1. c. 7) was an Act of the Parliament of England that prohibited the construction—in most parts of England—of any dwelling that did not have at least 4 acres (1.62 ha; 0.01 sq mi) assigned to it out of the freehold or other heritable land belonging to the person responsible for its construction.

In the reign of Elizabeth I of England there arose a common belief, that if a house was erected by a squatter and his friends on waste ground overnight, then they had the right of undisturbed possession.

[3] Exemption from the Act could be obtained by petition to the Quarter Sessions on grounds of poverty, provided the permission of the manorial lord was given.

[2] This was qualified by the Poor Relief Act 1601 which gave churchwardens and overseers authority to build cottages on ‘waste and common’ for the use of the poor, with permission of the manorial lord:[4] It shall and may be lawful for the said churchwardens and overseers … by the leave of the lord or lords of the manor, whereof any waste or common within their parish is or shall be parcel … according to any order to be set down by the justices of the peace of the said county at their general Quarter Sessions … to erect, build and set up in fit and convenient places of habitation, in such waste or common, at the general charges of the parish … convenient houses of dwelling for the said impotent poor.The act was repealed by the Erection of Cottages Act 1775 (15 Geo.

3. c. 32)[5] The principal reasons for the repeal were in the preamble, which stated that the 1588 act had made it difficult for poor people to find 'habitation' and also that it may have caused a reduction in the population.