Dealing with unauthorised occupiers

Travellers caravans iStock 000010792699XSmall 164x219Daniel Hall looks at the options open to public bodies faced with unauthorised occupiers of their land.

The summer finally appears to be here, for now at least. Whilst the sunshine and longer evenings are very welcome, this is often a busy time for our property litigation team, due to an increase in unauthorised occupiers of land.

Given the large, often diverse, property portfolios held by public sector bodies, they can suffer at the hands of unauthorised occupiers, including squatters and travellers. 

Land and property in quiet, unpopulated areas is often targeted, such as: town or village greens; open spaces on the fringes of urban areas; and vacant properties in residential areas.

Key remedies

Once unauthorised occupiers enter land it can take considerable time and resource to remove them. The following options are available to a land owner:

Contact the police

The police have powers to remove groups where public order offences are committed. Where squatters are not openly causing public order offences, the police are reluctant to act, usually leaving a property owner to take possession itself.

Instruct a certificated bailiff

The bailiff may remove trespassers under the common law right of a property owner to enjoy possession of its own land. This is often the quickest and cheapest option but can be ineffective against seasoned squatters who are aware of the defences often raised to frustrate evictions.

Claim for possession at the court

The court rules accommodate a relatively quick process for such claims. The main steps in the court process are:

  1. Issue your claim at the court. The claim will include evidence of your title to the land and witness statements setting out the background.
  2. Serve the court papers. Service is usually achieved by handing the court papers to the occupiers or staking the court papers in prominent locations on site.
  3. A short hearing will take place, usually within 10-14 days from issuing the claim. 

In extreme circumstances, this timescale can be reduced to a number of days:

  • unauthorised occupiers do not often attend a hearing or raise a defence. In these circumstances the court will usually grant a possession order, typically requiring possession immediately or within 7-14 days;
  • if the defendants do attend and raise a credible defence, the main hearing will be postponed, to allow a full hearing of the issues.

The Court Bailiff will usually enforce a possession order and following the eviction, the site should then be made secure to prevent other occupiers entering. A claimant against unnamed persons will not be able to recover their litigation costs.

If residential property is involved, a court order will always be required before an eviction can take place.

Checklist

Prevention is better than cure in these circumstances. Here are a few practical steps to minimising the risks:

  1. Review your property portfolio, identify 'at risk' sites and visit them regularly.
  2. Check that adequate security measures such as gates and boundary fences are well maintained. Is a locked gate suitable? Consider further steps to prevent access to land, such as height restrictions, earth bunds or security guards.
  3. Check your title deeds. Ensure that the deeds are in the correct name and consider voluntary registration of unregistered land.
  4. If title deeds are lost, consider applying to the land registry to be registered as the owner as soon as possible. Proving that you own the land in question is essential in any action against trespassers and so if you don't hold evidence of ownership, consider your application now.

Daniel Hall is a solicitor at Veale Wasbrough Vizards. He can be contacted on 0117 314 5315 or by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..