Need Help With Trespassers?

If you discover that trespassers have occupied your property the first thing you need to do is establish if they are prepared to leave voluntarily. If they are not going to leave of their own accord you have four basic options to recover your property:

•	A process called “common law” eviction where there are no buildings on the land
•	Interim possession proceedings in the County Court
•	Trespasser possession proceedings in the county court
•	Possession proceedings in the High Court provided you can demonstrate to the court the seriousness of the situation

If the common law applies the squatters can be removed without the need for an Order for Possession. This service is available via Sherbond (see www.sherbond.net) and an instruction can be made via the website by clicking on How To Instruct Us. Their highly trained TEAM will plan the removal of squatters or trespassers using experienced officers, with police support where this can be given and the right tools to do the job!

In seeking an Interim Possession Order the squatters will be required to leave the property within 24 hours of the service of the Interim Possession Order. If the squatters do not leave the property within that time they are committing a criminal offence and the police can be called to remove the squatters. The proceedings will be issued in the County Court and a hearing date will be set to decide whether such an Order is to be granted. There will be a further hearing to decide whether the Interim Order is to continue. This process is quick though the County Court process is not as quick as the High Court route. County Court Bailiffs will enforce the Possession Order.

We find that for a number of our clients the issue of proceedings in the High Court is the most appropriate course of action because these can be expedited and heard far more quickly than in the County Court. The Order for Possession can be obtained and a High Court Writ of Possession issued within 2 weeks of the issue of the Claim for Possession. The High Court Writ of Possession can then be enforced within 48 hours of its issue and possession of the property will be returned to the landowner. High Court Enforcement Officers will be used, and they will come to the problem of eviction with a level of expertise many landowners and their lawyers have not experienced before. They will carry out a full Risk Assessment, not to the point of paralysis (!) but to the point of getting the trespassers removed safely and with the support of the police. They will also turn up with the right kit such as climbing equipment for working at height, PPE (short for Personal Protection Equipment) which is needed when walking through “you-know-what” or handling “sharps”, and locksmiths where entry has been locked or barricaded. Whatever the problem these professionals have the right level of response.

So whilst you may feel you are faced with a very difficult situation, help is closer at hand than you may realise.

For more information on how to handle any trespasser/squatter or unauthorised traveller problem please contact Sherwins either by phone on 0845 890 9210 or by email at enquiries@sherwins.net and visit our website at www.sherwins.net. We can then help manage any legal questions as well as putting you in touch with colleagues in the enforcement arena who do the practical work of evicting whatever the scale of the project.