New law in relation to squatters in residential premises

Under section 7 of the Criminal Law Act 1977, squatting was a criminal offence only if a trespasser entered a residential building and refused to leave when requested to do so by a displaced residential occupier or a protected intending occupier. A person guilty of this offence could be sentenced to 6 months imprisonment and/or fined up to £5,000. This scenario would not cover squatters occupying an empty house which is someone’s second home, for example.

However, as a result of section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, which came into effect on 1 September 2012, squatting is now a criminal offence with regard to all residential property. An offence will be committed if a person is in a residential building as a trespasser having entered it as a trespasser, that they know or ought to know that he or she is a trespasser, and the person is living in the building or intends to live there for any period. A building is “residential” if it is designed or adapted, before the time of entry, for use as a place to live.

The police may enter and search any premises for the purpose of arresting a person for an offence under this section without a search warrant (s17 Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984) and a person guilty of this offence could be sentenced to 6 months imprisonment and/or fined up to £5,000.

The new law is also retrospective and so it is irrelevant whether the person entered the building as a trespasser before the commencement of this section, so any squatter currently occupying a residential property is guilty of this criminal offence.

It is unclear how much involvement the police will have in these new cases and whether or not the government has underestimated the resources that may be needed in order to regain property from squatters. There will need to be various risk assessments carried out and police will need to cover all entry and exit points of a building if they are to arrest the squatters. The police may well have to negotiate obstacles blocking entry to the premises which will prevent a quick entry and arrest.

Also, a fine imposed on a squatter is not likely to be paid, and so will only be worth the paper it is written on. Some people say that the fine is not a good idea and that it is pointless. Perhaps they have a point (in that enforcement of the fine will be difficult), but there still needs to be a deterrent and sanctions against squatters who occupy residential premises illegally. Some squatters may not care that they have a £5,000 fine imposed on them, but others may be a bit more conscious that a creditor will seek to enforce that fine, despite the difficulties they may face in doing so. Only time will tell how this new law will actually work in practice.