Squatting is a process that’s been going on for hundreds of years. The dictionary definition is “someone who unlawfully occupies an uninhabited building or settles on a piece of land they do not own.” Today, we’re going to present you with a brief history of squatting in this post. You can always check out the infographic attached if you want to know more.
1381
This is when the famous “peasants revolt” occurred. Thanks to greedy governments and harsh times, squatting became an essential means for poor people to find shelter.
1950
Once the second world war had finished, many ex-servicemen and their families found themselves homeless. There were lots of empty military camps around Britain at the time, and so many of them squatted there. Best estimates suggest that somewhere in the region of 45,000 did that.
1960
Something called the “family squatting movement” began in the 1960s. It involved poor people who couldn’t find properties on the council list occupying empty homes around the country.
1970
Thanks to a new movement involving punks, many anarchists started squatting in the 1970s as a way of avoiding rent payments. By 1977, it was made illegal for anyone to force entry on a property where someone was living. Thus, the term “squatters rights” was coined.
2012
After many legal changes throughout the years, squatting was finally made a criminal offence in 2012. That means anyone caught inside a property they did not own could now be arrested and given a prison sentence.
Thanks for reading through this post folks. Don’t forget to check out the stunning infographic for more information.
Infographic By www.global-guardians.co.uk
