Squatting is when someone occupies an empty or abandoned property without the owner's permission, often without his knowledge and without any normal legal right to do so.
The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 criminalised violent or forced entry by unauthorised occupiers.
Genuine squatters cannot be forcibly moved without a court order.
See Land Registration Act 2002 for changes to the law of Adverse Possession.
Fly-traders and squatters in residential and commercial premises and on vacant land are a continuing problem to property agents, landlords and local authorities.
If an occupier has no ownership documents, no lease or tenancy agreement, no record of having paid rent to a landlord, and no other evidence of occupancy rights exist, then the occupier is a squatter.
It is perhaps of no consolation to landlords that squatters often believe they have a perfect right to occupy when properties are left vacant, especially for long periods.
Even so, the squatter has rights. Squatters cannot be legally evicted from premises without a court possession order, unless they leave voluntarily or the owner secures peacable re-entry.
You need to act quickly once you find squatters in your premises. Given the trouble, stress, delay and expense of the legal process it is well worth having a jolly good try to peaceably pursuade the squatters to leave, or, if you get the opportunity, to peaceably re-enter and take over, bearing in mind you have a duty of care for any of the squatters' possessions.
Remember though, never use force or threats of violence: this could result in you getting yourself a criminal record, so its a good idea to have a witness with you at all times in case you are accused of this - otherwise it is very difficult to disprove such an accusation.
It may even be worthwhile to invest some money by offering to pay for temporary accommodation and removals, if you can establish some sort of raport, and pursuade them to go quickly.
Failing all of this, the legal process has now been speeded up considerably when it comes to removing squatters, by means of an Interim Possession Order. Use a solicitor to deal with this for you if you don't feel confident about doing it yourself. It is quite feasible to do this yourself, providing you are willing to do the homework, and save a considerable amount of money.
A quicker procedure now exists which allows landlords to apply for an interim possession order, pending a judge's decision to grant a full possession order.
http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/ex332_0405.pdf
An important consideration is that a claim for possession is made within 28 days of becoming aware of the existence of squatters occupying your property. If you do not do this the judge will take into consideration whether you, as owner or landlord, should have known about the occupation sooner that you did.
To assist your case you will be invited to make an undertaking to the court that:
1. You will allow the occupier/s back onto the premises (with compensation) if the court later decides you were not entitled to an interim possession order.
2. You will not re-let the premises, damage or dispose of them until the court makes its final decision by granting a full possession order.
The rules are strict when it comes to serving papers and notices on the squatters - it is easy to fall fowl of the rules here.
Within a few days the court should issue the claim, following which you must serve the court papers on the squatters within 24 hours, either in person or attached to and displayed on the main door of the premises.
If the court grants an interim possession order a copy of the order must be served on the squatters within 48 hours and the squatters will be required to leave within 24 hours and not return within 12 months.
If the squatter/s refuse to leave they are committing a criminal offence and risk being arrested by the police or being evicted by a court bailiff. They may also be subject to a fine or imprisonment or both.
The squatters are entitled to put forward a defense at one further hearing, failing which a final Possession Order will be made. If the squatters are still in possession at this stage, the court bailiff, if necessary assisted by the police, can evict.
The whole process should be capable of being resolved within one to two weeks, providing you can prove your own title and the tresspassers cannot show any sort of legal interest in the land.
Full details and advice for both parties, known legally as applicants and respondents, owners or landlords and squatters are available on the Court Service Web Site. A guide for owners/landlords is available in pdf format at: http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/ex332_0405.pdf
Landlords would obviously wish to avoid occupation by squatters in the first place. Sensible precautions would be:
If you discover trespassers or squatters in your property you should be able to remove them quite legally within a two-week period, providing you go about the process correctly:
Most squatters believe that they have a right to make use of unoccupied property and indeed a sizeable culture of squatting exists today in the UK. Many web sites now exist to advise and support squatting so often squatters occupying your property know as much, or indeed more, than you do about the law and their minimum rights. This extract from one site gives a flavour:
"Since 1968, over a quarter of a million people in Britain have walked into an uninhabited house owned by someone else and proceeded to set up without seeking permission and without paying rent. By doing so, they have become squatters. Some have been thrown out within hours. Others have stayed for months, even years, before being evicted by bailiffs or leaving under threat of a court order. A few have managed to establish permanent homes.
Most squatting has occurred in old flats and houses in the larger towns and cities, but every conceivable type of empty property has been squatted - from luxury flats to dilapidated slums, from country cottages to suburban semis, from old churches to disused factories
Squatting is an ancient practice, and has occurred at some stage, in different forms, throughout the world. Yet the last 12 years in Britain has seen a spectacular rise in the number of people who have taken over empty buildings. No longer does "squatting" describe the isolated actions of numerous individuals. Instead, it has become a social movement of great significance, whose impact upon housing policy has already been considerable, but whose potential has yet, perhaps, to be fully realised."
