Four years of 'living hell' for homeowners facing blight of squatters

 
Invasion of privacy: Their living room is now overlooked by squatters
David Churchill13 September 2013

Powers brought in to evict squatters were today branded “pointless” by homeowners who told of their four-year struggle being drawn out by a legal loophole.

The group of Streatham residents say their life has been made hell by neighbouring foreign squatters, including eastern Europeans, who cause rubbish pile-ups, play music until the early hours and invade their privacy.

But police cannot evict them because the building is classed as commercial property. Last August the law was changed to make squatting a criminal offence in residential properties, but not commercial ones. Campaigners say squatters are “playing the system”.

Residents who live next to the Streatham squat, in Sunnyhill Road, where up to 15 people now live, today demanded changes to ensure homeowners have more rights than squatters. Constituency MP Chuka Umunna, who has called for a change in the law, told the Standard it was “unfair” for the Streatham squatters to be living there for free during a “cost of living crisis”.

Richard and Philomena Chadwick, whose house backs on to the squat, have lived in the road for 40 years. Mr Chadwick said: “This is spoiling our home. They have made being here a living hell. The law is pointless, toothless, not fit for purpose. The purpose was to evict squatters quickly out of residential properties, but all it’s done is moved them to the properties classed as commercial. They seem to have all the rights.”

The couple told of their horror at bongos and loud music blaring overnight and invasion of privacy with people loitering on their garden wall.

Susan Bristol, 53, who lives opposite, said: “You can hear the music through my double glazing. It’s not even our own people who are using it. It’s foreigners coming over here, exploiting it and benefiting from it.”

Drew Roy, 49, said: “When we are in our living room they are sitting on the roof staring in, which as you can imagine is pretty galling. We live here and work hard to pay our taxes so our rubbish is collected, but they just get theirs taken away for free.”

Developer and architect Mike Moxley, whose company owns the site and still pays rates on it, cannot enter the property legally after squatters changed the locks. He said: “I want them out.”

One squatter told the Standard: “We’re not doing anything wrong. This is commercial property.”

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