Squatting is on the rise again in Britain – and in this vicious housing crisis, is anyone surprised? | Jason Rodrigues

Amid soaring rents, some are turning to the UK's many vacant properties for shelter. Could this be a return to the 70s and 80s?

The postcode was an exclusive area of London and the four-storey, period building was something an estate agent might describe as magnificent" and imposing". A man escorted me to a side door in near darkness. The door opened and as soon as I was in, it closed quickly behind me.

The inside of the property was vast, but there was barely any furniture and the walls and high ceilings had been graffitied. The inhabitants were initially suspicious of me, but seemed friendly enough. I had imagined them to be more disorderly, but instead some were busy with cordless drills, trying to make the cold, once palatial property more habitable.