Squatters take over British mansions worth $20 million
Filed under: Extracurriculars, Real Estate
Two seven-story £15m mansions are now being occupied by 30 artists, students and musicians, who say that the buildings had stood vacant for two years. The buildings are believed to be owned by the Duke of Westminster.
Twenty year old Daniel Moreira told the BBC that "We are invading a house. But if people come and see what we've got to give them - lots of art, lots of good energies - I think they will change their minds." The squatters are hosting a night exhibition featuring art produced by the residents.
Here's what's so cool about this: It's not necessarily even illegal. In England squatting is not against the law as long as there is no forced entry and no damage is caused. Laws governing adverse possession could eventually give these squatters legal title to the property if the Duke of Westminster doesn't do anything to stop it. Under British law, they'd have to occupy the property for more than a decade and meet some other terms and conditions. Given that the two properties are valued at something like $40 million, that seems unlikely.
A spokesman for the Duke of Westminster's Grosvenor Estate told one newspaper that the two buildings are currently leased by a separate company, and that that company would be responsible for any attempts at eviction.
It's hard not be happy for these young people. They've taken up shelter in beautiful homes that were sitting by unoccupied, and they don't seem to be damaging anything.
Here's what's so cool about this: It's not necessarily even illegal. In England squatting is not against the law as long as there is no forced entry and no damage is caused. Laws governing adverse possession could eventually give these squatters legal title to the property if the Duke of Westminster doesn't do anything to stop it. Under British law, they'd have to occupy the property for more than a decade and meet some other terms and conditions. Given that the two properties are valued at something like $40 million, that seems unlikely.
A spokesman for the Duke of Westminster's Grosvenor Estate told one newspaper that the two buildings are currently leased by a separate company, and that that company would be responsible for any attempts at eviction.
It's hard not be happy for these young people. They've taken up shelter in beautiful homes that were sitting by unoccupied, and they don't seem to be damaging anything.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
1-23-2009 @ 8:18PM
just 9 numbers said...
HAHAHAHA!!! Do that in the USSA and you can be sure that the goverment hired assassin Lon Horiuchi will have you in his sights and place a well aimed .223 right between your optic cranial vault.
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1-23-2009 @ 11:36PM
shejay said...
Just 9 numbers,
What the heck are you talking about???? Do you know? Or, just have the need to put your 2 cents in?? Read a paper once
and a while....it is happening in the USA..have never known that anyone has gotten shot. Get a grip!!!
1-23-2009 @ 9:58PM
Maggie said...
I think all the people in the USA who have lost their homes, jobs, and everything else should start moving into all the vacant homes now just sitting and falling into total disrepair. It would be better than just letting the properties go totally down to a value of nothing. I don't know about all of the USA..but in my town, there are several homes that the bank as taken over...they have set all fall and winter...windows are open...grass was never cut...the damage to the inside and outside is unbelievable....the property may have been worth something at the time the bank took pocession...but it has dropped considerably since that time....
Why should americans live on the streets, when so many homes are just sitting empty and the banks that own them..don't seem to give a shit about them....
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1-23-2009 @ 9:01PM
Jane P said...
After the earthquakes in the 1980s, the Italian government moved dispossesed people into "temporary" housing in hotels outside of Naples.
As of 1991, they were there albeit with no electricity or water. The law couldn't make them move.
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1-23-2009 @ 8:33PM
bob wong said...
Drive them into the streets!
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1-23-2009 @ 8:54PM
Vanessa said...
Good for them. They took an abandoned place and made it a home for the homeless. I like it....
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1-24-2009 @ 3:36AM
Shaggy Charlie said...
Sure you like it. You are a socialist pig. Keep your hand out, the OBAMAnation will get you your welfare check soon.
1-23-2009 @ 8:59PM
Harley said...
Here in Fort Lauderdale if an abandoned home is taken over by a bunch of people.. it's usually a gang of crack heads....
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1-24-2009 @ 8:50PM
Sa said...
that is cuz' in the word the joung people have art in the head, but in your contry they only have cocaine. (don't reply. I never read replays from gringos)
1-23-2009 @ 9:09PM
Belinda said...
No one said they were homeless. The article said artists, students, and musicians.
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1-23-2009 @ 9:15PM
howard said...
Hey Vanessa, how about this.........leave town for a while, come back and find your home has been invaded by squatters and you can't get them out. See how you like it. What is good about people taking what doesn't belong to them? If anyone comes into my home without my permission it won't be "good for them." We got what we have by hard work and determination. Let other's do the same.
The nut jobs can go live with you.
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1-23-2009 @ 10:08PM
Bryan said...
"Over 2 years" is a long time to "leave" your house unattended, and apparently unlocked since they didn't break the law by forcing entry into the homes.
1-23-2009 @ 9:24PM
ED said...
Get about20 teamsters with baseball bats and have them do whatever it takes to get these bums out. If the brits don't do it they will end up with a stupid "Spread the Wealth" dumb ass running for pime minister. We just had one take over our White House. We didn't stand up to the ACLU and the liberal left and now look what we have to live with for at least four years or until the people can no long stand his bullshit.
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1-24-2009 @ 9:51AM
JanetM188 said...
You are so right Ed! What is it with everyone thinking it's okay to take whatever they want??? Unoccupied or not, the property wasn't abandoned. It's being leased out by a separate company. And if no one was staying in it, that's their prerogative. If my grandma flies south every winter for 6 months, does that give lowlifes permission to stay in her house while she's not using it??? When did it become socially acceptable for people to take without asking simply because they feel they have the right to???
1-23-2009 @ 9:39PM
Robert said...
Excuse me, but do you have any Grey Poupon? No but theres some brown poop on the wall over there!
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1-23-2009 @ 10:04PM
Dean said...
Ed, I am a Teamser and proud of it! I also take exception to your remark. However, I am also conservative and believe you have a right to voice your opinion. Now put on your helmet and don't play in the street.
If they are taking care of the place and paying utilities, it would not bother me one bit.
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1-23-2009 @ 9:55PM
Des said...
harley and vanessa have good points. howard didnt understand that the article said the homes were vacant for at least 2 years. belinda is right.
the rest of you just suck big time due to your overwhelming ignorance regarding what has happened and what is going on.
try leaving the house and seeing the real world, you whiners.
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1-28-2009 @ 11:47PM
David said...
Well Said! These self-righteous people seem to have their heads in the sand. In all the colossal inefficiency and unfairness of life (that these people seem to want to protect at all cost), stories like that remind me that things are not without hope if people can take things into their own hands a bit like this. Better than an obscenely valuable property sitting empty. Great stuff!
1-23-2009 @ 10:06PM
DM said...
Hey, I bet Obama's nice big house in Chicago is empty now !!
Why don't a bunch of negro crack addicts just move right in and make themselves right at home? I'm sure he wouldn't mind. After all, didn't he say we should share the wealth?
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1-23-2009 @ 10:19PM
USACitizen#742828393 said...
No force entry ? Sure. The doors were unlocked ... come on in ! The Brits are so stupid on some things ... LMAO
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