A lawyer told how he was "horrified" to find squatters had moved into his half-finished £4million home.Hah! Well, since it’s now happened to a lawyer, can we expect less sympathy, and more harsh action?
Oh, and they aren’t just stealing his property, they’re changing it beyond all recognition!
Bags of rubbish, bricks and other debris are strewn in the front garden of the property, which has been undergoing building work for the past year, while the squatters are said to have made some drastic changes inside.
Mr Lal, 38, a partner in a law firm, said today: "It is horrifying that this can happen. I've only seen the house from the outside but they've certainly made changes. I think they've plumbed in a kitchen and bathroom."You’d expect him to be furious, but it seems, no, understanding is what’s required:
"What seems to have happened is a misunderstanding," said Mr Lal. "These squatters thought the property was abandoned, but actually it's a building site that's going to be turned into a high-spec residential property.
"Highgate is an expensive area and that house is worth a fortune. These people thought somebody had just left it like that but we were waiting on planning permission."They are thieves. You aren’t at work now. STOP MAKING EXCUSES FOR THEM!
A notice pinned to the front window, apparently by the squatters, states that anyone attempting to enter the building will face legal action. It reads: "We live in this property, it is our home and we intend to stay here."It’s not your home. Only in this country, with this situation, can a thief be so goddamn brazen about their thievery!
One Polish occupant, 24, who did not want to give her name, said high London rents left her no option but to live there. "We always try to find buildings which are empty and abandoned," she said. "There are so many empty buildings which are just not in use and no one living in them. Why? It is a big waste."Well, I’m not driving my car on weekdays, since I use public transport, would you like that too, you freeloading bitch?
"My friend is a single mum and she was waiting for a very long time to get a council flat. She was living in a squat because she couldn't make money and afford to pay rent. Squatting is a kind of solution.
"Squatting for me is not forever, it is something I do for the moment. As long as I don't hurt somebody else's feelings it is okay."What utter self-absorption! What shameless admittance that the law is there for others to obey, but not her, unless she feels like it!
Much grist for MacHeath’s mill here, I suspect…
But then, with useful idiots like Mr Lal cringing before these scofflaws, what else can you expect?
Mr Lal said planning approval has now been given and building work will resume on Monday. He explained he had struck a deal with the group.
"The squatters have agreed to vacate before the building work starts and if they're true to their word, they should leave," he said.Newsflash, Mr Lal. They are criminals. Their word means about as much as yours, though you probably charge more….
That searing pain and blurring of vision; the enduring nature and devastation caused by a mean theft, is never fully appreciated prior to the receipt of a lawyer's bill.
ReplyDeleteLondon, which country is that in by the way?
ReplyDelete"... we were waiting on planning permission."
ReplyDeleteYet another bloody problem with having to go beg permission from some council pen pushers when you want to do something with property you've paid a massive sum of money for. I've known a block stand vacant for years because the local planning department refused to let the owner act as if he owned it, and I was always surprised it didn't end up with half a dozen pikey caravans on it instead. For all I know it did because it still hadn't been built on when I left England.
"A lawyer told how he was 'horrified' to find squatters had moved into his half-finished £4million home."
ReplyDeleteGoodness gracious, my schadenfreude meter just exploded.
This is terrible, ha ha ha, no really, ha ha ha.
Only if it'd happened to Vanessa Redgrave would my cake be better covered in sugar paste.
"As long as I don't hurt somebody else's feelings it is okay"
ReplyDeleteAh, well if said owner revealed hurt feelings, would they leave then? If he said they were "oppressing" him would they clear off at once?
But more importantly, how did they plumb a bathroom and kitchen in? Unless they went to college and learned the skills, I presume they paid someone to do the work (but I hope they got a guarantee, you wouldn't want some pikeys doing it)
One benefit of an LVT is quick evictions.
ReplyDeleteAC1
Julia,
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to commend you on your use of the word 'scofflaw'.
Most excellent. Gold star for you.
PS Your blog is OK too. I|ve noticed that you are getting a little more strident in your contempt for modern Britain recently. Well done again.
"Yet another bloody problem with having to go beg permission from some council pen pushers.."
ReplyDeleteThat was certainly a catalyst here, but house thieves have been known to strike when you go on holiday!
"Goodness gracious, my schadenfreude meter just exploded."
Indeed. Any sympathy I had for him disappeared the moment he started acting as if it was his fault!
"But more importantly, how did they plumb a bathroom and kitchen in? "
Well, they are from Poland!
"Just wanted to commend you on your use of the word 'scofflaw'."
If ever the word was appropriate for any group, it's this word for squatters!