Squatting in non-residential property.

The request was successful.

Dear Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea,

This request mainly concerns squatting in council owned non-residential property and live-in guardianship.

1a) The number of times you have found people squatting in non-residential buildings you own or control each year since 2010?
1b) I would like the date for each of these events and the full postcode (so it does not identify the exact building but gives the small area so I can see if a particular area is being targeted).
1c) The number of times you found people squatting in council owned residential property from 2010 until the law change in September 2012.

2) The action taken against squatting in council owned or controlled, non-residential buildings:
I would like to know for each event of squatting in council’s non=residential property:
2a) whether the police were called?
2b) And if they were, how many arrests were made? And, if recorded, what for?
2c) Was there a following criminal court case, and if so what for? Against how many people? And what was the outcome? (As if there was, you would most likely have to attend as a witness to the trespassing or submit evidence and so could potentially record this information).
2d) Was civil court action taken to remove the trespassers? If so:
- How much was spent in total on lawyers/legal fees/court costs?
- Was an IPO used?
- Were high court bailiffs booked? Or county court bailiffs?
- How much was spent on the hire of bailiffs?
2e) An estimate of how long squatters had been there before eviction?

3) Use of live-in guardians to secure non-residential buildings against squatters (also known as protection by occupation):
3a) How many non-residential buildings have you protected with live-in guardians each year since 2010?
3b) For each time you have used guardians to secure non-residential buildings you own or control since 2010 can I be told:
3bA) The date the contract started and the date it ended (or if it is still going)
3bB) The name of the guardian company you used?
3bC) If you put a limit on how many people can live in the building, and if so what is it?
3bD) Had this building previously been squatted? If so, how many times?
3bE) The total, or monthly cost/income, of hiring the guardian company to put live-in guardians in this building? (This I because I know some guardian business models charge the owner and others pay the owner of the building).
3bF) The type of non-residential property? (eg. Shop/nursery/school etc.)

Yours faithfully,

Flo Night

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

Dear Ms Night

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST REF: 2016-0813

I am writing to confirm that we received your information request on 30 June 2016. For your information and future communications your request has been allocated the reference number FOI2016-0813. Please quote this reference in any future correspondence.

We will consider your request and respond in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Our duty is to respond promptly or at least within 20 working days.

Regards

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Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

Dear Ms. Night

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REF: 2016-0813

 

I am responding to your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000,
which we received on 22 July 2016, for information held by the Council.
You requested:

 

This request mainly concerns squatting in council owned non-residential
property and live-in guardianship.

 

1a) The number of times you have found people squatting in non-residential
buildings you own or control each year since 2010?

1b) I would like the date for each of these events and the full postcode
(so it does not identify the exact building but gives the small area so I
can see if a particular area is being targeted).

1c) The number of times you found people squatting in council owned
residential property from 2010 until the law change in September 2012.

 

2) The action taken against squatting in council owned or controlled,
non-residential buildings:

I would like to know for each event of squatting in council’s
non=residential property:

2a) whether the police were called?

2b) And if they were, how many arrests were made? And, if recorded, what
for?

2c) Was there a following criminal court case, and if so what for? Against
how many people? And what was the outcome? (As if there was, you would
most likely have to attend as a witness to the trespassing or submit
evidence and so could potentially record this information).

2d) Was civil court action taken to remove the trespassers? If so:

- How much was spent in total on lawyers/legal fees/court costs?

- Was an IPO used?

- Were high court bailiffs booked? Or county court bailiffs?

- How much was spent on the hire of bailiffs?

2e) An estimate of how long squatters had been there before eviction?

 

3) Use of live-in guardians to secure non-residential buildings against
squatters (also known as protection by occupation):

3a) How many non-residential buildings have you protected with live-in
guardians each year since 2010?

3b) For each time you have used guardians to secure non-residential
buildings you own or control since 2010 can I be told:

3bA) The date the contract started and the date it ended (or if it is
still going)

3bB) The name of the guardian company you used?

3bC) If you put a limit on how many people can live in the building, and
if so what is it?

3bD) Had this building previously been squatted? If so, how many times?

3bE) The total, or monthly cost/income, of hiring the guardian company to
put live-in guardians in this building? (This I because I know some
guardian business models charge the owner and others pay the owner of the
building).

3bF) The type of non-residential property? (eg. Shop/nursery/school etc.)

 

RBKC generally have less than 5 non residential buildings available at any
time due to the popularity of the Borough.

 

There have been between 1 and 3 properties with squatters each year
between 2010 and 2016 and 90% of the time it is not in Chelsea but
Kensington as this is where 90% of the vacant property has been.

 

RBKC have not used bailiffs but used the legal system with internal
solicitors and internal security.

 

Regarding sites with manned guarding we have had between 1 and 3 sites a
year with very little paid for this service as the guard has free rent in
the Borough.

 

Complaints

 

I trust this has satisfied your request. Should you be unhappy with the
handling of your request, the Council has an internal complaints process
for handling FOIA complaints. Complaints are reviewed by the Chief
Solicitor and Monitoring Officer or her nominee. A form is available from
our website to lodge your complaint
[1]http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/councilanddemocra...
Please contact us if you do not have website access and we can provide you
with a copy of the form. Following this review, should you still be
unhappy with how your information request has been handled, you have a
further right to appeal to the Information Commissioner who is responsible
for ensuring compliance with FOIA.  

 

Yours sincerely

 

Robin Yu

Information Protection Assistant

Shared ICT Service

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

The Town Hall, Hornton Street, London W8 7NX

Tel: 020 7938 8226

 

Email: [2][email address] | Website: [3]http://www.rbkc.gov.uk  

Summer activities for young people
We have hundreds of free and low-cost activities on offer over the summer from libraries, the Ecology Centre and the Summer in the City programme.
Go to https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/summer

Get fit programme for adults
Choose from a range of low-cost activities: health walks, 50+ football, cardio tennis, high intensity interval training and more.
Go to https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/getfit

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References

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2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/

Dear Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea's handling of my FOI request 'Squatting in non-residential property.'.

My request had specific questions. Instead of answering each question you answered them generally (which demonstrates you have the information). It is fine if you do not have answers to every question, or cannot give them (for example exact postcode, or costs when it is internal) but I would like my FOI actually answered question by question, with specific numbers. For example, there is no reason why you should give me an average of how many buildings are squatted each year when you could give me the exact numbers of squatted buildings each year which I had asked for. You also by doing this have missed out lots of requested information such as the types of buildings you have used live-in guardians with, and whether those buildings have been squatted before, and how long they have been there for etc.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...

Yours faithfully,

Flo Night

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

Dear Ms. Night

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REF: 2016-0813

 

I apologise for our previous response, we have tried to respond to your
questions as asked below:

 

1a) The number of times you have found people squatting in non-residential
buildings you own or control each year since 2010?

 

Our Corporate Property department do not have a record of the dates but 4
times in total since 2010.

 

1b) I would like the date for each of these events and the full postcode
(so it does not identify the exact building but gives the small area so I
can see if a particular area is being targeted).

 

As above, no records of dates kept, but 2 on Kensal Road, one on Ladbroke
Grove and one on Portobello Road.

 

1c) The number of times you found people squatting in council owned
residential property from 2010 until the law change in September 2012

 

None

 

2) The action taken against squatting in council owned or controlled,
non-residential buildings:

I would like to know for each event of squatting in council’s non
residential property:

2a) whether the police were called?

 

2 yes and 2 no

 

2b) And if they were, how many arrests were made? And, if recorded, what
for?

 

No arrests.

 

2c) Was there a following criminal court case, and if so what for? Against
how many people? And what was the outcome? (As if there was, you would
most likely have to attend as a witness to the trespassing or submit
evidence and so could potentially record this information).

 

N/A

 

2d) Was civil court action taken to remove the trespassers? If so:

- How much was spent in total on lawyers/legal fees/court costs?

 

Internal legal, but probably a few hours of time.

 

- Was an IPO used?

 

No

 

- Were high court bailiffs booked? Or county court bailiffs?

 

No

 

- How much was spent on the hire of bailiffs?

 

£0

 

2e) An estimate of how long squatters had been there before eviction?

 

Same day to a few months.

 

3) Use of live-in guardians to secure non-residential buildings against
squatters (also known as protection by occupation):

3a) How many non-residential buildings have you protected with live-in
guardians each year since 2010?

 

2010 – 1

2012 – 1

2014 – 2

 

3b) For each time you have used guardians to secure non-residential
buildings you own or control since 2010 can I be told:

3bA) The date the contract started and the date it ended (or if it is
still going)

 

None ongoing. The contract with Ambika started in July 2012 and ended in
July 2015.

 

3bB) The name of the guardian company you used?

 

Ambika

 

3bC) If you put a limit on how many people can live in the building, and
if so what is it?

 

If it is a live in guard then it is one guard.

 

3bD) Had this building previously been squatted? If so, how many times?

 

No

 

3bE) The total, or monthly cost/income, of hiring the guardian company to
put live-in guardians in this building? (This I because I know some
guardian business models charge the owner and others pay the owner of the
building).

 

Nil as the guard gets to live there free.

 

3bF) The type of non-residential property? (eg. Shop/nursery/school etc.)

 

Office and industrial.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Robin Yu

Information Protection Assistant

Shared ICT Service

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

The Town Hall, Hornton Street, London W8 7NX

Tel: 020 7938 8226

 

Email: [email address] | Website: [1]http://www.rbkc.gov.uk

Summer activities for young people
We have hundreds of free and low-cost activities on offer over the summer from libraries, the Ecology Centre and the Summer in the City programme.
Go to https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/summer

Get fit programme for adults
Choose from a range of low-cost activities: health walks, 50+ football, cardio tennis, high intensity interval training and more.
Go to https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/getfit

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/