Boris Johnson's removal of the peace camp protestors in Parliament Square has been attracting significant press coverage over the past few weeks.  Unwanted occupiers, be they protesters, travellers or squatters, can affect any land owner.  The best advice is to ensure that your land and buildings are secure, however, in the event that a site is unlawfully occupied the question then is how to regain possession and how quickly can you do it.

The first step is to ask the trespassers to leave pointing out that they have no right to be there.  We often use process servers to deliver a notice of intended eviction.  Whilst more often than not they refuse to leave, it will be evident that they are aware they have no rights to be there.  If they do not leave, there are three main ways of removing trespassers from non-residential land.

The three options can be used individually or in combination and which is the most appropriate will depend on the circumstances.  Relevant considerations will include where the occupiers are located, what sort of site it is, whether they are causing damage, whether the occupiers are causing a danger to themselves or to others, how many occupiers there are and whether there are children present.

1. Police

The first option is to contact the police to see if they will assist.  The police have powers under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.  Generally the police are reluctant to use these powers but there are exceptions.  Even if they are reluctant to intervene initially, persistence sometimes pays off!

2. Private Bailiffs

The common law entitles you or your agents to use "reasonable force" to remove trespassers.  This task is undertaken by private bailiffs – many of whom advertise this service.  In the event that the bailiffs use more than reasonable force you would be liable for their actions leaving you open to both civil and criminal actions.  That said, bailiffs can be cost effective and quick and some of our clients do use them successfully in appropriate circumstances.

3. Court Proceedings

It will usually take 7 to 10 days to get a possession order from the court, however this may be shortened if the need for urgency can be shown.  You will, of course, incur legal costs, however, the advantage of this route is that once an order is obtained, it will be enforced by court-appointed enforcement officers or bailiffs who are authorised to use force to evict any occupiers and you will have no personal liability for their actions.  They can require the police to assist them; private bailiffs can only request that the police accompany them but they cannot demand that they do so.

This summary is designed to give you a very general idea of the options available.  Please note it is not meant for use in relation to residential land.  It is not exhaustive and if you have trespassers please do not hesitate to contact us for further advice.

This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq

Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.

The original publication date for this article was 22/07/2010.