Squatters Face Criminal Penalties

There has been increasing concern about the cost and inconvenience caused by squatters when they occupy property, not least because of the apparent inability of the police to assist property owners and occupiers when such problems occur. As a result, owners and occupiers have too often had to spend considerable sums in seeking to evict squatters, repairing damage and cleaning up the debris they leave behind.

However, it may be that these problems are in the past - at least for owners and occupiers of residential premises. Since 1 September 2012, when section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 came into force, there now exists an offence of squatting in a residential building. But will the police be willing to use the new offence and, if so, what are the implications for the owners of commercial properties?

Lack of effective criminal remedies

Until the 2012 Act came into force, squatting was not of itself a criminal offence in England and Wales. It was simply regarded as a form of trespass and therefore a civil wrong.

The only potential criminal sanctions available to deal with squatting were under the Criminal Law Act 1977. Section 12 of this Act makes it an offence for a squatter to fail to leave a residential property when required to do so by a displaced residential occupier or a protected intending occupier of the property.

Aside from the fact that this offence gives no assistance to owners of commercial property, there are also circumstances where the criteria for the offence do not apply in a residential context. For example, the offence does not arise where the property owner is not in occupation of the residential property immediately before being excluded by the squatter and does not require the premises for occupation as a residence - which applies to many holiday-home owners. In such circumstances, the police are unable to intervene without evidence that the squatters have committed other offences such as criminal damage or burglary.

Other problems

Even where the criteria for an offence under section 12 of the 1977 Act arise, the procedure has not always been used - much to the frustration of many property owners and occupiers. This appears to have been mostly down to a lack of awareness and education within the police, as recognised by the Metropolitan Police Service in its response to consultation CP12/2011 "Options for dealing with squatting". At page 32, it stated:

"The MPS also recognise that the lack of training and practical knowledge regarding the law regarding squatting, particularly section 7, may be a barrier to effective enforcement. Improved training, including greater awareness of the damaging impact of squatting, is part of ongoing work."

This lack of awareness and education on the part of the police was unfortunately not shared by the squatter community, a number of whom became well-practiced in advertising their "squatters' rights" by way of a "section 6 notice" displayed at an appropriate entry point to the land. These notices were designed to deter anyone seeking to have the squatters forcibly evicted, by invoking section 6 of the Criminal Law Act 1977. Section 6 of the 1977 Act provides that it is a criminal offence to use or threaten violence to try to gain entry into premises where:

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