Was watching some guy on RTE this evening interviewing people who were going down the pawn shop. One of the older lads thought the 26 year old electrician chap was mad scrapping by paying rent on his one room bedsit. The discussion that followed went like this :

Squatting is not a criminal offense. The legal procedure to evict was very difficult. Word of mouth was how people found empty premises but now we have 430,000 unemployed, Facebook and Twitter. All those estates don't have security and when NAMA moves in there will be all kinds of issues over ownership.

The conclusion was - squatters paradise.

Tell me I'm wrong.

I squatted in Amsterdam in the late seventies. There was always a feeling that one was not quite safe.

And whatever about your rights or whether it is illegal or not, what happens if the owner sends in a few heavies to sort out the situation?

Seriously - the developer has either sunk or fecked off. If Nama are taking over why not let them have the problem. He can say it was fine until ye took over.

Ok then go for it but there may be consequences. Like a house with squatters is sold. The new owner will want to exercise his rights.

And it is a lot more difficult than just talking about it on an internet bb. I squatted in London too but only for a short time. Local kids started throwing rocks through the front window of the house.

Trespass was traditionally unlawful - rather than illegal. That is, it was a civil wrong rather than a crime. This is no longer the case and trespass, thus squatting, is a criminal offence. Unless one manages to get away with it for 12 years (if it is private property) and then they get title over the property by way of adverse possession - squatters rights.

... but entering an open door isn't. The guys talked about that and said it normal for doors to be "found" open. Guards were not in a position to disprove.

I own my own house but was wondering why squatting was not proliferating. Does anyone know of specific legislation to make it a crime ?

Yes, the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2002 created the criminal offence of trespass. It was enacted to deal with largescale trespass by groups such as those from the travelling community but it would apply to someone trying to squat on property, public or private.

It is now an offence for anyone, without the consent of the owner, to enter or occupy land; or to bring any object onto it where such entry or occupation is likely to damage the land substantially; affect any amenity to do with the land; prevent anyone entitled to use the land from making reasonable use of it, or render the use of the land unsanitary or unsafe. Offences are punishable by fines of up to €3,000 and/or one month’s imprisonment.

I had wondered about squatting and why it is not more common on some earlier threads.

Here are two links to legal:

MJ O'Connor Solicitors - Wexford & Waterford, Ireland, Leading South East Law Firm - The Brief

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The European Court of Human Rights reaffirmed the Common Law Position that Adverse Possession is a sound legal doctrine. That is, that a person who takes possession of land that is not his own, without fraud, force or secrecy and keeps it as his own for a period of 12 years (30 years for public authority land) is entitled to title over that by way of adverse possession. Until those 12 years are up the squatter is a trespasser, may be evicted by order of the civil courts or arrested by the Gardaí and charged with the criminal offence of trespass under the Act referred to above.

Yes, a landlord has no right to evict a tenant. If you are being threatened with eviction, call Threshold in Batchelors walk straight away and they will help you make an application to the PRTB. Once that is done, the landlord is bound to wait until the PRTB makes its decision - which could be up to 18 months. Even then, you can appeal the decision. So if you have no money for rent, then just dont pay it, or offer the landlord what you can afford. Certainly dont allow him/her to put you on the street.

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