Editing Squatting (section)

=== Western Europe ===
[[File:CSOA La Carboneria façana globus 2.jpg|thumb|right|Facade of the evicted Carboneria squat in Barcelona|alt=Exterior of squat]]

In many West European countries, since the 1960s and 1970s, there are both squatted houses used as residences and [[self-managed social centre]]s where people pursue social and cultural activities.<ref name="pruijt" /> In [[Belgium]], the village of [[Doel]] was slowly occupied by squatters and used by street artists after becoming a [[ghost village]] when the plans to expand [[Port of Antwerp]] stalled.<ref name="Doel">{{cite news |last1=Dunmall |first1=Giovanna |title=Doel: The ghost town that's a paradise for graffiti artists |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/jun/04/doel-ghost-town-belgium-street-art-decay |access-date=28 April 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=4 June 2014 |language=en |archive-date=28 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428105647/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/jun/04/doel-ghost-town-belgium-street-art-decay |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Freetown Christiania|Christiania]] in [[Copenhagen]], [[Denmark]], is an independent community of almost 900 people founded in 1971 on the site of an abandoned military zone. In Copenhagen, as in other European cities such as Berlin and Amsterdam, the squatter movement was large in the 1980s. It was a [[social movement]], providing housing and alternative culture. A flashpoint came in 1986 with the [[Battle of Ryesgade]]. Another flashpoint came in 2007 when [[Ungdomshuset]] was evicted. While not technically a squat until 14 December 2006, it was a social centre used by squatters and people involved in alternative culture more generally. After a year of protests, the city council donated a new building.<ref>{{cite news |publisher=[[Politiken]] |language=da |date=2008-06-30 |access-date=2008-06-30 |url=http://politiken.dk/indland/article532135.ece |title=Aktivister har overtaget nyt ungdomshus |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080803045131/http://politiken.dk/indland/article532135.ece |archive-date=2008-08-03 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Dublin Housing Action Committee]] (DHAC) was active between 1968 and 1971, occupying buildings to protest the housing crisis in Ireland.<ref name="DHAC">{{cite news |last1=McEneaney |first1=Sinead |title=Political commemoration and housing protest in Ireland: A lesson from the 1960s |url=https://www.historyworkshop.org.uk/political-commemoration-and-housing-protest-in-ireland-a-lesson-from-the-1960s/ |access-date=28 April 2021 |work=History Workshop |date=14 May 2019 |archive-date=28 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428120642/https://www.historyworkshop.org.uk/political-commemoration-and-housing-protest-in-ireland-a-lesson-from-the-1960s/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Prohibition of Forcible Entry and Occupation Act of 1971 criminalized squatting.<ref name="Murray307">{{cite book |last1=Murray |first1=Thomas |title=Contesting Economic and Social Rights in Ireland: Constitution, State and Society, 1848–2016 |year=2016 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-15535-0 |page=307 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yx-nDAAAQBAJ |language=en |access-date=2023-03-22 |archive-date=2023-06-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230612223400/https://books.google.com/books?id=Yx-nDAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> Squatters can gain title to land and property by adverse possession as governed by the 1957 Statute of Limitations Act.<ref name="UO">{{cite news |last1=Donnellan |first1=Grace |title=Precarious Living: Squatters' rights in Ireland |url=https://universityobserver.ie/precarious-living-squatters-rights-in-ireland/ |access-date=28 April 2021 |work=University Observer |date=21 April 2019 |language=en-ie |archive-date=28 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428120642/https://universityobserver.ie/precarious-living-squatters-rights-in-ireland/ |url-status=live }}</ref> From the 1990s onwards, there have been occasional [[Squatting in Ireland|political squats]] such as Disco Disco, Magpie and [[Grangegorman]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Dan Griffin |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/squatter-supporters-hurt-in-grangegorman-stand-off-1.2150573 |title=Squatter Supporters hurt in Grangegorman stand off |newspaper=Irish Times |access-date=28 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706053002/http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/squatter-supporters-hurt-in-grangegorman-stand-off-1.2150573 |archive-date=6 July 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ShortHistoryDublin">{{cite news |last1=McDermott |first1=Fiachradh |title=The short history of squatting in Dublin: Rejecting consumerism and being 'a bit punk' |url=https://www.thejournal.ie/squatting-dublin-3771031-Dec2017/ |access-date=28 April 2021| work=The Journal |language=en |archive-date=30 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180430160712/http://www.thejournal.ie/squatting-dublin-3771031-Dec2017/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In early twentieth century [[France]], several artists who would later become world-famous, such as [[Guillaume Apollinaire]], [[Amedeo Modigliani]] and [[Pablo Picasso]] squatted at the {{Lang|fr|[[Bateau-Lavoir]]|italic=no}}, in [[Montmartre]], [[Paris]]. Paris moved to legitimize some popular artist squats in the mid-2000s by purchasing and renovating the buildings for artist–residents. An example is [[Les Frigos]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Pfeiffer |first1=Alice |title=Artists' Squats in Paris |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2010-01-26 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/travel/31headsup.html |issn=0362-4331 |df=mdy-all |access-date=2017-09-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729180852/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/travel/31headsup.html |archive-date=2017-07-29 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the 2010s there have been several land squats protesting against large infrastructure projects. These are known collectively as [[Zone to Defend]] or ZAD (French: zone à défendre). The first and largest was the [[ZAD de Notre-Dame-des-Landes]], which successfully opposed an airport project near Nantes.<ref name="GdC">{{cite news |last1=Soutra |first1=Hugo |title=Zones à Défendre : les aménageurs face à une nouvelle contrainte |url=https://www.lagazettedescommunes.com/427131/zones-a-defendre-les-amenageurs-face-a-une-nouvelle-contrainte/ |access-date=1 October 2020 |work=La Gazette des Communes |date=1 February 2016 |language=fr-FR |archive-date=27 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327123031/https://www.lagazettedescommunes.com/427131/zones-a-defendre-les-amenageurs-face-a-une-nouvelle-contrainte/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Chien-Rouge-p1020706.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Exterior of squat|The Chien Rouge (Red Dog) in [[Lausanne]], in a former hospital]]
[[Geneva]] in Switzerland had 160 buildings illegally occupied and more than 2,000 squatters, in the middle of the 1990s.<ref name=SI>{{cite news| last = Swissinfo| date = 2007-07-23| title = Geneva's historic Rhino squat evicted| url = https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/geneva-s-historic-rhino-squat-evicted/6020430| url-status = live| work = Swissinfo| access-date = 2019-03-26| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190327202626/https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/geneva-s-historic-rhino-squat-evicted/6020430| archive-date = 2019-03-27}}</ref> The [[RHINO (squat)|RHINO]] ({{Lang|fr|Retour des Habitants dans les Immeubles Non-Occupés}}, in English: ''Return of Inhabitants to Non-Occupied Buildings'') was a 19-year-long squat in Geneva. It occupied two buildings on the Boulevard des Philosophes, a few blocks away from the main campus of the [[University of Geneva]]. The RHINO organisation often faced legal troubles, and Geneva police evicted the inhabitants on July 23, 2007.<ref name=SI /> There were large riots in [[Zürich]] when the [[Binz occupation]] was evicted in 2013. The squatters moved to another building.<ref name=sieben>{{cite news|last=Feusi|first=Alois|title=Die Binz-Besetzer sind abgezogen|url=http://www.nzz.ch/zuerich/kanton-zuerich-wird-strafanzeige-einreichen-1.18090674|access-date=6 December 2016|work=[[Neue Zürcher Zeitung]]|date=31 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220085104/http://www.nzz.ch/zuerich/kanton-zuerich-wird-strafanzeige-einreichen-1.18090674|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Raeumung Topf und Soehne-09.jpg|thumb|Police during eviction of the [[J.A. Topf & Söhne|Topf & Söhne]] squat, 16 April 2009]]
During the [[public opposition]] in the 1970s, squatting in West German cities led to what {{ill|Margit Mayer|de}} termed "a self-confident urban counterculture with its own infrastructure of newspapers, self-managed collectives and housing cooperatives, feminist groups, and so on, which was prepared to intervene in local and broader politics".<ref>Mayer M. ''The Career of Urban Social Movements in West Germany'' in eds Fisher R and Kling J ''Urban Affairs Annual Review'' volume 41 London (1993)</ref> The [[Autonomen]] movement protected squats against eviction and participated in radical direct action in cities such as Berlin. The squats were mainly for residential and social use. Squatting became known by the term {{Lang|de|instandbesetzen}}, from {{Lang|de|instandsetzen}} ("renovating") and ''{{Lang|de|besetzen}}'' ("occupying").<ref name="pruijt" /> Well-known contemporary squats include [[Køpi]] in Berlin and [[Rote Flora]] in Hamburg.<ref name="Køpi">{{cite news |last1=Rosenbach |first1=Marcel |last2=Berg |first2=Stefan |title=Last Stand for the Far-Left: Berlin Commune Fights the Property Developers |url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/last-stand-for-the-far-left-berlin-commune-fights-the-property-developers-a-525017.html |access-date=21 December 2020 |work=Spiegel |date=21 December 2007 |archive-date=24 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224135727/https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/last-stand-for-the-far-left-berlin-commune-fights-the-property-developers-a-525017.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="RF">{{cite news |title=The Rote Flora: the iconic Hamburg squat right-wingers call a danger to the nation |url=https://www.thelocal.de/20170711/what-you-should-know-about-hamburgs-historic-left-wing-squat-the-rote-flora-g20 |access-date=21 December 2020 |work=The Local |agency=DPA |date=11 July 2017 |archive-date=12 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212031313/https://www.thelocal.de/20170711/what-you-should-know-about-hamburgs-historic-left-wing-squat-the-rote-flora-g20 |url-status=live }}</ref> Legalised housing projects include [[Hafenstraße]] in Hamburg and [[Kiefernstraße]] in Düsseldorf.<ref name="Hafenstraße">{{cite news |title=1995: Häuser der Hafenstraße gehen an ihre Bewohner |url=https://www.ndr.de/geschichte/schauplaetze/Hamburger-Hafenstrasse--Kampf-um-besetzte-Haeuser,hafenstrasse155.html |access-date=15 November 2020 |work=www.ndr.de |date=14 February 2020 |language=de |archive-date=1 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101061528/https://www.ndr.de/geschichte/schauplaetze/Hamburger-Hafenstrasse--Kampf-um-besetzte-Haeuser,hafenstrasse155.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Kiefernstraße">{{cite news |title=Düsseldorf: Die Hausbesetzer von der Kiefernstraße |url=https://rp-online.de/panorama/wissen/die-hausbesetzer-von-der-kiefernstrasse_aid-14716159 |access-date=15 November 2020 |work=RP Online |date=27 August 2013 |language=de |archive-date=13 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213165900/https://rp-online.de/panorama/wissen/die-hausbesetzer-von-der-kiefernstrasse_aid-14716159 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Mietshäuser Syndikat]] was founded in 1992 by people who had been squatting in [[Freiburg im Breisgau]] in the 1980s<ref>{{Cite web |title=Germany's Collective Alternative to the Private Housing Swindle |url=https://tribunemag.co.uk/2022/07/germany-mietshauser-syndikat-property-housing |access-date=2022-09-09 |website=tribunemag.co.uk |language=en-GB |quote=The idea of the syndicate was born among those who occupied an abandoned machine production factory in Freiburg im Breisgau, another university town near the French border, in the 1980s. |archive-date=2022-09-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909133157/https://tribunemag.co.uk/2022/07/germany-mietshauser-syndikat-property-housing |url-status=live }}</ref> to provide a way of transforming private property into [[collective ownership]], including squats.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Joint Venture – Mietshäuser Syndikat |url=https://www.syndikat.org/en/the-joint-venture/ |access-date=2022-09-09 |language=en-GB |quote="... all the house projects have a similar point of departure: ... the occupants of an object slated for demolition, who search for a perspective in spite of the emotional roller-coaster ride of eviction threats and negotiations." |archive-date=2022-09-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220908112859/https://www.syndikat.org/en/the-joint-venture/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Squatting has also been used as a tactic for campaigning purposes, such as the [[Anatopia]] project, which protested against a [[Mercedes-Benz]] test track.<ref name="Geschichte">{{cite book |last1=Amantine |title="Die Häuser denen, die drin wohnen!" Kleine Geschichte der Häuserkämpfe in Deutschland |date=2012 |publisher=Unrast Verlag |location=Münster |isbn=978-3-89771-115-0}}</ref> Squatters moved into the former factory site of [[J.A. Topf & Söhne]] in [[Erfurt]] in April 2001 and remained there until they were evicted by police in April 2009. The firm made crematoria for [[Nazi concentration camps]]. The squatters ran culture programs which drew attention to the history of the company. The occupation was known simply as ''{{Lang|de|Das Besetzte Haus}}'' (the occupied house) and was one of the most well known actions of left-radicals of that period in Germany. A book about the occupation was published in 2012, entitled ''Topf & Söhne –'' ''{{Lang|de|Besetzung auf einem Täterort}}'' (''Topf & Söhne – Occupation of a crime scene'').<ref name=besetz>Meyerbeer, Karl; Späth, Pascal (eds) (2012) ''Topf & Söhne – Besetzung auf einem Täterort''. Heidelberg: Graswurzel-Verlag</ref> Since 2012, [[Hambach Forest]] has been occupied by activists seeking to prevent its destruction by the energy company [[RWE]].<ref name="Hambach">{{cite news |last1=Brändlin |first1=Anne-Sophie |title=Clash in German forest as red line is crossed {{!}} DW {{!}} 1 December 2016 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/clash-in-german-forest-as-red-line-is-crossed/a-36606405 |access-date=28 February 2021 |work=Deutsche Welle |date=1 December 2016 |archive-date=3 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191003151931/https://www.dw.com/en/clash-in-german-forest-as-red-line-is-crossed/a-36606405 |url-status=live }}</ref> While the majority of squatting in Germany still comes from left-wing actors there are also examples of [[right-wing squatting]]. An example for right-wing squatting in Berlin is the occupation of Weitlingstraße 122. The house was occupied by [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazis]] in 1990, when a lot of houses in former [[East Germany|GDR]] where empty. They named similar social issues as leftist squatters as their reason for squatting. The space was used for different purposes ranging from a place to live, gather or party, to producing propaganda and planning right-wing terrorist activities. The squat dissolved at the end of 1990 because of disagreements in the heterogenous group of squatters.<ref>Warnecke, Jakob. "Failed takeover: The phenomenon of right-wing squatting." ''Comparative approaches to informal housing around the globe'' (2020): 223-237</ref>

[[File:Reykjavik Squat, Iceland (3446319888).jpg|thumb|right|A short-lived squat in Reykjavík in 2009. The signs say "We take matters into our own hands" and "The home is sacred, the property rights are not"]]
In [[Reykjavík]], the capital of Iceland, there is a small tradition of squatting. In 1919, anarchists occupied a building and were quickly evicted.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Grettisson |first1=Valur |title=Reykjavík Of Yore: Squatting, And The Total Failure of Zoning |url=https://grapevine.is/mag/2017/04/20/reykjavik-of-yore-squatting-and-the-total-failure-of-zoning/ |access-date=12 April 2019 |work=Reykjavík Grapevine |date=20 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412235658/https://grapevine.is/mag/2017/04/20/reykjavik-of-yore-squatting-and-the-total-failure-of-zoning/ |archive-date=12 April 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> Squatters occupied an empty house in downtown Reykjavík on Vatnsstigur street in April 2009.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fontaine |first1=Paul |title=Squatters Take Over Downtown House |url=https://grapevine.is/news/2009/04/15/squatters-take-over-downtown-house/ |access-date=12 April 2019 |work=Reykjavík Grapevine |date=15 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413000457/https://grapevine.is/news/2009/04/15/squatters-take-over-downtown-house/ |archive-date=13 April 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> The squatters set up a freeshop and had plans for a social centre, but the occupation was quickly evicted by the police and 22 people were arrested.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fulton |first1=Catharine |title=Allir á Vatnsstíg, löggan er komin |url=https://grapevine.is/news/2009/04/15/news-squatters-violently-removed-from-vatnsstigur-squat/ |access-date=13 April 2019 |work=Reykjavík Grapevine |date=April 15, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413000455/https://grapevine.is/news/2009/04/15/news-squatters-violently-removed-from-vatnsstigur-squat/ |archive-date=13 April 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> Vatnsstigur 4 was briefly resquatted on May 7, 2009, in solidarity with the [[Rozbrat]] squat in [[Poland]], which was threatened with eviction.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fulton |first1=Catharine |title=We're persistent bastards! |url=https://grapevine.is/news/2009/05/07/resquatting-vatnsstigur/ |access-date=13 April 2019 |work=Reykjavík Grapevine |date=7 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413000456/https://grapevine.is/news/2009/05/07/resquatting-vatnsstigur/ |archive-date=13 April 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> Also in 2009, a group of [[graffiti]] artists called the Pretty Boys occupied Hverfisgata 34. Their intention was to make a clandestine gallery and then when they were not evicted, they legalised the space and called it Gallery Bosnia.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Beckett |first1=RX |title=Refilling 101 |url=https://grapevine.is/mag/articles/2009/11/17/article-refilling-101/ |access-date=13 April 2019 |work=Reykjavík Grapevine |date=17 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413001058/https://grapevine.is/mag/articles/2009/11/17/article-refilling-101/ |archive-date=13 April 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> When the Reykjavíkur Akademían (the Reykjavík Academy) was evicted at short notice from Hringbraut 121 in November 2011, it was occupied in protest. The space, which had hosted lectures and also Iceland's trade union and anarchist libraries, was moved to another location but the occupiers were unhappy that the new use of the building would be a guest house for tourists. An art exhibition was organised, with a camera obscura, live music and shadow theatre.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Benjamin |first1=Gabríel |title=The New Political Squat In Town |url=https://grapevine.is/news/2014/11/03/the-new-political-squat-in-town/ |access-date=13 April 2019 |work=Reykjavík Grapevine |date=3 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413002045/https://grapevine.is/news/2014/11/03/the-new-political-squat-in-town/ |archive-date=13 April 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Squatting Graffiti in Rome.jpg|thumb|''Rome barricades itself''. A squatting symbol appearing as graffiti in Rome]]
In Italy, despite the lack of official data, it appears that about 50,000 buildings all over the country are unused or abandoned and thus subject to squatting.<ref>{{cite news|author=Giuseppe Portonera|title=The Problem of Squatting in Italy: A New Approach by the Courts|newspaper=IPRI 2019|editor=International Property Rights Alliance|page=1|ssrn=3472293}}</ref> Squatting has no legal basis, but many squats are used as [[social centre]]s. The first occupations of abandoned buildings began in 1968 with the left-wing movements [[Lotta Continua]] and [[Potere Operaio]]. Out of the breakup of these two movements was born [[Autonomia Operaia]], which was composed of a Marxist–Leninist and Maoist wing and also an anarchist and more libertarian one. These squats had [[Marxist–Leninist]] (but also [[Stalinist]] and [[Maoist]]) ideals and came from the left wing of Autonomia. The militants of the Italian armed struggle (the New [[Red Brigades]]) were connected to these squats.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wright |first=Steve |title=Storming Heaven: Class Composition and Struggle in Italian Autonomous Marxism |year= 2002 |publisher=Pluto |isbn=978-0-7453-1606-2}}</ref> There are many left-wing self-organised occupied projects across Italy such as [[Cascina Torchiera]] and [[Centro Sociale Leoncavallo]] in Milan and [[CSOA Forte Prenestino|Forte Prenestino]] in Rome. In Rome there is also a far-right social centre, [[Far-right social centres#CasaPound|Casa Pound]].<ref name="Seizure">{{cite news |title=Italian judge orders seizure of neo-fascist CasaPound headquarters |url=https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/politics-news-pmn/italian-judge-orders-seizure-of-neo-fascist-casapound-headquarters |access-date=7 September 2020 |work=National Post |agency=Reuters |date=4 June 2020 |language=en-CA |archive-date=7 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200907102140/https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/politics-news-pmn/italian-judge-orders-seizure-of-neo-fascist-casapound-headquarters |url-status=live}}</ref> This situation has so far received the approval of Italian courts, which have been reluctant to defend the owners' rights. In contrast with the dominant jurisprudence, new case-law (from the [[Rome]] Tribunal and the [[Supreme Court of Cassation (Italy)|Supreme Court of Cassation]]) instructs the government to pay damages in case of squatting if the institutions have failed to prevent it.<ref>{{cite news|author=Giuseppe Portonera|title=The Problem of Squatting in Italy: A New Approach by the Courts|newspaper=IPRI 2019|editor=International Property Rights Alliance|pages=5–11|ssrn=3472293}}</ref>

[[File:Ubica-panden.jpg|thumb|right|[[Ubica]], a former squat in [[Utrecht]] |alt=Exterior of squat]]
Regarding [[squatting in the Netherlands]], the Dutch use the term ''krakers'' to refer to people who squat houses with the aim of living in them (as opposed to people who break into buildings for the purpose of vandalism or theft).<ref name="pruijt" /> Notable squats in cities around the country include [[ACU (Utrecht)|ACU]] and [[Moira (Utrecht)|Moira]] in [[Utrecht]], the [[Poortgebouw]] in [[Rotterdam]], [[OCCII]], [[OT301]] and [[Vrankrijk]] in Amsterdam, the [[Grote Broek]] in [[Nijmegen]], [[Vrijplaats Koppenhinksteeg]] in [[Leiden]], [[De Vloek]] in [[The Hague]] and the [[Landbouwbelang (squat)|Landbouwbelang]] in [[Maastricht]]. Land squats include [[Ruigoord]] and [[Fort Pannerden]]. On 1 June 2010, squatting in the Netherland became illegal and punishable when a decree was sent out that the [[Netherlands Squatting Ban|squatting ban]] would be enforced from 1 October.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/article1384686.ece/Eerste_Kamer_neemt_antikraakwet_aan |title=Eerste Kamer neemt antikraakwet aan – Binnenland |publisher=Volkskrant.nl |access-date=2010-10-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100604192553/http://www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/article1384686.ece/Eerste_Kamer_neemt_antikraakwet_aan |archive-date=2010-06-04 |url-status=live }}</ref> Following legal challenges, on October 28, 2011, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands decided that the eviction of a squat can only occur after an intervention of a judge.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Dee |first=E.T.C. |s2cid=147421606 |title=The Production of Squatters as Folk Devils: Analysis of a Moral Panic that Facilitated the Criminalization of Squatting in the Netherlands |journal=Deviant Behavior |volume=37 |issue=7 |pages= 784–794|doi=10.1080/01639625.2016.1145019 |year=2016 }}</ref> The Dutch government assessed the effectiveness of the new law in 2015, releasing a report giving statistics on arrests and convictions between October 2010 and December 2014. During this time period, 529 people have been arrested for the act of occupying derelict buildings in 213 separate incidents. Of the 529 arrests, 210 were found guilty. Of those convicted, 39 people were imprisoned for the new offence.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cnsjournal.org/the-vacancy-crunch-the-current-housing-crisis-in-the-netherlands-and-the-repression-of-squatting/ |title=The vacancy crunch: The current housing crisis in the Netherlands and the repression of squatting |publisher=CNS Blog |date=2016-05-14 |access-date=2016-09-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916200004/http://www.cnsjournal.org/the-vacancy-crunch-the-current-housing-crisis-in-the-netherlands-and-the-repression-of-squatting/ |archive-date=2016-09-16 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Barcelona okupa Can Vies.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Can Vies]] social centre in Barcelona|alt=Exterior of squat]]
In [[Francoist Spain]] migrant workers lived in [[slums]] on the periphery of cities.<ref name="CeN">{{cite book |last1=Tudela |first1=Enrique |last2=Cattaneo |first2=Claudio |editor1-last=Katzeff |editor1-first=Ask |editor2-last=van der Steen |editor2-first=Bart |editor3-last=van Hoogenhuijze |editor3-first=Leendert |title=The city is ours: Squatting and autonomous movements in Europe from the 1970s to the present |date=2014 |publisher=PM Press |location=Oakland |isbn=978-1-60486-683-4 |chapter=El Carrer es Nostre! The autonomous movement in Barcelona 1980–2012}}</ref> After the [[Spanish transition to democracy]], residential squatting occurred in Spanish cities such as Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid, Valencia and Zaragoza. The number of squatted social centres in Barcelona grew from under thirty in the 1990s to around sixty in 2014, as recorded by ''Info Usurpa'' (a weekly activist agenda).<ref name="CeN" />{{rp|113}} The influential [[Kasa de la Muntanya]] was occupied in 1989.<ref name="CeN" />{{rp|104}} In 2014, the ultimately unsuccessful attempts to evict the long-running social centre of [[Can Vies]] provoked major riots.<ref name=telegraph1>{{cite news |title=Squat demolition called off after four nights of rioting in Barcelona |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/10865311/Squat-demolition-called-off-after-four-nights-of-rioting-in-Barcelona.html |website=The Telegraph |access-date=1 June 2014 |date=2014-05-30 |last1=Govan |first1=Fiona |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140601061144/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/10865311/Squat-demolition-called-off-after-four-nights-of-rioting-in-Barcelona.html |archive-date=1 June 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> Another long-running squat is [[Can Masdeu]], which survived a concerted eviction attempt in 2002. Eleven occupiers suspended themselves off the walls of the building for several days.<ref name="CeN" />{{rp|114}} Younger squatters set up [[self-managed social centre]]s which hosted events and campaigns. The 1995 [[Criminal Code (Spain)|Criminal Code]] among other things criminalised squatting, but failed to stop it.<ref name="SiS">{{cite book |last1=Martinez |first1=Miguel |editor1-last=Squatting Europe Kollective |title=Squatting in Europe : radical spaces, urban struggles |date=2013 |publisher=Minor Compositions |location=Wivenhoe [UK] |isbn=978-1-57027-257-8 |chapter=The Squatters' Movement in Spain}}</ref> Social centres exist in cities across the country, for example [[Can Masdeu]] and [[Can Vies]] in Barcelona and [[Eskalera Karakola]] and [[La Ingobernable]] in Madrid.<ref name="CeN" /><ref name="Eskalera">{{cite news |last1=Sanz |first1=Segundo |last2=Tejero |first2=Raquel |title=Huelga 8 de marzo: Un centro de 'okupas' feministas financiado por ediles de Carmena está detrás de la huelga del 8M |url=https://okdiario.com/espana/centro-okupas-feministas-financiado-ediles-carmena-esta-detras-huelga-del-8m-3789534 |access-date=3 October 2020 |work=okdiario |date=7 March 2019 |language=es |archive-date=23 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923051336/https://okdiario.com/espana/centro-okupas-feministas-financiado-ediles-carmena-esta-detras-huelga-del-8m-3789534 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Ingob">{{cite news |last1=Ramos Aísa |first1=Luca |last2=Franco |first2=Lucía |title=El Gobierno ejecuta el desalojo del nuevo edificio de La Ingobernable, vacío durante el estado de alarma |url=https://elpais.com/espana/madrid/2020-04-24/el-gobierno-ejecuta-el-desalojo-del-nuevo-edificio-de-la-ingobernable-vacio-durante-el-estado-de-alarma.html |access-date=3 October 2020 |work=EL PAÍS |date=24 April 2020 |language=es |quote="La Ingobernable es un proyecto que va más allá de un espacio" |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426150203/https://elpais.com/espana/madrid/2020-04-24/el-gobierno-ejecuta-el-desalojo-del-nuevo-edificio-de-la-ingobernable-vacio-durante-el-estado-de-alarma.html |archive-date=26 April 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the [[Basque Country (greater region)|Basque Country]] the centres are known as {{ill|gaztetxes|eu|Gaztetxe}}. A well-known example was [[Kukutza]] in Bilbao.<ref name="Kukutza">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=The Basque Country And A Peace Process That Spain Is Ignoring |url=https://ansionnachfionn.com/2011/09/26/the-basque-country-and-a-peace-process-that-spain-is-ignoring/ |work=AN SIONNACH FIONN |location=Ireland |date=2020-10-03 |access-date=2019-04-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403220213/https://ansionnachfionn.com/2011/09/26/the-basque-country-and-a-peace-process-that-spain-is-ignoring/ |archive-date=2019-04-03 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:London Social Centre Russell Square squat 1 20060329.jpg|right|thumb|The "Square Occupied Social Centre", a now-evicted squat in [[Russell Square]], London]]
[[Squatting in England and Wales]] has a long history.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crimethinc.com/blog/2014/05/13/squatting-in-england-heritage-prospects/ |title=Squatting in England: Heritage & Prospects |date=13 May 2014 |website=Crimethinc |access-date=9 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920030441/http://www.crimethinc.com/blog/2014/05/13/squatting-in-england-heritage-prospects/ |archive-date=20 September 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The occupation and cultivation of untended land motivated the [[Peasants' Revolt]] of 1381 and the [[Diggers]] in the 17th century.<ref name=BBC1>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14030336 ''Squatters: Who are they and why do they squat?''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513071232/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14030336 |date=2019-05-13}}, BBC News</ref> In the 20th century, squatters turned to abandoned buildings. Mass squats were organised in a number of prominent public buildings in central London, culminating in the occupation of 144 Piccadilly in 1969. The [[London Street Commune]] or "Hippydilly" garnered worldwide attention.<ref>{{cite news |last=Issimdar |first=Mariam |title=When hippy squatters took over 144 Piccadilly |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-49607777 |url-status=live |publisher=BBC News |date=2019-10-05 |access-date=2020-04-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321002823/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-49607777 |archive-date=2020-03-21 |language=en-GB}}</ref> There were estimated to be 50,000 squatters throughout Britain in the late 1970s, with the majority (30,000) living in London.<ref name="Kearns">{{cite journal |last1=Kearns |first1=K |title=Intraurban Squatting in London |journal=Annals of the Association of American Geographers |volume=69 |issue=4 |pages=589–598 |date=1979 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8306.1979.tb01284.x}}</ref> The BBC reported in 2011 that the government estimated that there were "20,000 squatters in the UK" and "650,000 empty properties".<ref name=BBC1 /> On 1 September 2012, under Section 144 of the [[Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012]], squatting in residential property was criminalised by the [[Cameron–Clegg coalition]], punishable by up to six months in prison or a £5000 fine, or both.<ref name=squattingillegal>{{cite news |title=Squatting set to become a criminal offence |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19429936 |url-status=live |publisher=BBC News |date=31 August 2012 |access-date=20 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920135547/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19429936 |archive-date=20 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/legislation/bills-acts/circulars/squatting-circular.pdf |title=Ministry of Justice Circular No. 2012/04 – Offence of Squatting In a Residential Building |access-date=2013-01-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116092751/http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/legislation/bills-acts/circulars/squatting-circular.pdf |archive-date=2013-01-16 |url-status=live}}</ref> The same year saw the first successful prosecution for squatting, resulting in a 12-week jail sentence.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-19753414|title=First person jailed for squatting|date=2012-09-27|publisher=BBC News|access-date=2018-11-05|language=en-GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105165207/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-19753414|archive-date=2018-11-05|url-status=live}}</ref> Section 61 of the [[Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994]] provides police with additional power to remove trespassers when there is damage to land or property, trespassers are abusive, insulting or threatening or there are over six vehicles on premises related to squatters.<ref name="Hayes">{{cite web|last1=Silkin|first1=Lewis|last2=Hayes|first2=Paul|date=19 December 2018|title=Trespassers will be prosecuted.....or will they?|url=https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=571d6e98-0154-4462-9deb-f20f2cb8f56d|url-access=subscription|access-date=2020-11-10|website=www.lexology.com|publisher=Law Business Research |archive-date=2020-11-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117002233/https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=571d6e98-0154-4462-9deb-f20f2cb8f56d|url-status=live}}</ref> In the late 1960s, people in [[Northern Ireland]] were forced to squat through both poverty and a lack of decent housing. In [[County Tyrone]], there were allegations of unfair housing provision on the basis of politics and religion.<ref name="Sense">{{cite book |last1=McKittrick |first1=David |last2=McVea |first2=David |title=Making Sense of the Troubles |date=2000 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-241-96265-7 |edition=Third, 2012 }}</ref> When a house in the village of [[Caledon, County Tyrone|Caledon]], near [[Dungannon]], was allocated to a young Protestant woman, Emily Beattie, it caused protests.<ref>{{cite news |first=Liam |last=Clarke |url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/lord-kilclooney-im-impressed-by-martin-mcguinnness-development-34302140.html |date=21 December 2015 |title=Lord Kilclooney: 'I'm impressed by Martin McGuinnness' development' |publisher=Belfast Telegraph |access-date=10 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607111031/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/lord-kilclooney-im-impressed-by-martin-mcguinnness-development-34302140.html |archive-date=7 June 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> She was secretary to a solicitor who worked for the Unionist councillor who had given her the house and two Catholic families who had been overlooked complained that the same councillor had scotched plans to build houses for Catholics in the Dungannon area. Several days after the woman had moved in, the Catholic squatters in the house next door were evicted. [[Austin Currie]], then a young politician, complained both at the local council and at Stormont about the situation. He then symbolically occupied the woman's house for a few hours, before being evicted by the [[Royal Ulster Constabulary]] (RUC). One of the policeman was the woman's brother who himself moved into the house later on.<ref name="Sense" /> The incident quickly became a media sensation and in August the civil rights movement arranged one of its first marches, from Coalisland to Dungannon. This was followed in October by a civil rights march in [[Derry]] which was organised by the [[Derry Housing Action Committee]] and the [[Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association]]. The march was repressed by the RUC.<ref name="Sense" /> In 2012, activists from Occupy Belfast squatted a [[Bank of Ireland]] building in Belfast city centre and used it as a social space.<ref>{{cite news |last=McDonald |first=Henry |title=Occupy protesters take over former bank in Belfast |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/jan/16/belfast-occupy-bank-of-ireland |url-status=live |work=The Guardian |date=2012-01-16 |access-date=2015-02-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150602074937/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/jan/16/belfast-occupy-bank-of-ireland |archive-date=2015-06-02}}</ref> Squatting in Northern Ireland was unaffected by the recent law change in England and Wales, and remains a civil matter.<ref name="Nowicki-home">{{cite journal |last=Nowicki |first=Mel |title=Is anyone home? Appropriating and re-narrativisating the post-criminalisation squatting scene in England and Wales |journal=Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space |date=20 October 2020 |volume=39 |issue=4 |page=15 |doi=10.1177/2399654420964835 |doi-access=free}}</ref> 

[[Squatting in Scotland]] is a criminal offence, punishable by a fine or  imprisonment, under the [[Trespass (Scotland) Act 1865]]. The owner or lawful occupier of the property has the right to evict squatters without notice or applying to the court for an eviction order, although when evicting, they cannot do anything that would break the law, for example, use violence.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://scotland.shelter.org.uk/getadvice/advice_topics/finding_a_place_to_live/squatting |title=Squatting |publisher=Scotland.shelter.org.uk |date=2010-07-23 |access-date=2012-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903051704/http://scotland.shelter.org.uk/getadvice/advice_topics/finding_a_place_to_live/squatting |archive-date=2011-09-03 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Nowicki-home" />
Nevertheless, the 19th and early 20th centuries saw various [[land raid]]s in which [[cottar]]s attempted to occupy land for subsistence farming. In 1948, the [[Seven Men of Knoydart]] unsuccessfully squatted land owned by the Nazi-supporting [[Ronald Nall-Cain, 2nd Baron Brocket|Lord Brocket]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Scott |first1=A. |title=Native Stranger: A Journey in Familiar and Foreign Scotland |date=2015 |publisher=Hachette UK |isbn=978-0-7515-6122-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5zyNBQAAQBAJ&q=%22seven+men+of+knoydart%22&pg=PT343 |access-date=10 August 2019 |archive-date=18 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818183128/https://books.google.com/books?id=5zyNBQAAQBAJ&lpg=PT343&dq=%22seven+men+of+knoydart%22&pg=PT343 |url-status=live }}</ref> There have been several [[Road protest in the United Kingdom|road protest]] land squats such as [[Bilston, Midlothian|Bilston Glen]] and [[Pollok Country Park#Protests|Pollok Free State]].<ref name="Bilston">{{cite news |title=Man dies in fire at Bilston Glen protest camp |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-12323095 |access-date=6 April 2019 |publisher=BBC News |date=31 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407092212/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-12323095 |archive-date=7 April 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.eco-action.org/dod/no5/region_scotland.htm |title=Pollok Free State Lives On! |work=Do or Die No.5 |year=1995 |access-date=2019-04-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801002116/http://www.eco-action.org/dod/no5/region_scotland.htm |archive-date=2019-08-01 |url-status=live}}</ref> The former premises of the [[Forest Café]] in Edinburgh were squatted in 2011<ref>{{cite web |url=http://local.stv.tv/edinburgh/news/284162-group-occupies-former-community-arts-centre/ |title=Protesters stage sit-in at community arts centre |publisher=Local.stv.tv |date=2011-12-01 |access-date=2012-11-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103102055/http://local.stv.tv/edinburgh/news/284162-group-occupies-former-community-arts-centre/ |archive-date=3 January 2012 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> and activists occupied a former shelter in Glasgow in 2021, during [[COP26]].<ref name="Glasgow">{{cite news |last1=Stewart |first1=Catriona |title='This is not the end': Activists vow to continue campaign as they leave Glasgow squat |url=https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/19753732.activists-leave-baile-hoose-squat-glasgows-south-side/ |access-date=25 June 2022 |work=Glasgow Times |date=1 December 2001 |language=en |archive-date=1 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201180527/https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/19753732.activists-leave-baile-hoose-squat-glasgows-south-side/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2010, a representative of the UK Bailiff Company claimed that the number of people squatting in Wales was at its highest for 40 years.<ref name="rise" /> The high number of businesses failing in urban Wales has led to squatting becoming a growing issue in large cities like Swansea and Cardiff.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-16807459 |publisher=BBC News |title=Cwtch community group occupies Swansea's empty Dolphin Hotel |date=January 31, 2012 |access-date=June 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120105955/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-16807459 |archive-date=November 20, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/11/29/wru-bosses-vow-to-fight-occupy-cardiff-squatters-91466-29859619/ |work=Wales Online |title=WRU bosses vow to fight Occupy Cardiff squatters |date=November 29, 2011 |access-date=February 29, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119101031/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/11/29/wru-bosses-vow-to-fight-occupy-cardiff-squatters-91466-29859619/ |archive-date=January 19, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Experts said "the majority [of squatters] are forced into the lifestyle by financial pressures." Based on the internal database of UK Bailiff Company, there were 100 cases of squatting in 2009, the highest for 40 years, following trends estimated by the [[Advisory Service for Squatters]] that squatting has doubled in England and Wales since 1995.<ref name="rise">{{cite web |last=Malone |first=Sam |url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2010/09/05/rise-in-squatters-puts-more-welsh-homeowners-at-risk-of-huge-eviction-bills-91466-27203034/ |title=Rise in squatters puts more Welsh homeowners at risk of huge eviction bills |publisher=Walesonline.co.uk |date=2010-09-05 |access-date=2012-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110910141359/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2010/09/05/rise-in-squatters-puts-more-welsh-homeowners-at-risk-of-huge-eviction-bills-91466-27203034/ |archive-date=2011-09-10 |url-status=live}}</ref> As with England, from 1 September 2012, squatting in a residential building was made a criminal offence subject to arrest, fine and imprisonment.<ref name=squattingillegal /> Cardiff Squatters Network was formed in December 2012, to network together squatters citywide, and host "skill-share" [[workshops]] on squatting legally in commercial buildings.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://yourcardiff.walesonline.co.uk/2012/12/11/squatters-form-cardiff-wide-network/ |title=Squatters form Cardiff-wide network |publisher=Wales Online |date=December 11, 2012 |access-date=December 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121215050012/http://yourcardiff.walesonline.co.uk/2012/12/11/squatters-form-cardiff-wide-network/ |archive-date=December 15, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>