SECURITY


NO TENANTS? NO PROBLEM.


Guy Other, CEO at Orbis talks squatting and what businesses can do to keep their empty property safe.


Squatting in commercial premises has made headline news recently. Just before the New Year, squatters took up residence in the former Royal Mint in London and the media was awash with images of the building as it was transformed into a protest site draped with banners and slogans about climate change and homelessness. The activists came from all over the city to occupy the building and to focus public attention on government’s lack of aid for homeless people.


After four days, the squatters left peacefully, when the two leaseholding companies went to the high court to have them removed, arguing that an illegal rave was being planned for New Years Eve and that related security would cost over £100k. Built in 1807, the Johnson Smirke building, the former home of the Royal Mint, is a grade II listed building, which was sold for £75 million last year to be redeveloped into a business complex.


The BIFM (British Institute of Facilities Management) and Orbis recently carried out a survey with facilities managers and property mangers to give an up-to-date snapshot of the problem of squatting in empty property in the industry. Some 16% of respondents reported an increase in commercial squatting. Not surprisingly, London property managers are experiencing the highest squatting rates (83%), followed by the South East (78%), Wales and the North West (75%), and the Midlands (73%).


The same survey, however, revealed lesser increase in residential squatting at 7%. The change in legislation to criminalise squatting in residential property, which took effect in September 2012, therefore


38 | TOMORROW’S FM


seems to have encouraged squatters into commercial properties. Just two months after the new legislation was introduced, a report in the Financial Times stated that there had been a 100% rise in the number of instructions relating to commercial property squatting as squatters now saw it as a lower risk alternative.


It has never been more important for businesses to protect their empty property to avoid the potential cost of removing squatters; the cost of restoring properties to their former condition after the squatters have gone; the risk of being responsible for someone getting hurt on the premises; and the reputational damage that all of this can cause.


The best method of dealing with squatting is to remove the risk of it happening in the first place with a bespoke vacant property solution. Some key ways to help ensure your empty property is safe from intruders are:


1. Carry out a risk assessment looking at how squatters could access the property. Disconnect services to the property to prevent water damage or fire risk and check the compliance of protective installations such as fire detection and alarm systems. Property owners may be liable if a squatter or intruder injures himself within the property.


2. Don’t advertise the fact that the property is vacant. A clear view into an empty space, unkempt external areas, together with broken windows all show potential squatters that the property is unoccupied. Keep the building and its surrounding clean and tidy.


“LONDON PROPERTY MANAGERS ARE EXPERIENCING THE


HIGHEST SQUATTING RATES AT 83%.”


3. Make sure the premises are protected. Boarding up a property with demountable steel screens can look unappealing, but there are cost-effective security solutions available such as 24/7 monitored wireless temporary alarms and manned guarding.


4.


If you know a property in your portfolio is going to become vacant, tell your insurance firm so that you are covered in the event of an intrusion. Regular inspections with a full audit trail are necessary to remain compliant with insurance requirements and health and safety regulations.


www.orbisprotect.com twitter.com/TomorrowsFM


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