Ministry Launches Consultation About Unauthorised Development and Encampments

Unauthorised developments and encampments vary widely from illegal raves and protests to unauthorised traveller camps. Whatever the case, landowners often want to remove trespassers as quickly as possible from their land.

Public bodies and private individuals already have a number of options available to them to remove trespassers; unfortunately, none of these offers a perfect solution. The government is hoping that its consultation will lead to the identification of better solutions or new powers for dealing with unauthorised development and encampments.

Public Powers

Local authorities have powers to direct trespassers living in vehicles to leave and to remove their vehicles from the land. If the trespassers don’t leave the land as soon as practicable, or return within 3 months of the direction to leave, then they commit an offence. Local authorities can also apply to a Magistrates' Court to allow them to remove any trespassers and vehicles not removed following a direction.

The police also have the power to direct trespassers to leave land if the trespassers have caused damage to the land, have used threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour toward the occupiers of the land, or if they have 6 or more vehicles on the land If the trespassers don’t leave the land as soon as practicable, or return within 3 months of the direction to leave, then they commit an offence. Police also have the power to arrest trespassers who commit other criminal offences in the course of their trespass, such as aggravated trespass, criminal damage or public order offences. 

Unfortunately, at times of increasing pressure on public resources, local authorities and police forces are often reluctant to exercise these powers.  This leaves landowners to take steps of their own to have the trespassers removed.

Private Legal Proceedings

Landowners will usually need to obtain a possession order to have trespassers removed from land, and then engage a bailiff's services to remove the trespassers if they do not leave as directed. Although courts treat these cases as a priority, it will usually take 1 - 2 weeks to obtain and enforce a possession order.

Landowners can also try to obtain an emergency injunction against the trespassers. However, courts are reluctant to grant injunctions unless they know the names of the trespassers and this often makes injunctions impossible to obtain.

In either case, a landowner will usually be left to pay the costs of obtaining the order and removing the trespassers. If there are a large number of trespassers, animals, or abandoned vehicles or waste, then the costs of removing the trespassers and clearing the land can be extraordinary and prohibitive.

Self-Help

Faced with these difficulties, some landowners turn to self-help to remove trespassers. This is always to be discouraged, as landowners expose themselves to risk of criminal liability if they exceed the limit of their rights.

The consultation is now open and runs until 11:45pm on 15 June 2018. You can read and respond to the consultation here.

If you need advice about trespassers, then please contact Philip Sheppard in our Property Litigation team on 0117 314 5621