Squatters to own £500,000 house

The house is worth about £500,000

Three squatters are set to become the owners of a £500,000 north London town house.

They have lived in the local authority-owned, Grade II listed, four-storey house, in Kings Cross since 1973.

The inhabitants are set to be awarded the freehold of the property in Calthorpe Street on Monday, after taking the council to county court.

Camden Council is powerless to prevent the legal move because squatters have lived there more than 12 years.

The council did begin legal proceedings in 1983 to evict them and won a possession order but bailiffs failed to execute the warrant.

We feel amazingly lucky Squatters' statement

Then in 1990 the council issued another summons but the squatters sought legal advice and discovered that under the law, the property was considered to be owned by them.

Although the Land Registration Act was changed in 2002, the group was able to use earlier legislation which allowed squatters to claim possession if they had spent 12 years in a property.

Late last year the squatters, Agoshaman Ceribel, 71, Umiak Mahoupe, 50, and a friend known only as Anne, served the council with a county court claim demanding they be registered as the owners.

In a statement the squatters, who are all artists, described Camden Council's housing department as "a shambles over the years."

Obviously we regret the current situation but it has arisen as a result of failure to take action some considerable time ago Camden Council statement

"We feel amazingly lucky," the statement adds.

"The outcome is due to their inertia and mismanagement. We never foresaw it.

"We came to London in the early 70s as aspiring artists.

"In those days it seemed as if the whole street was full of squats.

"There were lots of un-maintained and uninhabitable council properties standing empty, which seemed wrong as there were also many homeless people like us.

Audit of properties

"We deserved the house. We have made a lot of effort and spent a lot of money to put it into a good state of repair."

A council spokeswoman said it will not be fighting the court claim, adding: "Once the current occupants have got the freehold, the property is theirs to do with as they wish.

"Obviously we regret the current situation but it has arisen as a result of failure to take action some considerable time ago.

"We are carrying out a thorough audit of all our properties in the borough to make sure these circumstances are not repeated."