How To Tackle Illegal Occupation Of Private Land

Over the last year the issue of illegal occupation of private land has been highlighted with a substantial increase in illegal travellers taking occupation of vacant and derelict sites with easy access for vehicles. Unfortunately, many illegal occupiers are aware that, without a court order, the landowner has no authority to evict and so they can simply stay put and await a final order.

While raising court proceedings involves expenditure, sitting back and doing nothing is a high risk strategy. There is a potential for further damage to the property and the risk of others taking occupation illegally. The only guaranteed way of removing illegal occupiers is through court proceedings.

The process of obtaining an eviction order in Scotland is relatively simple. Initially, a letter is sent by Sheriff Officers asking the illegal occupiers to remove within 24/48 hours. Sheriff Officers provide a report detailing the number of illegal occupiers and a note of the vehicles on the property to be incorporated into the court proceedings. If the illegal occupiers fail to remove, a Summary Cause action has to be raised at the local Sheriff Court.

In the first instance, we liaise with the Sheriff Clerk at the local Sheriff Court and seek to reduce the period of notice to speed up matters. This process requires a hearing before the Sheriff because it may result in a departure from the normal period of notice (21 days) and is granted entirely at the Sheriff's discretion.

Assuming the Sheriff grants the reduced period (normally 48 hours), a return date and a calling date are then assigned by the Sheriff Clerk. Sheriff Officers are required to serve the summons before the return date to give the illegal occupiers time to respond and they do so by fixing a copy of the summons to stakes at the entrance, exit and in the middle of the property.

The return date is the date by which the illegal occupiers must send a written note of any proposed defence to the court, or intimate that they wish to challenge the jurisdiction of the court. The calling date is usually assigned a couple of days after that, despite the rules normally requiring a minimum period of 14 days.

Assuming that the illegal occupiers fail to attend Court on the calling...