Kiwi squatter moves into two $36m mansions in London

To most of us Oxford St, Leicester Square and Mayfair are simply aspirations on a Monopoly board.

But as a squatter in London, Kiwi Dan Simon has called each of them home without paying a cent in rent.

Now the 31-year-old expat has moved into not one but two 15million pound (NZ$36m) six-storey mansions in the exclusive central London suburb of Mayfair.

British journalists hammered on his door this week when news broke of his occupation of the two former embassies each with more than 20 rooms and "about" eight bathrooms which he says have been unoccupied for five years.

Mr Simon and five members of his artists' collective Oubliette were squatting in properties in Waterloo and Oxford St before arriving in Mayfair.

Squatting living in unoccupied buildings without permission or paying rent is illegal here but is not a criminal offence in England. It can takes years, and huge legal costs, to evict squatters through the civil courts.

Squatting allowed the artists the financial freedom to be creative, Mr Simon said, speaking with posh English vowels.

"London is one of the most expensive places to live in the world. We're not just squatters looking for a life in a 15m property. We're here with a serious purpose."

The former Aucklander landed in London aged 21. He got a respectable job in an IT company and lived a "conventional life" for two years. "I was very bored with it all. I was in London wondering what was going wrong with my life."

So he quit his job and became a rickshaw driver. The move brought a huge sense of freedom. Now he manages the Oubliette and, while he doesn't have a regular job and eats out of dumpsters, "the quality of the food we get is absolutely extraordinary".

The Mayfair mansion has electricity ("which we pay for"), running water ("cold, not hot"), and space for the group to hold a week-long arts festival, from tomorrow.

But the aristocratic family that owns the mansions wants the group out and is taking the artists to court on September 21.

OCCUPIERS' RIGHTS

* Squatters live in abandoned or unoccupied buildings.

* In England, squatting is a civil, not a criminal, matter and the property owner must take legal action to evict squatters. This can take years.

* The owners must prove they have a right to live in the property. The squatter can fight this and say the proper legal steps haven't been taken.

* To legally occupy the house, the squatter must be able to open and lock the door. Any evidence of forced entry is regarded as criminal damage, and police can remove occupants.

* If a squatter openly lives on the land without the owner's permission for five to 15 years, they can gain ownership, but this is unusual.

* Squatting is illegal in New Zealand.

- © Fairfax NZ News