Understanding the legal definition of squatting, its consequences, and the balance between protecting property rights and respecting squatters' fundamental rights.
Extract
[...] It is sanctioned by penal law. The characterization of the flagrancy of the crime of violating domicile allows for immediate intervention by law enforcement. (doc.2) However, violating domicile infringes on the principle of inviolability of the home. A duality exists between violating domicile, defined in the penal code, and the protection regime of the home against squatting, considered an infraction. (doc. In fact, according to the jurisprudence, the crime of violating domicile is based on the intentional aspect of the facts committed by the author. [...]
[...] This extension results from the creation of a new crime of fraudulent occupation, distinct from the crime of violating domicile. Squatting is no longer only an attack on privacy, but becomes an attack on property. (doc.4) New behaviors such as the tenant who no longer pays their rent are assimilated to squatting and are a fortiori incriminated (doc and 14) Certain delays in contentious procedures for the treatment of unpaid rents, in particular for tenants in bad faith, are modified. [...]
[...] In fact, in the context of an eviction, the judge must ensure that he does not rely solely on the existence of a single illicit fact, namely the occupation without right or title. (doc.8) Property should not become a prohibited use by the justice (doc. The more so, since the people who may be held accountable are almost always deprived of their own means of existence, so that their insolvency prevents any pecuniary sanction, while prison sentences are hindered both by the lack of available places and by the natural tendency of judges to refrain from imprisoning wretched families. [...]
[...] The owner who wants to recover his property must obtain a court decision allowing him to do so. When the premises are occupied by squatters, the procedure is much easier to implement, and is simplified year after year. The squatter commits a tort. (doc.14) Occupation without right or title is not a lawful means of implementing the right to housing. A court decision is not required, but the owner must have all the procedures to be followed to have the infringement of his rights sanctioned. [...]
[...] The aim is to strengthen existing penal devices, while ensuring that the right of property is reconciled with the right to a decent housing. Therefore, the expulsion process must strive for a fair balance between strengthening the protection of the right of property and the respect of the fundamental rights of the squatters (II). Mechanisms established to protect property rights The jurisprudence on the violation of domicile and on the other hand, to define squatting from a legal point of view aim to strengthen the protection of owners. [...]
