The squatting ban only applies to residential properties, not commercial ones. In reality even before it was passed the cops and other authorities found various ways to remove squatters from residential properties but were more likely to tolerate squatting in industrial buildings provided they didn’t get rinsed and badly trashed (which sadly happend loads down South).
For the cops to actually use the new law against you, sounds like you were squatting a large (but abandoned) town house which would still be classed as residential and that someone claimed ownership of.
At least they did not bust you on any of the other laws which can be used against illegal parties and actually have nothing to do with the squat ban.
Ironically an “illegal rave” these days (outside some bits of the London scene rarely has anything to do with squatting) and is simply the use without permission of a piece of land/property for a weekend’s hedonism which – or in some cases even a building hired out with permission and sometimes even a TENS license and the promoters just claim its “illegal” to sound “cool”.
