UNIT II. THE RIGHT TO HOUSING.

READING:

Desperately seeking a home,

Introduction to Property Law,

An aspect of real property,

Statutory conditions,

Quiet enjoyment,

Reference email

LISTENING:

Easements,

A House to Rent,

Understanding a lease or tenancy agreement,

A House to Buy

SPEAKING:

Squatting,

Easements,

Renting an apartment,

Case discussion

WRITING:

Describing a firm's practice areas,

Summarizing and requesting

GRAMMAR:

Review of grammar tenses,

Passive Voice

Starter. 1. What do these quotations mean? Which do you agree with? Do you have any favourite quotations of your own?

2. Which quotations do you find relevant to today’s world or your own life? In what ways? Discuss with your partner and with your group.

A man should keep his little brain attic stocked with all the furniture that he is likely to use, and the rest he can put away in the lumber room of his library, where he can get it if he wants it

Arthur Conan Doyle

Go around asking a lot of damfool questions and taking chances. Only through curiosity can we discover opportunities, and only by gambling can we take advantages of them.

Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for great.

2.1. Introduction to property law

ARTICLE 47 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF UKRAINE

• Every person has the right to housing.The State creates the conditions for each citizen to have the opportunity to build housing, purchase, or lease it.

• No person can be forcibly deprived of housing in any way other than by court decision on the basis of law.

Listening 1 A. SQUATTING

Pre-listening task. You are going to listen to a part of a current affairs programme on TV. First, read statements 1-10. Then, as you listen, decide whether these statements are true or false.

1. Tim Ellis has a good job.

2. Tim now owns the house he lives in.

3. The house belonged to the private owner who had forgotten about Tim living in it.

4. Tim has paid a small amount of rent over the last 16 years.

5. The council did not remember that the house was once theirs.

6. Tim is entitled to own the house if he has lived in it for more than 20 years.

7. Tim lived in a small bedsit.

8. The council wants Tim to apologize to them.

9. Tim’s case has encouraged others to do the same.

10. The radio programme is looking into what people feel about this case.

Post-listening task. Explain the meaning of the following words and expressions from the programme.

1. local council house

2. council tax

3. a terraced house

4. to be squatting

5. to be entitled to own a property

6. slip through the net

7. to be queuing

8. to live somewhere illegally

9. claim ownership

10. small rented bedsits

Listening 1 B. Read sentences 1-4, then listen to someone talking about Tim and complete them.

1. According to the speaker, if it is all right for Tim to own a home, the world has …………….

2. Tim’s house could provide a home for …………………………………..

3. There are many …………………… who need the house more than Tim.

4. Perhaps we should all …………………………………… and refuse to pay rent.

Listening 1 C. Read questions 1-4. Then listen to a third person’s opinions. As you listen, choose the best answer, a, b or c.

1. How does the speaker think that most people react to Tim’s situation?

a) They would like to do the same.

b) They are angry.

c) They are sympathetic towards him.

2. She blames the situation on

a) the unfair legal system.

b) the squatter.

c) the council.

3. She sees Tim as someone who

a) has good business sense.

b) has acted illegally.

c) should be criticized.

4. The council

1. didn’t check if Tim had left.

2. ordered Tim to leave.

3. ordered Tim to leave but didn’t supervise the execution of their order.

Listen again this part of the programme and find words from it with the following meanings.

1. Tim is not to blame. It’s not Tim’s f…………

2. a time by which something must be done: d……….

3. suffering the results: pa……………… the pr…………………

4. not to lose the chances to do things you would like to: to t………… a………… of o…………

5. to suggest some incentives to people to do something: to e……………………

Listening 1 D and Speaking 1.

Read the following dialogue, then listen to the recording, fill in the gaps and act it out with your partner.

Suggesting alternatives

Ann: What can we do about the homeless?

Jeff: (1) …………………… the government (2) …………………… more shelters with food and accommodation (3) ……………………… people off the streets?

Jill: But (4) ……………. the government provided more cheap permanent housing. Hostels are just a temporary solution.

Ann: And what about unemployment?

Jill: Well, the government (5) …………………………….. to stay in education longer.

Jeff: But that would be very expensive. (6) ………………………………. would be to encourage people to look for jobs elsewhere.

Reading 1. DESPERATELY SEEKING A HOME

Key vocabulary: squatting, edge, housing association, to evict, co-operative, to occupy, landlord, a court action, to force his way into his property, a criminal record, a fine, the bailiffs, the “Old Dolehouse”, mod cons, housing policies, homelessness, in their right mind, secure homes.

Living without permission in another person’s property – squatting – is relatively common in Great Britain. But a proposed new law would change all that. Martin Bright, who once squatted in London, reports.

It’s your worst nightmare: you arrive back home after work or a holiday to find that someone else has moved into your flat or house. They play their music loudly on your stereo, sleep in your bed and make a dreadful mess. And they refuse to leave. This is what many people understand by the term “squatting”.

The reality is usually different and much less dramatic. After leaving university, I squatted in a house in north London with some friends. We didn’t have much money and we were given the idea by the next door neighbor, a respectable doctor and his teacher wife. It was a beautiful old house on the edge of a park, owned – and left to rot – by a housing association. The old lady who used to live there had died and, as the doctor said, it seemed crazy that a big house should be empty when people could be living there. We decorated the house and, although there was no hot water, we managed to make a comfortable home for ourselves. We were eventually evicted, but the courts strongly suggested that the housing association shouldn’t leave its property empty. A co-operative subsequently took over the house and there are people living there still.

Since the 1960s, squatting has become relatively common in Britain. People (most of them young) who can’t afford a place to live occupy a building left empty by a private landlord or the local housing authority. At present, squatting in empty properties is illegal but it’s not a crime. Getting a squatter out of a property is a long procedure involving a court action. And while this is happening, the owner is not allowed to force his way into his property.

Now the British government is hoping to introduce a law which would make life more difficult for squatters. The proposed Criminal justice and Public Order Bill would allow courts to order squatters to leave a property within 24 hours. If they didn’t, they could be given a six-month prison sentence (and therefore a criminal record) or a fine of up to £5,000. It would also give police or the representatives of the courts – the bailiffs – more powers to break into property to evict squatters.

Squatters in Britain have formed groups to publicise what they call the Criminal Injustice Bill. One of these groups, The Freedom Network, which links squatters to other groups affected by the legislation like travelers, is based in a disused unemployment benefit centre in south London. As well as being a base for the Network, the “Old Dolehouse”, as it is known, is also used as a community centre. It houses an arts company and a café, where I talked to Anna and Tom, squatters and members of the Freedom Network. Neither of them look like dangerous people to me – certainly not a threat to civilized society.

Both Anna and Tom only started squatting because they had little alternative. Anna moved to London last March. She couldn’t find work and, with no money, chose to squat, rather than sleep on the streets. She now lives in a comfortable flat with a garden, hot water and all mod cons. Tom used to work for a charity which organized aid to the developing world. But after spending some time in hospital, he too found himself without any money. Luckily for him, he found an empty house.

“There are thousands of empty properties,” says Tom. “But the local authorities and the national government have very bad housing policies. They aren’t matching up the people who don’t have houses with the empty homes.”

Homelessness in the UK has become a very serious problem: visitors to London will see young people begging and sleeping on the streets. However, there are nearly 900,000 empty properties in Britain.

Anna recognizes that the general public often dislikes and is afraid of squatters: “A woman told me that squatters have moved in next door to her and it’s the worst thing that has ever happened to her: they are noisy and have lots of noisy parties. Bur if I’d moved in there, she wouldn’t even have noticed. You shouldn’t tar everyone with the same brush.”

As for coming home from holiday to find your house squatted, Anna believes this doesn’t really happen: “No one in their right mind would squat a place where they knew the owners were on holiday. They would be evicted straight away. We are looking for somewhere we can live in for a while – secure homes for people with no more. People should remember that many of those who squat are really quite desperate.”

Tom is particularly concerned about the effects of the proposed new law on some of the weakest members of Britain society: “it’s going to be very worrying for people who may be mentally ill, have had big emotional problems or who have no money. That’s not the sort of group that needs to be attacked. We want to see those sort of people helped.”

Ex. 1. Find in the text words or expressions with the following meaning.

1. Very unpleasant situation, bad vision while sleeping

2. To live in some other’s property without the permission of the owner

3. Awful

4. Exciting, interesting

5. To become covered with fungus, ruined (about a house)

6. Organization which owns houses and helps its members to rent or buy them more cheaply than usual

7. The place where something ends, the most distant part of the park

8. Officially force someone to leave the place where they are living

9. Business or organization which is owned by the people who manage it. They then share its benefits and profits

10. To live in a house, to reside, to inhabit

11. The owner of the flat or a house

12. Unlawful, illicit

13. Lawsuit, litigation, case

14. Sum of money which someone has to pay as a punishment

15. Money that some people receive from the state when they are unemployed

16. Slang term for the government office where unemployed people collect benefits

17. A society with an advanced level of social organization

18. Facilities in the house such as hot water and heating that make it pleasant to live in

19. To stand in the street asking passers-by to give them some money

20. Accuse someone of having the same fault as someone else

21. Mentally normal

Speaking 2. Divide into three groups. The first group reads stories A, of the people whose houses were squatted, discusses this problem, prepares a short speech against such fact as squatting, gives reasons of people’s negative attitude to squatting and suggests the legal ways out. The second group reads stories B, of the people who were squatting, discusses this problem, prepares a short speech for such fact as squatting, gives reasons why people have to squat and suggests the legal ways out. The third group reads story C, the advice to the squatting people from a lawyer, discusses this problem, prepares a short speech on behalf of a lawyer, telling squatting people how avoid being prosecuted and become the owner of the land or a house they are squatting in.

1. PEOPLE WHOSE HOUSE HAS BEEN SQUATTED:

Simon Gould, Brighton:"Having had a buy-to-let property squatted while empty for one week between tenancies I feel very strongly that squatting should be criminalised. I had the expense of losing rent, paying for alternative accommodation for the rightful tenants, replacing beds, carpets and redecorating.

To cap it all I had to pay for the gas and electricity used by the squatters as well as the council tax while the place was "empty". After then paying £3,000 to get them out via the courts, they wandered across the street and broke in to another house. They were seen doing this and the police were called, but they just said that the door had been left open and the police left them to it. It's beyond belief that this has been allowed to continue so long and high time it was stopped."

Linda Melbourne, Harberton, Devon:"My mother in law is 89 and has just found out that her cottage in Harberton village has a squatter - she lives in London. She is in very bad health and it does not take much to upset her now. The local police officer found out that a squatter was indeed living there, but only after she received a final bill from the water provider. It turns out he has put all the utility bills in his name.

We do not have a clue how to deal with this situation and, as the cottage is hers, it is very hard for her to do much. Why do the scroungers and do-nothings in the country get all the rights and the people that have worked all their life get nothing? Her husband was in Auschwitz for five years in concentration camp. He recently died so she is very upset."

2. SQUATTERS:

Owen Llewellyn, London:"I squatted for 13 years and still have several friends who are currently squatting. Let me reassure homeowners that we never want to squat someone's home. We look out for abandoned properties that are definitely not other people's dwelling places. The government should spend its money on renovating abandoned properties to provide desperately needed housing rather than publishing childish scare-mongering documents. There are several very effective laws that can be used to evict people in cases of 'home invasion' situations. Most were introduced by the Tories in the 80s.

I have never come across any of these laws being used in practice because 'home invasion' is extremely rare. The real crime here is the juxtaposition (співставлення) of homelessness and empty houses. If we waited for the state to sort it out we'd be waiting forever. Squatting is not a crime."

Graham Barbour, Oldham:"Despite having just finished producing a film on housing conditions in Scotland - I found myself homeless in London in the 80s. Some other squatters showed me how to find squats, and I was able to live and work in London for several years. It is quite easy to evict squatters these days as a 24-hour notice can be obtained and served by a bailiff. I would also point out that I was able to give housing to several other homeless people during that period. Also, most of the YBAs (Young British Artists) of that period (late 80s-90s) were active squatters. Their art is now worth considerably more than some houses."

3. Ok, so you're squatting. Now what? How would you like to OWN the land you're on?

The legal termfor this process is calledadverse possession(Concept inproperty law that someone who stays on land belonging to another for a period longer than that prescribed by the statute of limitations becomes the new owner of the land. In order for this to happen, the adverse possessor's presence must be: actual; open, visible and notorious; exclusive; continuous and peaceable), and it refers to the very legitimate proceedings by which a squattercan take possession of the land and property they occupy -even if the owner of the property title is alive,wellandfinancially healthy.

The laws in Britain and the United States are very similar (though in the US they vary from state to state- so watch out.) Adverse possession is asserted through alegal claimwhich, depending on yourlocality, may be reviewed publicly in a court of law andvalidatedby that court. In order for a claim to succeed, the following generalcriteriamust be met:

You (the squatter) must occupy the land in question for some magic number of years. In Britain it is 12. In Ohio it is 21. You get thepicture.

Throughout your occupancy, the legitimate land ownermust know that you are there - in fact you must be living there in anotorious fashion - that is, in a generally noticeable way. No hiding in the woods.

You must not hold any occupancy contract of any kind with the landowner. This includes leases,mortgages, landloans, includingverbal agreements and informal contracts regarding the land.

During the period that you claimed to occupy the land, the land owner must have never taken any legal actiontoevictor remove you. If at any time during your occupancy the owner decides to assert hisrights, then your occupancy-time-counter is set back tozero. However, if the landowner simply voices his disapproval, this is NOT considered to be an assertion of his rights.

In some states, the owner MUST actively disapprove. In other words, you must be living on the land in a state ofadverse occupancy.

In Britain and some states, you must make active effort to demonstrate intentto possess the land, such asmowing the grass,building fences,erecting a mailbox, etc.

In some states, you and the owner can have been on the land at the same time, in others, the owner must be absent during your occupancy.

Usually, it is very difficult to pull off a claim of adverse possessionif the owner fights it. However in the case of abandoned property, special provision apply, and the process is somewhat easier.

P.I.O. stands for PROTECTED INTENDING OCCUPIER (Sec. 7 of the 1977 Criminal Law Act), someone who has a right to live in the premises and requires the premises to live in, and has the necessarycertificateorstatement. They can get you out without going to court.

A genuine P.I.O. is either a tenantorfreeholdowner of the premises. A tenant of aCouncilorHousing Associationmust have a certificate proving their status. Afreeholdowner, or tenant of a privatelandlordmust have a statement signed before ajustice of the peaceorcommissionerforoaths. All PIOs must be able to move in straight away.

A P.I.O. does not automatically mean that you will be evicted. There are variouslegaldefences and arguments that can be used against P.I.O. proceedings.

Court Cases

At some point you will probably receive a summonsto appear in court. Always turn up tofightyourcase, particularly if it is the newInterim Possession Orderhearing, which could result in having only24 hoursto leave or facearrest. The owners are supposed to show that they have a right to the place and you don't, and there are various ways of claiming that they haven't proved it, haven't gone through the procedures properly etc.

Ex. 2. Render the following Ukrainian text in English. Give your opinion on the problem from legal point of view.

Самозахоплення квартири. Євген Бєляков

Моє нове сімейство займало одну з квартир на другому поверсі триповерхового будинку, побудованого на рубежі XIX і XX століть. Квартирою це було голосно названо, так як загальний коридор, в якому стояло три газові плити і одна раковина з холодною водою, заселяли три сім'ї. Дві кімнати з загальної площі належало одиноким похилого віку старому зі старою. Ще дві або три літньому подружжю, яке вічно здавало надлишки метрів курортникам із Закавказзя.

Ми ж: тесть з тещею, брат дружини з сестрою, дружина з маленьким сином і я, який щойно приїхав з навчання, тулилися в третій всю площу якої складали три невеликі кімнатки. Загалом, це була своєрідна комунальна квартира, яку, від класичної, відрізняла відсутність загальної кухні, її замінював коридор, і туалету, ця розкіш була на вулиці. В останній рік мого навчання, обидва старих, правда не пам'ятаю в якій послідовності, непомітно перебралися в світ інший, не залишивши нікому конкретно свого спадку.

Будинок, який вже років п'ятнадцять був в аварійному стані, підлягав зламу і розселенню мешканців, тому порожня площа людей похилого віку за законом не передбачала бути заселеною ким-небудь. Це і навело восени 1980 року нас дружиною на думку про спадкоємство нічийної квартири, що складалася з двох роздільних, але сполучених усередині дверима кімнат. Тим більше на права її власників ми не претендували, а квартира ця була потрібна для того, щоб розподілити всю нашу «ораву» на більшу кількість квадратних метрів.

Проте про порожню квартиру було відомо і в домоуправлінні, вона їм теж не давала спокою на тлі загального дефіциту житла. Співробітники цієї організації, так само як і ми, вважали, що несправедливо, коли житлова площа є порожньою. Правда, на відміну від нас, що не претендували на це житло, їм доводилося напружувати мозки міцніше, тому, що їх бажання задовольнити потреби тих, що мають потребу, вступало в протиріччя із законодавством.

У змаганні загальних роздумів, ми виявилися і ближче до об'єкту домагань і вправніше. Двері були розкриті, замки замінені і після генерального прибирання вселилися. І хоча вікна виходили на вулицю, і шум від дороги спочатку заважав спати, все одно було набагато зручніше, ніж раніше. Відразу відчувалася свобода від сімейства, з'явилася можливість усамітнитися, лягти на ліжку, на якому не так давно померла бабуся або дід, почитати, подрімати. А привиди померлих людей похилого віку не з’являлися.

Правда, ближче до Нового Року з'явилися представники домоуправління з якимись людьми кавказької національності, мабуть на предмет оглядин порожньої житлової площі. Виявивши на ній мою дружину з дитям, вони влаштували скандал і зажадали негайно звільнити приміщення. Через пару місяців представники домоуправління з'явилися знову – погрози, обіцянки, емоційна розмова.

А навесні вони нагрянули у супроводі двох міліціонерів, яким дружина виставила живий заслін в особі однорічного Дениса і сказала, що з точки зору закону ця житлова площа нікому не належить і належати не може. Представники законної влади знаходилися в замішанні, вирішення суду на наше виселення не було, тому вони зайняли по відношенню до сторін, що сперечаються, нейтральну позицію. Закінчившись нічим, ця зустріч з представниками домоуправління виявилася останньою.

Восени 1981 року одружувався Женька, і нам довелося поступитися їм однією кімнатою, що в принципі мене особливо не напружувало: по-перше, ця житлова площа дісталася за дарма; по-друге, нам з дружиною і сином досить було і однієї кімнати, адже це було тимчасовою незручністю, а через рік-півтора ми повинні були отримати окремі квартири; по-третє, мені за великим рахунком було все одно, оскільки основну частину часу я знаходився у відрядженні.

Reading 2.

Law may be broken into Criminal Law and Civil Law. Civil Law may be broken into Property Law, Contract Law and Tort Law. Each of these three may be broken into law and equity components. But it is Property Law which brings a need for the other many types of Civil Law. It is the right of private property ownership which gives the need for Property Law.

Thus Property Law asks:

• What are the respective, rights: ownership - possession - use, pres­ent or future, contingent or certain, etc. of competing parties (that is: whose rights are the higher)?

• Is the proof sufficient to tip the scales?

• What needs to be done to uphold or protect the rights?