutch government recently passed a new law, Wet Handhaving Kraakverbod (or law to Enforce the Squatting Ban), with the aim of evicting squatters more quickly. There is a lot of confusion and uncertainty about what exactly this law will entail and especially what influence this will have on squatters and their housing rights.

Unfortunately, this text will not be able to answer all questions since this law has been written by politicians who see squatting as a terrible thing and want to get rid of it, without actually seeming to have much understanding of the legal protocols and procedures. The result is a law that says that from now on, squatters must be evacuated more quickly without clearly establishing exactly how this should work. Both the Public Prosecution Service, the Council of Judiciary and Bond of Lawyers strongly criticised the proposal and called for this law not to be adopted, nevertheless a large majority voted in favour and this law entered into effect on 19 May, 2021. [Read More]

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France: Anti-squat law, the parliament triples the penalties and introduces a denunciation measure

By: fawda - October 4th, 2020  Filed under: Communique, News

The assembly triples the penalties for untitled occupiers and allows any person to refer the matter to the prefect about an expeditious eviction.

Droit au Logement denounces the tripling of penalties against untitled occupiers, voted on Friday morning in the Assembly, at the initiative of the rapporteur Kasbarian, with no other opposition than that of a deputy FI (E. Coquerel).
This punitive measure satisfies security obsessed people, such as deputy E. Cioti, who declares that he wants “squatters to sleep in prison”. The homeless who settle in a vacant apartment are thus labeled criminals, because the street brings them nothing but suffering and premature death.
These MPs, like all those who demand anti-squat measures, do not care about the tenants who are illegally evicted, while no prosecution is initiated, except in exceptional cases.
They are however much more numerous than the very rare “occupants of other people’s homes” that we have been receiving since the end of August.

This punitive measure pursues another goal: by raising the sentence to three years, the public prosecutor’s office can thus bring the occupants to an immediate court appearance, after having taken them into custody. It thus proceeded to expel them without involving the Prefect. [Read More]

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France: an anti-squat amendment threatens untitled occupiers

By: fawda - September 22nd, 2020  Filed under: News

Update of September 17: The anti-squat amendment supported by the Government (Ministry of Housing) generalizing the administrative eviction (by decision of the prefect and without trial) of untitled occupants was adopted in the law committees of the National Assembly on Wednesday, September 16. This proposal is excessively dangerous, and the time frame is short, since the law in which the amendment will be inserted will be discussed in the National Assembly the week of September 28.

An amendment discussed this afternoon in committee extends the expulsion without trial.
To all untitled occupants!

The proposed amendment No. 695 of the ASAP bill, inserted after article 30 bis, of the rapporteur Mr. Guillaume Kasbarian, deputy LREM and supported by the Government, extends the administrative eviction (forced eviction by decision of the prefect and without judgment), within a few days and retroactively to all untitled occupants of housing, offices, premises and vacant land. [Read More]

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UK: Motherfuckers change law again

By: sisulscz - April 21st, 2020  Filed under: Communique

UK UPDATE: Them mother fuckers have changed the law again to suit the interests of lazy property owners who leave places empty and unused.

The Civil Procedure Rules Practice Direction 51Z (government site here) have been updated so as to not include trespass claims and IPOs (ie most squat cases). Previously it did include them.

Therefore, as of April 20, 51Z will no longer apply to possession claims against ‘persons unknown’ or claims for interim possession orders. What does this mean in these uncertain times? This means owners will probably still try illegal methods of eviction, that’s what we are hearing from Brighton and London. How will the courts be working? Zooming?? Who knows, but it will not be a surprise if court cases happen without the awareness of the squatters.

Stay safe everybody!

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Wassenaar: Huize Ivicke squatted

By: fawda - July 5th, 2018  Filed under: Communique, News

Wassenaar, july 5th 2018 – This week, the rapidly decaying mansion Huize Ivicke, at Rust en Vreugdlaan 2, was squatted. Built like a little palace – stripped by a real estate speculator.

His name is Ronnie van de Putte: a man with a remarkable reputation in the real estate world, notorious for speculating with A-locations and deliberately letting monuments rot away. Bever Holding, the real estate fund in which Ronnie van de Putte owns the majority of the shares, owns the mansion and lets it rot for years. It has therefore been given the appearance of a haunted house, which it is to some extent as a ‘letterbox’ for a range of Ronnie affiliates.

The sad fate of Huize Ivicke is a perfect example of speculation. Because the owner renounced his social responsibility for this special monument and the government seems incapable of changing this (1), we as a group of people looking for a house, squatted the mansion. With the help of friends and family we want to do some work around and on the house in the coming weeks and start a creative living-group here. By living in Huize Ivicke and taking the necessary care of it, we hope to save the monument from further decay. [Read More]

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