Squatters are any property owners worst nightmare and discovering them can be incredibly frustrating.
It is normal to feel angry, but you need to be careful. Squatters rights are pretty extensive in the UK, and rash actions could easily land you in serious legal trouble yourself.
You need to act fast, but in the right way and, most importantly, a legal way. In this article we will look at exactly how you go about getting rid of squatters on any property, as well as investigating the best ways to prevent them from gaining access in the first place.
Of course, if you are already dealing with squatters, this advice might not be the most helpful at this stage in time, but once you are risk of your existing problem, you want to make quite sure that such a thing can never happen again.
At Select solutions we help with squatter evictions on a regular basis so are somewhat of an expert on the topic.
What I the definition of a squatter?
A squatter is anyone who gains access to a property and lives there without the permission of the owner.
To qualify as a squatter, a person must NEVER have had permission to enter the property. This means that former tenants are not squatters, even if they remain in a property after being evicted or who have not paid their rent.
This doesn’t mean that they have the legal right to be there, or that you can’t take legal action against them, but the process is different and squatters rights do not apply. Whilst some property owners are frustrated that the people in their property without permission are not classed as squatters, it can actually be easier to get rid of them.
Is squatting illegal?
It should be illegal to enter and live in someone’s property without permission right? Well, not always. Squatting in a residential building is illegal and the police have the right to forcefully remove them. In residential properties, ‘squatters’ are effectively trespassers in the eyes of the law and could face a fine of up to £5000 and a spell in prison.
On the other hand, squatting on commercial sites is not illegal, although damaging the property or remaining once a court has ordered you to leave is.
When do squatter’s rights apply?
Did you know that squatters can legally apply to become the registered owner of a property if they’ve been there long enough? Don’t panic. In this case ‘long enough’ means over ten years, so if you have just discovered them there is no risk of this happening.
How to Evict Squatters
Do NOT try to remove squatters forcefully yourself. Instead, contact the police if the property is residential or file for an interim possession order (IPO).
An IPO is the quickest way to legally evict squatters but if you discovered that squatters were on your property more than 28 days ago you will need to make a claim for possession instead.
We know just how frustrating this can be when you own the property but taking a different route will only land you in further legal difficulty.
