ABSTRACT
Squatting is generally understood to mean the occupation of land or property without the consent of the owner or those legally entitled to occupy it. Governments will always condemn squatters, because the act of moving into a property without prior consent not only evokes the ire of owners but also serves as a signifier that government housing policies are ineffectual. For this reason, politicians frequently castigate squatters as lawbreakers and free-riders. Since squatting is such a visible sign of housing policy failure and emblem of entrenched inequality, governments have striven to frame it as both an illegal and unjustified activity. In the UK, the coalition government passed legislation in 2012 to make squatting in a residential building a criminal offence. Whilst condemnation of squatters is commonplace, it is helpful in any discussion to distinguish three forms of contemporary practice. First, squatting to secure shelter; second, squatting as a campaigning tactic to advance political protest; and third, mass squatting in neighbourhoods within the developing world. Each practice is considered in turn.
