Squatting has been much in the news recently with groups of squatters occupying various high profile London properties, including Guy Ritchie's six million pound house on Fitzroy Square. In the current austere economic climate it is possible that those who find themselves unable to afford rising rents may turn to squatting as an alternative means of housing themselves, thereby increasing the incidents of squatting particularly in urban areas.

What to do if you find your property has been occupied by squatters

In the first instance it would be a good idea to take some advice from a solicitor as your options for repossessing the property will vary depending on whether or not you occupy or intend to occupy the property as your home.

Purpose of the Property

Where you actually occupy the property or intend to occupy the property then the Criminal Law Act 1977 provides that you are either a "displaced residential occupier" or "protected intending occupier". Under these circumstances squatting amounts to a criminal offence and the police should take action to remove the squatters from the property. These terms are intended to cover the situation where you return home from work or holiday and find squatters living in your property or where you are prevented from moving into a property that you have bought as it has become squatted.

The police will usually require proof of ownership of the property together with a statutory declaration confirming the circumstances of the occupation; both documents can be prepared for you by a solicitor. In our experience the police sometimes have to be persuaded of their power to deal with the situation and persistence may be required.

Non Occupation of the Property

Where you do not occupy the property as your home then the squatters have a right to remain in the property until such time as you obtain a court order to evict them. There are two procedures for obtaining a court order one quicker and one slower. To take advantage of the quicker method you must make the application to the court for an "Interim Possession Order" within 28 days of finding out that your property is squatted. Such an application will be listed quite quickly by the court and once you have obtained the Interim Possession Order and served it on the squatters they must vacate the property within 24 hours, failing which they are committing a criminal offence.

If you do not make the application in time then you must use the normal possession route, where a possession order is obtained and a bailiff's appointment must then be applied for.

It can be seen that the timescales for evicting squatters can be anything from a few hours in the case of an occupier to several weeks or even months in the case of a property that is not occupied. Squatters are generally well aware of their rights and failure to use to correct procedure could well result in a delay in obtaining possession.

Guy Osborn is a Partner in our Property department and is able to advice on all residential and commercial property matters; as well as on the most suitable way to resolve a dispute.

To speak with Guy about any Property related matter please contact him on guyosborn@osbornes.net or 020 7485 8811

Squatting has been much in the news recently with groups of squatters occupying various high profile London properties, including Guy Ritchie's six million pound house on Fitzroy Square. In the current austere economic climate it is possible that those who find themselves unable to afford rising rents may turn to squatting as an alternative means of housing themselves, thereby increasing the incidents of squatting particularly in urban areas.

What to do if you find your property has been occupied by squatters

In the first instance it would be a good idea to take some advice from a solicitor as your options for repossessing the property will vary depending on whether or not you occupy or intend to occupy the property as your home.

Purpose of the Property

Where you actually occupy the property or intend to occupy the property then the Criminal Law Act 1977 provides that you are either a "displaced residential occupier" or "protected intending occupier". Under these circumstances squatting amounts to a criminal offence and the police should take action to remove the squatters from the property. These terms are intended to cover the situation where you return home from work or holiday and find squatters living in your property or where you are prevented from moving into a property that you have bought as it has become squatted.

The police will usually require proof of ownership of the property together with a statutory declaration confirming the circumstances of the occupation; both documents can be prepared for you by a solicitor. In our experience the police sometimes have to be persuaded of their power to deal with the situation and persistence may be required.

Non Occupation of the Property

Where you do not occupy the property as your home then the squatters have a right to remain in the property until such time as you obtain a court order to evict them. There are two procedures for obtaining a court order one quicker and one slower. To take advantage of the quicker method you must make the application to the court for an "Interim Possession Order" within 28 days of finding out that your property is squatted. Such an application will be listed quite quickly by the court and once you have obtained the Interim Possession Order and served it on the squatters they must vacate the property within 24 hours, failing which they are committing a criminal offence.

If you do not make the application in time then you must use the normal possession route, where a possession order is obtained and a bailiff's appointment must then be applied for.

It can be seen that the timescales for evicting squatters can be anything from a few hours in the case of an occupier to several weeks or even months in the case of a property that is not occupied. Squatters are generally well aware of their rights and failure to use to correct procedure could well result in a delay in obtaining possession.

Guy Osborn is a Partner in our Property department and is able to advice on all residential and commercial property matters; as well as on the most suitable way to resolve a dispute.

To speak with Guy about any Property related matter please e-mail him or call on 020 7485 8811