Eviction from land under Common Law
Quality Bailiffs High Court Enforcement
When someone enters your land without permission, they are a trespasser. However, this is not normally a criminal offence. The law provides various remedies to land and property owners to deal with trespassers.
The most common type of eviction from land we are asked to deal with is usually when trespassers living in caravans set up an unauthorised encampment on land.
Sadly, all too often some of these people are lawless, aggressive, and cause damage to property. They are also often very disruptive for both business and local services. Landowners trying to deal with them often get abuse or even violence offered for simply asking them to move.
There are several remedies available to landowners depending on the situation. Factors that change the approach include, speed, urgency, what damage and disruption is being caused, resources, geographical location, resolve of the trespassers and what force is required to remove them.
Most landowners first port of call is to get in touch with the police and this in our opinion is quite right as depending upon the individual situation the police have powers to deal with this.
They can use powers granted under The Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Act 2022.
These powers strengthen Sections 60-62 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. For further details see article: Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
To use these powers, the trespassers actions must fit a certain set of circumstances which is down to the interpretation of the police. They may of course also not have the resources to act quickly or at all. There is the added issue of they are busy and stretched and will not usually act as quickly as landowners require.
If the Police cannot help or cannot do this quick enough there are other remedies that are currently available. Please note landowners are advised to take their own legal advice from a qualified solicitor.
The common law rights of landowners, allows a Bailiff to be instructed to take vacant possession of the land. This is laid out in Halsbury’s Laws of England, Para 1400, volume 45 of Fourth edition.
It is well established in common law that an aggrieved individual has two remedies for trespass to their property. These are: The person may issue a claim for damages, but this does not necessarily remove the problem. The individual may resort to self-help means to protect their property- that is, they can act to terminate the trespass, to abate the nuisance.
See Home Office Guide to effective use of enforcement powers: Part 1: Unauthorised encampments.
There is no requirement for a court order. The Bailiffs are allowed to use only reasonable force.
They are not allowed to break locks or break down caravan doors or remove wheel clamps. There is no penalty to the travellers if they return to the land after they have left. This can be carried out by a Certificated Enforcement Agent if they are suitably experienced and have been trained in Common law and other eviction law, and the use of force and conflict management.
See article: Evicting from Land using Common Law Power.
Reasonable Force is mentioned on a government web page Use of reasonable force. This document however is advice for teachers which though very different gives some overall guidance on the word reasonable.
“Whether the force used is reasonable will always depend on the particular circumstances of the case. The use of force is reasonable if it is proportionate to the consequences it is intended to prevent. This means the degree of force used should be no more than is needed to achieve the desired result.”
Experience and case law has led us to believe that each case needs to assessed individually.
Ultimately the decision on what force to use needs to based upon the fact that if strong resistance is shown or threatened it does not cause an affray. Please remember under common law the bailiff company is your agent. What that means is not only can they be arrested for this offence but you as the landlord can be held both criminally responsible and responsible under civil law.
This especially holds true as though a much lengthier process a court order can be obtained. The court order gives the High Court Enforcement Officer lots of powers to complete the eviction. This includes requesting assistance of the police which it is their duty to assist the HCEO in the enforcement of their Writ.
There are also the health and safety issues that much be taken into account. I am sure you have all seen protesters being moved by bailiffs and or police. The standard ratio for that for a noncompliant protestor is at least 4 bailiffs to 1 protestor. It would certainly not be reasonable without a court order to use any force to move women and children out of a caravan. Ideally these things should be negotiated and they should be given at least 2 hours to pack away and find a new site. If they are not causing any damage or nuisance then a longer time should be given, such as 24 hours or more.
A Landowner would normally use Part 55 Civil Procedures Rules in the County Court. You normally need to engage the services of a solicitor and therefore you are likely to incur legal costs. It can take 10 to 14 days as a minimum for this eviction to come to a successful conclusion. It will involve serving the trespassers legal notices and a court hearing. There is again no penalty if the travellers return to the land. (We have however often found the police would be more likely to help if that occurs.)
The eviction is often not carried out by the county court bailiffs, though they have the power, due to speed and them often not having the resources to complete this very quickly or at all. Therefore, the usual way this is enforced is by High Court Enforcement Officers as they have more resources and can get this done quicker than County Court Bailiffs.
See: Part 55 Civil Procedure Rules Possession Claims.
Again, this section of the law is used by the landowner. This is a quicker method of eviction, (taking 3-4 days). However, you will need to consider the legal costs as you need to hire a solicitor for the High court. An eviction using this section of law needs to fit a very tight set of circumstances and you will need to have collected evidence to back up your case.
The practice rule 55A states:
Circumstances which may, in an appropriate case, justify starting a claim in the High Court are if –
There is as with the other options no penalty to the trespassers should they return to your land (We have however often found the police would be more likely to help if that occurs). The trespasser eviction is always enforced by a High Court Enforcement Officer.
See: Part 55 Civil Procedures Rules Emergency High Court Order.
This section of law can only be used by a local authority and only for removal of unauthorised encampments. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the local authority must own the land though. The land just must be within the local authority’s area.
There are criminal sanctions that can be imposed on the travellers if they return to the site within 3 months.
You would only need to involve the courts if the travellers do not leave as directed.
This type of eviction is carried out by Certificated Enforcement Agents.
At Quality Bailiffs we work for over 62 local authorities in England and Wales.
See: Sections 77-78 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.
Incidences of trespassers gaining entry to building sites, development land and trading businesses are escalating. Once on the premises, they can claim squatters’ rights, and usually leave significant amounts of rubbish that the owner must pay to clear.
All of this can cause serious financial issues for any commercial organisation.
Telephone us for solutions to this issue on 0208 090 2439
The eviction can take some time depending upon various factors: resolve of the travellers, resources available, police support, numbers of travellers, any extenuating circumstances.
We generally aim to give them no more than 2 or 3 hours, but sometimes an eviction can be several hours. The situations often are very fluid and really rely upon the experience and skill set of lead bailiff negotiating with the travellers to leave as quick as possible. It also depends upon their behaviour.
The team turn up, give them a couple of hours to pack up and find another site then if they are refusing to leave and cannot negotiate a reasonable time for their departure, they would liaise with you about various escalations and the risks involved with each.
We are successful about 95% of the time evicting under the common law method where that is applicable and 100% of the time if evicting under a High Court Writ of Possession. Sometimes due to Police support or safety issues we cannot complete immediately but if we fail, we can always recommend other options including the Writ of Possession.
This is not something we could get involved in as officers of the court and will usually make you a regular target for further future incursions.
They can use powers granted under The Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Act 2022, but do not usually use them only in extreme circumstances. The trespassers actions must fit a certain set of circumstances which is down to the interpretation of the police.
Yes, but only if you have the necessary, training, skill set, experience and insurance in place, but we would obviously not recommend this. Our team is led by an Authorised High Court Enforcement Officer with over 30 years of experience in this field, we are fully insured, and staff have the required training.
The risk assessment must be carried out under The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 Section 2.2. That gives employers a duty of care to both their actual employees and any sub-contractors by providing adequate information, instruction, training and supervision as required.
Our Health and Safety officer has an IOSH qualification and a Level 4 Diploma in High Court Enforcement that includes eviction so is a fit and proper person to carry this out for our staff.
If your health and safety officer has that level of qualification and experience, then of course we can discuss that however we would still need to send someone to do reconnaissance so we can formulate plan of action.
No unless they are locked in or there is some other reason but once we have completed the risk assessment, we can advise you on that.
We have employers liability, professional indemnity and public liability insurance that cover us for these tasks. Copies of which can be sent to you.
We charge from £350 plus vat to come out and carry out a risk assessment and serve notice, rom there we are able to determine a cost for the service which we would quote and agree with you before commencement.
We are an enforcement company and like all enforcement companies do not have tow trucks of our own nor are we insured to use them. We operate as service where we can act as your agent and arrange one on your behalf to attend. If we know one in your area, we could recommend one or of course you can choose the company you want us to book on your behalf.
We however do not recommend turning up with one at first as that can escalate the problem from the start and cause a very aggressive reaction.
We have been in business since 2009 and our director have been in this industry for well over 20 years some 30 years. We are Authorised High Court Enforcement Officers and contractors to over 20 Local authorities as well Government departments and lots of blue-chip companies.
Quality Bailiffs are available to advise and to perform trespasser, Gypsy and Traveller eviction services.
If you need help with a trespasser, Gypsy or Traveller eviction, then contact your local regional office.
read more eviction articles
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