Court Orders Criminalising Homeless

Court orders being imposed on homeless people are "criminalising those most in need," a charity has said. Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs) give courts powers including banning people from areas or from drinking in public. But charity Homeless Link said CBOs, which replaced anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs), prevented homeless people from accessing vital services. The Home Office said local agencies must determine whether their use of their powers was appropriate. Read more on the BBC website.

One In Ten Local Councils Are Criminalising Homeless People

One in ten local councils are using powers created to prevent anti-social behaviour to criminalise homelessness, new figures show.  Freedom of information requests to local authorities by the VICE News website found that 36 local authorities were targeting rough sleepers with Public Space Protection Orders. PSPOs are local regulations which can be used by councillors to ban anything with a “detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality”. In 36 of 78 cases the orders are being used to make activities common amongst homeless people illegal, an analysis by the website shows. Read more on the Independent website.

Plan Scrapped To Fine Homeless Who Fail To Use Accommodation

Plans to fine rough sleepers in Oxford have been scrapped after the city council decided to amend a proposal to tackle anti-social behaviour. Homeless people who fail to use indoor accommodation offered to them were originally on a list of people a Public Spaces Protection Order would target. A petition against this idea had been signed by 72,000 people, stating the order would "criminalise" homelessness. The council said it had concluded there were better ways of tackling the issue. Read more on the BBC website.

Police Warn That ‘Relentless’ Bedroom Tax Is Turning People into Criminals

The government's controversial bedroom tax has come under fire once again, with concerns expressed by police chiefs that its victims are being forced to turn to crime and unscrupulous loan sharks. Cleveland and Durham's Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) believe the under-occupancy policy is piling financial pressures on families across the region, and have highlighted that, according to the government's own figures, 59% of tenants struck by the 'spare room subsidy' have been unable to meet their basic housing costs. Read more on 24dash.

Lords Pass Bill to Criminalise Subletting

A bill to criminalise the subletting of social housing in England and Wales has completed its latest stage in parliament.  The Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Bill has been passed by the House of Lords, and will now go back to the House of Commons before becoming law. The bill creates a new criminal offence of unlawful subletting, which will mean council tenants can be fined or imprisoned for subletting. At present subletting is a civil offence, although criminal prosecutions have been brought in some cases where there is a related offence. Read more on Inside Housing.

Criminalise Squatting In Commercial Premises, Say Tory MPs

It could soon be chucking out time at the Black Bull. The disused inn, around the corner from Chelsea's football ground in south-west London, has been occupied by squatters for two weeks. The landlord wants his property back and the Ministry of Justice says it is considering whether to criminalise the squatting of commercial properties.  Tory MP Mike Weatherley, who represents Hove and Portslade in East Sussex, has met the justice secretary, Chris Grayling, to press him on the matter.  Most squatting, he said, was not about homelessness, as it was carried out by "web-savvy and educated" young people. Guidance provided to the police already warned they should be careful charging people if "there are genuinely homeless people involved".  Read more on the Guardian website.

Government Resists Calls to Clarify 'Temporary Absences' In New Subletting Law

The Government is pressing ahead with plans to criminalise subletting but only where the tenant no longer lives in the property or has given up possession.  It has shied away from "prescribing more closely" circumstances of temporary non-occupation - e.g. where a tenant moves temporarily to care for a relative or at the other extreme, moves in with a partner. Its subletting plans were outlined in a summary of responses from the consultation, which closed in April.  The CLG said it wanted to avoid creating new criminal offences when existing criminal sanctions may already be available.  Download a copy of the consultation response from the CLG website.

Squatting To Become a Criminal Offence

Squatting will become a criminal offence at the start of September after legislation to protect homeowners was passed by Parliament.  Under the change, squatters will face up to six months in jail and a maximum £5,000 fine if they move into a homeowners’ property.  It will be the first time that squatting has become a crime and follows a spate of cases in which residents have returned to find their homes occupied, and often damaged, by intruders who refuse to leave.  Charities and other campaigners have complained that the measure, contained in the Government’s Legal Aid and Sentencing Bill, will criminalise the homeless and add to the numbers living on the streets. Justice minister Crispin Blunt insisted today, however, that homeowners needed more protection as he announced that the new law would come into effect from September 1. Read more on the Evening Standard website.

Charity Urges Lords Not To Criminalise Squatting

A homelessness charity is urging the House of Lords not to criminalise squatting ahead of its reading on proposed legislation changes. Under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, squatters in residential properties would be subject to a £5,000 fine or up to a year in prison. London charity Providence Row is calling on the Lords to block the measure, over fears it would penalise those who have no other options. Last year, over 1,000 people reported to the charity that they had resorted to squatting as an alternative to sleeping on the streets - 20 per cent of all people seeking help from the charity. Read more on the Providence Row website.