Traveller Eviction Services
Do you have an unauthorised encampment on your land and require fast, efficient Traveller Eviction?
If the answer is Yes, we have the solution.
The Oxford dictionary’s definition of a Trespasser is:
“A person entering someone’s land or property without permission”
Traveller eviction is a service for which we are commonly requested. It does not matter what these people call themselves be it New Age travellers, Gypsies, squatters or travellers, as the land owner you have a common law right to evict them from your land in order to regain possession.
This is covered under in Halsbury’s Laws of England, Para 1400, volume 45 of Fourth edition.
See our Guide to Traveller Eviction.
What you need to know
Whatever the situation we can help. Most of the time we can use the landlords common law powers, as Certificated Enforcement Agents (Bailiffs) and High Court Enforcement Officers to remove them without a court order.
Common Law Options
Standard Common law Service
Response times same day (dependant on time of instruction, availability, traffic, numbers of occupants and location).
Suitable for most forms of incursion. Speak with one of our team and we will be able to advise you of this and the other options we provide.
Service detail
Usually, the same day of instruction we would get the travellers or trespassers served with a common law notice to leave the site. We would also complete a risk assessment for eviction under the Health and Safety at Work Act. This would be to determine numbers of staff and resources required for a safe eviction. In our experience 70% of the time, depending on their resolve, they leave within a couple hours of this.
If they did not move, we would agree cost based on our risk assessment as to numbers of men required and agree a time to repossess the land, usually the following day depended upon resources needed and availability of police support, and if a court warrant or writ is needed.
Serve & Observe Response Service
Response times 2-3 hours approximately (dependant on time of instruction, availability, traffic, numbers of occupants and location).
Depending on the circumstances of the incursion, if it is a standard eviction case, then we can usually within 2-3 hours of your instruction send a bailiff to your site to serve a common law eviction notice and stay to encourage the trespassers to move thereafter. Speak with one of our team and we will be able to advise you of this and the other options we provide.
Service detail
A bailiff will attend the site, serve a common law eviction notice, and will remain and oversee the trespassers or travellers leaving and removing their vehicles within the time frame stipulated.
Most of the travellers at this point understand that the landowner is serious about removing them and start looking for another place to go rather than being forced out with a court order or a larger team with Police support.
During this process our bailiffs will be able to complete a full risk assessment, identify the number of vehicles, people, etc. and determine the numbers of bailiffs and tow trucks a client may need for a safe eviction. They will also be able to advise if this is likely to be achieved by common law or if a court order is more appropriate.
The cost of trying this option is a fixed fee which includes up to 4 hours on site if required.
Get a quote
Complete the form and we will contact you with our quote.
Or phone your local office to discuss.
0208 090 2439
023 8192 0037
0121 582 1051
0161 791 1735
07435 127 775
Out of office hours Eviction Service number is monitored 17.30 to 20.30 Mon to Friday, and 09.00 to 20.30 weekends and most bank holidays.
Please note this service does not have access to discuss cases, give updates, or give any other advice.
How can this be done?
There are various ways to enforce traveller eviction from your property depending on the circumstances. The powers to remove them are summarised here.
Common Law Power
- Used by the landowner to perform a traveller eviction.
- No requirement for court order.
- Only requires reasonable notice usually following day.
- The traveller eviction is enforced by Certificated Enforcement Agents.
- No penalty if they return onto land.
Part 55 Civil Procedures Rules
- Used by the landowner.
- Needs a a court procedure usually involves solicitor and legal costs.
- Not quick.
- The traveller eviction is usually enforced by county court bailiffs, or High Court Enforcement Officer.
- No penalty if they return onto land.
Sections 77-78 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
- Used by a local authority for removal of unauthorised encampments.
- Can be used on any land within the local authority’s area irrespective of ownership.
- Used to remove identified individuals from land.
- Only require the involvement of the courts if trespassers do not leave when directed to do so.
- Removal is enforced by Certificated Enforcement Agents.
- Return within three months carries criminal sanctions.
Sections 61-62 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
- Used by the police for traveller eviction.
- Can be used on any land except the highway.
- Used to remove identified individuals and / or their vehicles from land.
- Must be two or more persons trespassing on the land.
- No requirement for court order.
Instruct Quality Bailiffs
What happens next ?
- Your traveller eviction case is loaded onto our online management system.
- The system emails you confirmation of your instruction for a traveller eviction.
- One of the team will allocate the case to our nearest Bailiff / Enforcement Agent.
- A traveller eviction notice is prepared and sent to our agent to serve upon the trespassers. This is completed the same day or within 24 hours.
- The Certificated Bailiff / Certificated Enforcement Agent when serving the notice will assess the situation and determine the exact nature of the encampment and the numbers of our National Eviction Team required to carry out the eviction safely within the law and health and safety legislation. <
- The Traveller eviction team will clear the site of trespassers and will liaise with the landowner regarding the counter measures they are putting in place to avoid a return.
There is a fixed fee for the service of the eviction notice, and a separate hourly rate for the eviction.
Frequently Asked Questions for Traveller Eviction Services
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, from 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.
