'Estate agents' offer empty homes for squat

But, on closer inspection, most of the properties on offer 'boast' some rather unusual features - such as boarded-up windows, possession orders and no front-door entrance.

The homes are being offered by Squatters Estate Agents, which has set up a 'shop' in a derelict warehouse near the gleaming office buildings of the City of London.

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The new service is advertised on anti-capitalist websites and prospective 'tenants' are directed to the premises - squatted, of course - in the Shoreditch area of the capital.

A reporter from this newspaper met James, an 'agent' in his late 20s, wearing jeans, a T- shirt and several days' stubble, who guided us through the details of dozens of ' available properties' on printed sheets produced using a digital camera and a computer.

He explained that the service was free and designed to guide others like him into new digs.

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On the agency's 'books' are scores of former pubs, abandoned flats and houses, derelict council properties and empty buildings owned by Government departments.

One squat up for grabs is a former JobCentre in East London, owned by the Department for Work and Pensions and described - in perfect estate agentspeak - as a 'huge brick building of mansion-like proportions with two side wings and a covered rear extension'.

Its proximity to a canal and a Lidl supermarket are highlighted. But in a piece of advice you would be unlikely to find in most agents' literature, it adds: "Access looks relatively easy... round the back."

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Another hot property is Bedford House, Wheler Street, near the squatters' office.

Pitched as a "beautiful large building", it boasts a "red brick, stone and terracotta facade" noted as being "architecturally significant".

The blurb adds: "It's a stone's throw from Liverpool Street and close to trendy Shoreditch and Brick Lane. It used to be an art gallery but has been empty for quite a while now."

"According to Land Registry records, the vast Bedford House was bought by a company called Islepark Limited in 2005.

Its owners could not be contacted.

James said: "There is an enormous amount of unused property in London and other parts of the country.

"The Government keeps talking about the need to build millions of new houses to cope with the housing shortage - but we're proving they're wrong.

"They could turn existing empty buildings into new houses instead."

The 'agents' - Britain's first group dedicated to sidestepping the property ladder - are briefed in civil law so they can tell their clients that squatting in England and Wales is, technically, not a crime, so long as the squatters can get into an empty building without damaging it, and are able to secure it.

Quoting from charity the Empty Homes Agency, they claim there are 30,000 vacant dwellings in London alone.

All of the advertised properties carry the warning: "Your home is at risk if you do not keep up your occupancy at all times and replace any existing locks secured on it."

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Richard West, who owns a former pub in East London being advertised by the squatters, said he was unaware that it faces becoming a squat.

He said: "Thank you for the tip. I'll have to secure it.

"Ultimately, though, anyone who wants to squat there can do and there's little I can do about it until we get planning permission.

"Squatters have more rights than you'd think.'