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Historically, Homes Not Jails has had three rules for squats, but in reality they are practical suggestions that we have found to help squats last.  Ultimately, the people who live in our squats decide for themselves what happens in their homes and we do not enforce our "rules" on them.  However, we have found that squats which follow the "rules" tend to last longer and be more successful then squats which do not.  The rules are:

1.  No alcohol or drugs.  This is not a moral or ethical rule, but a rule of practicality.  Over the years we have seen a direct correlation between the amount of drug and alcohol use in squats and how long the squats last.  In fact, we have seen squats go down the drain due to misuse of alcohol and drugs.  Thus, we suggest to people to beware of this fact and to be careful about allowing drugs and alcohol in squats, and to make sure that they do not get out of hand.  Furthermore, if one has an encounter with the landlord or police, things will probably go better if there are not drugs and alcohol around than if they are around.  Ultimately, it is up to the people in the squat to decide what they do, and the squat does not answer to Homes Not Jails about what they do in their own home.

2.  No violence.  We open up squats to be homes so that people can get away from the violence and craziness of the world and streets.  We promote non-violence and encourage people to not use violence when dealing with problems in their squats.  We have found that squats which use violence to deal with disagreements usually fall apart very quickly.  When people who live together in a squat are having difficulties resolving disagreements, Homes Not Jails is happy to help them with suggestions and conflict resolution if the people living in the squat would like assistance.  Also, to avoid violence we suggest that people who wish to squat start a home with only a few people who already know each other or at least have friends in common.  We have found that more problems arise from squats where strangers have moved in together rather than people who know each other.

3.  Decisions are made using the consensus process.  The consensus process is a decision making process, used by groups like Homes Not Jails and Food Not Bombs, in which any individual may block what the group wishes to do.  While the consensus process is challenging, it avoids the problems and conflicts created by hierchy and majority rule.  This process works by someone in the group or the squat proposing to the others what they should do.  Examples area:  bringing a new person into a squat, the group endorsing another group's action, how the group should spend money, etc.  After the proposal is made and the person making the proposal explains why, people in the group give their opinions on the idea.  If it seems like the group may wish to go foward on the proposal, the next thing the group does is ask if anyone has concerns about the proposal.  At this point, people bring up their concerns and the group addresses the concerns to see if they can be reconciled.  Next, the group asks if there is anyone who wishes to block the proposal.  If anyone in the group does not like the proposal so much that they cannot stand to see it go forward, they block the proposal and the group does not do it.  Finally, if no one blocks the proposal the group asks if there is anyone who abstains from the decision.  A person abstains from the decision when they think it is not a good idea, but the idea does not bother them to the point where they would block the rest of the group from doing so.  This is a simplified, imperfect explanation of the consensus process - it is easy to search the internet to find better explanations of the process.