From 1st September (Sat) squatting in residential premises becomes illegal. It will be a criminal offence and so the police can come and arrest squaters and cart them off.



A spokesman for the homeless charity, Crisis, said ""Ultimately the government needs to tackle why homeless people squat in the first place by helping not punishing them." There are no doubt many squats that are ultimately just taking the pis$, but at the same time there will be many affected that I would have sympathy with, and the impression I have is that the incidence of homelessness and sleeping rough in city doorways is on the rise, and has been for a while. Whilst there remain thousands of perfectly serviceable dwellings which stand empty for years, with poor people freezing in piles of cardboard nearby.



No real suggestions about what else they could have brought in. Maybe, for instance, a progressive tax which significantly rises the longer dwellings are left empty, the proceeds to go to homeless charities and organisations? Not a straightforward subject.

This is great news.



I rent out property. Every now and again it stands empty for a few months.



Evicting squatters would have been a nightmare, but as of Saturday all it would take is one phonecall to the old bill, who will probably be only to happy to go round there and do it for me.

Replace Coucil Tax, which is simply a ba[is[/itardised form of poll tax, with Land Value Taxation. Once empty plots of land and empty buildings are being charged at the maximum developed potential of the land, we'll soon see a rise in occupancy.

spoken as someone who rents



If I own a property and choose to keep it empty, that is my right as a property owner.

Now where did I suggest you didn't have that right?

quite right, you suggested taxing me to the hilt, as is usual.

It's also the government's duty to act in the best interests of the nation. So, if the mandate is there they could tax empty property or place conditions on your continued ownership.

How would this work in practice? And what happens to people of modest means who live in property that may be worth considerably more than when they bought it?

BLAAAAAAAAAAAAH.



Again? Come on, change the record.



It won't make any difference at all. None, whatsoever. It won't work, and it's a stupid idea. Especially when the subject is squatters, who NEVER ever have any justification for squatting.

If they live in it it's not empty.

But the proposal was a replacing council tax with land tax. I imagine that this would affect all properties, regardless of if anyone is actually in residence.

It's the value of the land that's taxed, not the property that sits on it. Hence the name: Land Value Taxation