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reify

Squatters cannot break into your home and take residence.

They can only enter if you leave a window or door open for them to enter.

If they break-in that is a criminal offence and the police will treat it as a buglary and arrest those in the property.

I used to squat here on Airstrip One in my twenties when I was homeless.

We did not squat in homes where people lived, We squatted in empty properties.

The utilities companies would reconnect the gas and electricy for us but only if we paid a substantial deposit.

I dont see anything wrong with squatting in empty homes.

It is the fault of society that creates homelessness and squatting is sometimes the only way to get a roof over your head.

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It is not what happened a few meters from my home in a completely closed apartment. The "squatters" broke the first-floor window to enter, the Mossos took 15 minutes to arrive and did absolutely nothing. They have been there for six months, they already changed the front door, and the owner cannot get them out.

Can the owner hire thugs to show up with baseball bats? I would do that, or do it myself with a ski mask.

In theory I bet it's an efficient option. But I'm curious about the risks and costs involved in dealing with such "services", and how easy it is to find reputable thugs.

I used to know a guy who had an impressive physique and foreign accent and was hired for similar "communication jobs" (debt collection). It was all above board so he didn't carry any weapons and didn't do anything but the mere implication in his presence was often enough to motivate debtors to find ways to pay shortly after his visits. He was actually a nice guy and not much of a fighter.

Sure. Although I guess the occupiers can also hire thugs to beat the owner up with baseball bats. There are reasons why this form of dispute resolution has gone out of fashion in the kind of countries you might want to live in.

You can but you can end in prison.

This is not like USA were you shoot anyone who enters in your property.

If you harm this people you surely will have to face penal consequences.

Why? Because then, people will do the same with a small family which can not pay rent this month, after you increased the price to the double because you want to rent to tourists.

The solution is simple: use your properties. Would you let your car with the keys inside? No. Don't let your houses unused. It's is an offense to people who want to work and live. Properties shouldn't be a business nor a speculative means.

In that case, was the dwelling abandoned? Of course the squatters are gonna say they didn't break in because that's the only way they'll keep their homes, but is it morally wrong to break into a speculator-owned dwelling that has been empty for 5 years? I've personally done it multiple times in my youth...

how do you prove all windows and doors were closed? Alarm is enough? Police certificate? Cameras on each wall?

> They can only enter if you leave a window or door open for them to enter.

How is this not victim blaming? Next you'll tell me that a victim of sexual assault shouldn't have left their window open by wearing such a short dress, and they were asking for it anyway.

This is not like this.

The point is, if you break anything to enter you used force and it's much worse.

But if it's your residence, your house, and at least you used once a year is "morada", and then they are intruders and they are breaking the law.

It doesn't matter if they change the lock or anything like this. If mossos doesn't do anything, which would amaze me, then call the other forces, like civil, local o nacional.

If you let a house unused all year long or during years, it's your problem. I don't know what's the purpose of owning a house and not using it, in this case, I would appreciate that someone breaks in to live there with pacifically, this people exist.

>Squatters cannot break into your home and take residence.

>They can only enter if you leave a window or door open for them to enter.

This is not the effective defense of squatting that you think it is.

> Squatters cannot break into your home and take residence.

They cannot enter into your house uninvited. No, wait, that's vampires...

>I dont see anything wrong with squatting in empty homes.

Do you care if the owner cares about you squatting in his property?

I completely agree.

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