By Brooke Edge

Between home ownership and homelessness there’s the nebulous realm of squatting – living in an abandoned or unoccupied space without payment or permission. In some countries, squatting can evolve into legal possession. For instance, in England a squatter becomes the legal owner of a property if their residency goes unchallenged for 12 years.

While most often associated with poverty and inability to pay rent or a mortgage, squatting is sometimes a chosen lifestyle due to political reasons, and a conviction that paying money for housing is just plain wrong.Global estimates of the squatter population put the number at over 1 billion people, with 200,000 joining the ranks every day.Squatting around the world- After communist East Germany fell, the many government-owned buildings were vacated. Those were in turn occupied by squatters, including some in desirable areas of Berlin like Mitte. South Africa is popular with squatters, who often develop large shantytowns on the fringes of large cities. Johannesburg is home to a number of squatter-occupied buildings within the city also. A rash of squatting hit London after World War II, when many ex-servicemen and their families moved into anything fit for human habitation, from old military bases to luxury flats in West London.

Notable (but now evicted) squats in the Czech Republic include Ladronka and Stare Stresovice.

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