If you do not occupy your commercial property, or it is vacant for whatever reason, the risk of squatters may have crossed your mind. Also known as trespassing, squatters refers to anyone entering or staying in a building or land without the consent of the legal owner of the property. Unfortunately, commercial squatting is more common than you may think – especially for warehouses/industrial units or other types of unoccupied commercial premises and land in remote locations.
In this article, our commercial property dispute solicitors explain in simple terms the law surrounding commercial squatters, what the risks are of squatters claiming ownership of your property, and how to go about removing them if you find yourself in this position.
Contents:
- Is squatting in a commercial property illegal?
- What preventative steps can I take to deter squatters?
- What are the legal and financial risks involved when properties are used by squatters?
- Can squatters claim ownership of a commercial property?
- Can I ask the police to remove squatters from my commercial property?
- How to remove squatters from my commercial property
- What should you do once you regain possession of your property?
- Summary
Is squatting in a commercial property illegal?
The short answer is no – the act of squatting in commercial properties is not illegal in itself (unlike with residential properties). Although, the actions of squatters while occupying the premises can be illegal, such as causing damage to the property, stealing goods or fittings, utilising utilities, fly-tipping or ignoring any noise abatement notices. If squatters do something illegal whilst in your property, the police can be called.
Finding out your property has fallen into the hands of squatters is frustrating and the implications can be severe. It is important that you take steps to remove squatters as soon as possible to minimise or prevent further disruption or damage to your property.
What preventative steps can I take to deter squatters?
It is always said that prevention is better than cure. Here are some practical steps you can take to limit the risk of your property being susceptible to squatters:
- Prevent access: ensure all windows, doors and any other entry points to the property are securely locked. This can be through electronic passcode systems or special keys. For open land, ensure firm gates and fences are installed around the perimeter.
- Security and alarm systems: arrange for professional surveillance, CCTV, security patrols or an alarm system to be installed at the premises, particularly during high risk periods for eg overnight and winter season.
- Minimise vacant periods: try your best to minimise any empty periods, for example between changing commercial tenants. If a commercial tenancy is due to come to an end, then prepare in advance to find a suitable replacement tenant. Vacant periods can be seen as a window of opportunity for squatters, however small.
- Disconnect utilities: turn off and disconnect any utilities serving the property during vacant periods to deter and prevent squatters setting up and comfortably using these facilities.
- Monitor the position: try to attend the property at regular intervals during vacant periods to inspect for any signs of squatting.
- Give an occupied impression: if the property must remain vacant for whatever reason, you can take steps to give the impression it is occupied to deter squatters. This could be as simple as keeping your property maintained from the inside out (unkempt premises with overgrown vegetation particularly close to entry points can be risky).
What are the legal and financial risks involved when properties are used by squatters?
Squatters can bring an array of difficulties that frustrate your finances and impact your legal position, including:
- you are prevented from using the premises for your own purposes, letting the property to commercial tenants to generate rent or selling it to realise capital.
- you are likely to be liable to continue paying business rates for the empty property, albeit occupied by squatters, as well as any utilities still connected that they are draining.
- you may need to invest a large sum into repairing any damage caused to the fabric of the building, vandalism, or removing hazardous substances left on the premises by squatters.
- you might be displaced as the legal owner if squatters claim ownership of your commercial property through long term occupation (which we explore in more detail below).
Can squatters claim ownership of a commercial property?
Squatters can potentially claim ownership of a commercially property, displacing the current owner, if they stay long enough through adverse possession. Sometimes referred to as “squatters rights”, adverse possession allows another person who does not own land to acquire ownership rights if they meet strict requirements.
In summary, the requirements are that the squatter:
- must occupy the property continuously for a specified period (10-12 years depending on whether the property is registered).
- occupation must be without the consent of the legal owner, which means those occupying land under a lease or licence for example cannot claim adverse possession.
- the squatter must possess the whole of the land they are claiming (through a sufficient degree of physical custody and control).
- they must intend to possess the land to the exclusion of others.
While interrupting or exerting your rights to the land can potentially break the squatter’s continuous occupation, it is very important to be careful when dealing with commercial squatters. Seeking to forcibly remove them from your property ironically runs the risk of you committing a criminal offence yourself. This may seem unfair given the circumstances, but there are ways to go about it legally.
Can I ask the police to remove squatters from my commercial property?
Because squatting in commercial property is not a criminal act in and of itself, the police do not have the power to simply remove them at your request for being there. That said, police may get involved if other criminal acts are committed whilst occupying the premises (damaging the property, theft, noise abatement etc). In order for police to act to remove squatters from your premises, they will often require an interim possession order (IPO) which you will need to obtain through court. The same applies to instructing bailiffs. The good news is that once the squatters have received notice of the IPO, they have 24 hours to leave your premises, failing which you can ask for police involvement.
How to remove squatters from my commercial property
Unless you are able to negotiate with squatters to peaceably leave your property, the only viable option available is to obtain a possession order from the court. In doing so, courts expect you to follow a prescribed process and meet strict deadlines. Failure to do so may result in you delaying your case and incurring further expenses. It is crucial that you seek legal advice to maximise your chances of a successful and lawful eviction.
Although each case has its own unique features, the route to lawfully evict commercial squatters and recovering possession of your property is as follows:
Take photos and gather evidence
Before taking any action, it is important to document the presence of squatters in your commercial premises or on your land. Take photos and videos where possible of the squatters (their possessions and presence), any damage they have caused to your property together with notes detailing the condition (if you have any before and after photos that might exemplify damage done), and even accounts from neighbouring landowners of noise levels or nuisances. Although this step might seem time-consuming, if you do end up in court the evidence will strengthen your case.
Serving formal notice to vacate
The first step in removing squatters is to serve a formal notice clearly instructing the squatters to vacate the premises within a reasonable time period. If squatters do not leave after the notice, you can apply for a possession order through the county court, allowing you to legally regain possession of your property. Although many squatters simply ignore this notice, demonstrating that you have taken this step pre-litigation safeguards your position in any future proceedings. It is important to ensure that the notice is properly drafted and delivered to the squatters to avoid having to start again and thus prolong the eviction process.
Applying for an interim possession order
As the name suggests, this is an interim measure used to quickly recover possession of your commercial property pending a full hearing at a later date. It is important to note that:
- you must apply for an IPO within 28 days of becoming aware of squatters on your commercial premises. If it has been over 28 days, then you must make a full claim for possession, known as a summary possession order (SPO) and cannot use the faster interim route.
- you need to be able to verify that they are occupying the premises without your consent (ie they are not a former tenant, subtenant or licensee).
- you cannot use the IPO route if you are also making a claim for damages caused to the property by squatters or in respect of open land – in such circumstances you need to apply for the full possession order.
You will need to complete and submit the relevant application form (N130) together with supporting evidence to your local county court. It is sensible, particularly in urgent situations, to get the help of an experienced solicitor in completing these forms - mistakes can be costly.
Serving the interim possession order
If the court is satisfied with your application, they will usually send conformation of your IPO within a few days. You must serve the documents on the squatters within 48 hours of receipt. For peace of mind, it is wise to engage a certified bailiff to effect service. The IPO gives squatters 24 hours to leave the property, and prohibits them from returning for a period of 12 months. If they breach any of these terms within the notice, this leaves squatters liable for prosecution. The police can exercise their powers of arrest to physically remove the squatters from the premises, or privately instructed bailiff can facilitate eviction.
Obtaining a final order
If you have successfully obtained an IPO, you must make a claim for a final order of possession of your property (SPO). You can do this within the IPO application itself or separately. If applied for on the IPO form, a final hearing will usually be scheduled within 7 days of the IPO to convert it into a final order for possession. Squatters can attend final hearings to make representations, but in many cases they fail to attend. In any event, they are likely to have vacated as a result of enforcing the IPO.
You may need to apply for an SPO without the interim route if you do not meet the requirements for an IPO (such as being aware of the squatters presence for more than 28 days or claiming for damage caused by the squatters to the property at the same time). This is a longer process, with the timescale for possession being 10 days to 4 weeks depending on the court, in comparison to 3 to 10 days for an IPO.
Obtaining an SPO involves:
- issuing proceedings in the county court using the relevant claim form together with a supporting witness statement;
- effecting service of the proceedings on the squatters;
- attending a hearing. The hearing is usually scheduled 5-7 days after issue of the proceedings, but may take longer depending on the court.
- If obtained, the SPO is usually referred to the county court bailiff who may give the squatters an initial warning to leave. If squatters fail to respond to warnings, the county court bailiffs can forcibly (but lawfully) effect the eviction.
What should you do once you regain possession of your property?
Regaining possession of your property is a huge relief and you can start to get things back in order. Although the possession order should be enough to deter the same squatters from returning, it is prudent to change the locks. You should also take other preventative steps to limit the risk of future squatters (see below).
Unfortunately, squatters can be careless or even destructive. You may need to arrange the removal of hazardous items and deal with any damage left by the squatters. To manage costs, do not forget to contact your insurance company to make them aware of any damage or theft. You should check the terms of your insurance policy to see whether they extend to this type of damage. You may also wish to consider extending your policy to cover such risks in the future.
Summary
Owning and managing commercial property can be challenging, and the risk of squatters is certainly a problem that you can do without. Always take preventative steps to minimise the risk of squatting. If you do find yourself in the unfortunate position, it is important to act swiftly to regain possession. While removing squatters can be testing, the good news is that by acting quickly with the help of the right legal team on board, you can improve your prospects significantly. If you are a commercial property owner looking to legally remove squatters from your land or premises, get in touch with our legal experts today. We have a successful track record of helping commercial property owners lawfully evict squatters, defend adverse possession claims and regain control of your valuable asset.
