{"id":11209,"date":"2018-08-30T17:58:58","date_gmt":"2018-08-30T17:58:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.securesiteuk.co.uk\/?p=11209"},"modified":"2022-03-30T15:35:19","modified_gmt":"2022-03-30T15:35:19","slug":"process-for-evicting-squatters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.securesiteuk.co.uk\/process-for-evicting-squatters\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the Process for Evicting Squatters?"},"content":{"rendered":"

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR FREE<\/strong> CHECKLIST TO PREVENT SQUATTING<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Squatter evictions in the UK are something that many property landlords and property owners will need to undertake at one point or another throughout their ownership of residential or commercial properties in the UK. However, not known by many, removing squatters from a property is sometimes more difficult than it perhaps should be.<\/p>\n

It is therefore very important that landlords, property owners and even managers of properties that are sitting vacant, are aware of the processes and laws involved when it comes to squatter evictions. Prevention and effective property security are always better solutions to the potential problem of squatters on your property. Hence, as soon as you are aware that your property is going to be vacant, it is worth contacting vacant property specialists<\/a> such as Secure Site UK.<\/p>\n

What is Squatting in the UK?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

By definition in England and Wales, squatting is a term used to refer to a person or a number of people who are not the owners of a property or land and who take possession of unoccupied land or empty property. In short, someone enters land or a property deliberately with the intention to live in it.<\/p>\n

Squatting has long been a theme running throughout British history. Squatting become a mass issue as far back as the Peasant\u2019s Revolt in 1381. Much later on in history, World War II saw squatting become much more popular as homelessness was on the rise due to damaged or destroyed properties at the hands of the German bombers as one of the biggest factors. In more recent history, squatting was on the rise amidst the housing crisis of 1960.<\/p>\n

The main reasons attributed to why people squat in the UK include things like poverty, homelessness, protest and recreation. Many of the squatting sites are of residential nature and some are also opened up as social centres. Many companies turn to eviction services<\/a> experts to undertake and manage this process.<\/p>\n

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Squatting in a Residential Property <\/strong><\/h3>\n

It is currently illegal to squat in a residential property such as a house or flat or another home. Squatting in residential premises can lead to a sentence of 6 months in prison, a \u00a35,000 fine or a combination of both.<\/p>\n

However, if a person is renting a property and they fall behind on payments but continue to live there, it is not considered squatting. This is because they have received prior permission to be in the property by the landlord and have signed up to the terms of their contract, including actions should they fall behind with rental payments.<\/p>\n

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\"Squatting<\/a><\/p>\n

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Squatting in a Non-Residential Property <\/strong><\/h3>\n

A non-residential property refers to any land or building which is not designed to be lived in, like an office block, caf\u00e9 or shop, commonly referred to as commercial premises. To maintain the validity of an empty property’s insurance policy, you should also undertake regular vacant property inspections<\/a>, as most insurers will require this.<\/p>\n

Squatter\u2019s usually targeted non-residential properties as the law do not as clearly prohibit their presence in these types of buildings since they are more open to the public. In the majority of cases, the police can only usually act if the squatters are committing other crimes such as:<\/p>\n