Advisory Service For Squatters - History

History

In the late 1960s, the Family Squatters Advisory Service (FSAS) was founded in London, England, to help defend the rights of squatters.

However, in the 1973 case of McPhail vs. Persons Unknown, the Court of Appeals stated that a landowner could re-enter a squatted property and use reasonable force to evict those occupying the property, while remaining exempt from the Forcible Entry Act. Thus, as a result of this ruling, all power lay in the hands of the possessor of the property, rather than the occupants. This case sparked a division amongst those fighting for squatters' rights at the FSAS, for new-wave advocates thought that the FSAS did not do enough to protect the unlicensed squatters' rights.

That division gave rise to a different organization called the All London Squatters (ALS). The ALS was geared more toward direct action and was open to licensed and unlicensed squatters. ALS was perceived as more militant. As tensions heightened in London, FSAS split even further. The division between those for and opposed to unlicensed squatters grew deeper, and by 1975, divisions within the group led to its dissolution. In its wake grew a new organization called the Advisory Service for Squatters (ASS).

A spokesperson for the group said in 2003 "Today's squatters are highly organised and efficient. Many have full-time work, and drug problems are rare."