The Met Police must regain control of the growing issue of criminal gangs squatting in London’s empty homes, the City Hall Conservatives have said.
Deputy leader Emma Best and Iain Duncan Smith, the MP for Chingford and Woodford Green, have called on the Mayor of London to direct the Met to improve and increase training around the illegal practice, as well as collecting and publishing London-wide data to show the full extent of the problem.
Squatting – defined as taking over empty homes without permission – was outlawed for residential properties in 2012, with occupying a residential property as a trespasser, with the intention of living there, becoming punishable by arrest, a fine of up to £5,000 and/or imprisonment for up to 6 months.
While the number of prosecutions tailed off in London in the years following the law being introduced – with just six in 2017 compared to 75 in the last four months of 2012 alone – Sir Iain, former leader of the Conservative Party, said this was due to criminals exploiting a “gap in the law” rather than it being a policing success story.
Organised gangs have learned that producing forged tenancy agreements can often delay the course of justice, he added, with the report noting: “It is against this challenging backdrop that the police operate with regard to tackling squatting.
“One where hastily scrawled knock-off tenancy agreement can frustrate their ability to act, even in the face of evidence of wider criminal behaviour, and where seemingly legitimate tenants are stealing the identities of property owners to potentially commit even more fraud.
“Even something like verifying a fabricated tenancy agreement or passport would be difficult for the average police officer to do on a doorstep. Therefore, it is clear the police need more practical support and clearer guidance on the ground.”
Both Sir Iain and Ms Best point to a case in Chingford, in the former’s constituency, where a pensioner, having arrived home from visiting her friend, discovered that a gang of up to 25 criminals had illegally moved into her house.
The intruders claimed to have a tenancy agreement when police attended the scene, however, and their arrest and eviction were delayed until the end of June. Despite finally regaining her home, the lady subsequently suffered a serious health issue, almost certainly bought on by the stress.
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“This is the sinister face of squatting; a criminal act that violates the place that should be the most secure of all – your home – and far too often leaves victims helpless to do anything about it,” Sir Iain said.
“I am pleased to support the common-sense and practical recommendations in this report. It is very clear on the need for the Government to take action and the clear, sensible way forward for the police and other authorities. Londoners deserve better from those responsible for keeping them safe against crimes such as this. It is time to close the loopholes in the law, strengthen police enforcement, and ensure that cases like the one we saw in Chingford are a thing of the past, rather than a fear for the future.”
Ms Best added: “The case we saw in Chingford was sickening and sadly not isolated. Criminal gangs, often without legal status to be in Britain, are exploiting what they perceive to be a loophole in the law.
“This has been widespread – there have been numerous cases in London where gangs have stolen people’s properties and life-long belongings from under their noses.
“By failing to take criminal squatting seriously, authorities are neglecting their duty to the public, and creating an unsafe environment in which criminals can thrive. This has to change.”
The report, released late last month, also notes two exceptions to the 2012 legislation which is making it more difficult for authorities to take action – the first is squatting in non-residential properties remains largely a civil matter, while situations where tenants overstay on a lease or fall behind on a lease are covered by existing tenancy law.
The British Landlords Association estimated that squatting in commercial buildings went up by almost 300% between December 2021 and mid-2024. As a non-criminal offence, however, civil processes are often held up in the overburdened courts system, with repossession taking an average of 27 weeks in 2025.
The authors also suggest that London’s housing crisis – particularly the shortage in affordable housing – is to blame.
Citing research from Sheffield Hallam University in conjunction with Crisis noting that squatting was a common response to homelessness – with evidence suggesting that 40 per cent of homeless people squat – the report says Sir Sadiq Khan’s failure to build adequate social homes and reduce rough sleeping has played a part in proliferating the practice.
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “The Mayor supports the Met Police to take appropriate action against all those squatting illegally in residential buildings.
“We have received the London Assembly’s report and will review its findings.”
