As of 1st Sept 2012, the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 will be
in effect. This is relevant for landlords with empty properties, as it changes
squatters’ rights in your properties.
What is changing?
Section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of
Offenders Act 2012 details the new legislations regarding squatters.
It outlines that an offense
is now committed when a person who is a
trespasser in a residential building and knows or ought to know that they are trespassing, has an intention of living in the property.
This does not apply to anyone who originally had permission
from the owner of the property to occupy the premises – for example a tenant
who had a lease which has expired and has re-entered the property or has not
left the property.
This new legislation also clarifies Section 7 of the Criminal Law
Act 1977, allowing uniformed police officers the power to enter and search
premises for the purpose of arresting squatters and trespassers. It also allows
a uniformed police officer to enter a property when there is suspicion of
squatters or trespassers.
With squatting criminalised, the penalties for committing the
offence are a £5,000 fine, 6 months in prison, or both.
How do I evict squatters?
The quicker procedure to evict a squatter from your property
is to apply for Interim Possession Order.
You must make the application within 28 days of discovering
squatters in your property. If the court makes the order, you must serve the
notice upon the squatters. You do not have to know the names of the squatters
to serve notice on them.
Once you have served the notice, they have 24 hours to leave
the premises. If they don’t, the owner of the property can call the police and
have them arrested. The notice informs them that they must leave within 24
hours and must not return for 12 months.
The government have also advised that the interim possession
order does not give the owner full possession and therefore they must also make
an application for a possession of property at the same time.
What if they have damaged my
property?
If they have damaged your property and you wish to claim for
the cost of the damages, you must apply for a normal possession order for the
property and cannot apply for an interim possession order.
Below are links to the relevant legislation on the government
website.
Legal Aid, Sentencing and
Punishment of Offenders Act 2012
Criminal Law Act 1977
