As the squatters have flagged in notices placed in the windows of these buildings, while squatting in a residential building is a criminal offence, squatting alone is not a criminal offence in commercial buildings.  

That means that unless the squatters are causing damage to the property, using utilities or stealing from the property, calling the police and asking them to remove squatters is unlikely to work on its own. The response is often that it is “a civil matter”.

Property owners also risk incurring criminal liability themselves by trying to forcibly regain possession if there is someone in the property. 

The best way forward is to usually apply to the court for a possession order.  

Possession Order

Anyone with a right to possession – which obviously includes the owner of the land, but can also include a tenant, licensee or even someone with sufficient control over the property – can apply to the court for an order for possession.

The person seeking possession must set out the facts around the occupation without consent, grounds for claiming possession and details of those in occupation. They can also seek damages, but largely property owners will primarily be focussed on getting their properties back, and recovery of damages from known squatters may be difficult, and is practically impossible against “persons unknown”.

Proceedings must then be served on the squatters at least 2 days before the hearing, with evidence of service provided to the court. If the squatters’ identities are unknown, the proceedings can be served on “persons unknown” by attaching copies to the property – perhaps the front door – or in open land, on fencing, on stakes around the land.

 If they fail to leave, the next step is to attend the court hearing and obtain a possession order.

If the squatters still fail to give up possession once a possession order has been issued by the court, the person entitled to possession can apply within 3 months to the court for a writ or warrant of possession, and a court appointed enforcement agent will then evict the squatters from the property.

The person entitled to possession will also normally be present, along with a lock-smith, or someone able to re-secure the property. In multi-let buildings, this may require cooperation with other occupiers.

It’s also sensible to inform the police, if it’s anticipated this process will be difficult. At this point, the police will have greater powers to intervene, as anyone obstructing the court enforcement officer from enforcing the order for possession commits a criminal offence and can be liable to imprisonment or a fine.

What if the squatters come back?

If the same trespassers come back to the property after enforcement of the order, the property owner/person entitled to possession can apply for “restitution”, allowing them to enforce the original order without the need to issue fresh proceedings.

Faster enforcement – interim possession order

If you act quickly (within 28 days of becoming aware of the squatters), you could use the expedited interim possession order (“IPO”) process, though this is just to re-take possession and cannot be used to claim damages.

In order to do so you must have an immediate right of possession – which you must have had throughout the squatters’ occupation -  and must serve the application on the squatters within 24 hours of making it. The court will list the application for hearing as soon practicable. As with a final possession order, you must provide evidence of service at the hearing.

As this is an interim order, it is granted on an expedited basis, but the court can set it aside at a later date if it transpires it should not have been granted.

If the Court does make an IPO, the person entitled to possession must serve it on the squatters within 48 hours, who must then vacate the property within 24 hours of service of the order, and cannot return without permission for one year.

A crucial difference with compared to the traditional process is that failure to comply with an IPO is a criminal offence.

Once the 24 hour period for the squatters to vacate has expired, the applicant  can call the police and the squatters can be arrested. That said, this still depends upon the police being willing to get involved – that is not guaranteed and so sometimes in can be still be quicker to apply for a standard Possession Order – particularly if there is an option to apply in the High Court – see below.

A full possession hearing must then take place within 7 days of the IPO being made, so the process does involve two trips to court.

Applying in the High Court

The default position is that applications for a possession order should be made in the County Court. However, the rules state that a possession order against trespassers can be sought in the High Court where “there is a substantial risk of public disturbance or of serious harm to persons or property which properly require immediate determination”. This could include situations where there is a substantial risk of fly-tipping or where the property is unsafe for occupation (because it is a construction site for example).

The main advantage of applying in the High Court is that it is often much quicker. In genuinely urgent cases, the Court will often be willing to reduce the time period for service of the claim and hold a hearing at short notice. The possession order can also be enforced immediately via the use of privately contracted High Court authorised Enforcement Officers.

Open Land

In some cases where squatters are on open land and have not entered a building, it may be possible to evict them at common law without a court order. However, the circumstances where this route is available are limited so always seek advice first.

Some Do’s & Don’ts

• Do seek urgent legal advice
• Don’t try to enter the property or evict the squatters by force
• Don’t try to engage with/identify the squatters
• Do consider whether there are any grounds for an application to the High Court
• Do ensure that you are in a position to re-secure the building as soon as possession has been obtained.

Next steps

The key is often to act quickly, so do get in touch if you would like more detailed advice on dealing with trespassers or squatters.

Authored by Paul Tonkin and Lucy Redman.