Squatters in Your Property: What to Do in the First 48 Hours

You go to check on an empty flat between tenants, or a house you are about to sell, and the key will not turn. There are curtains up that you did not hang. Someone answers the door and tells you they live there now.

It is one of the most upsetting calls a property owner can make, and I understand the urge to do something immediately. The most important advice I can give is this: do not try to get them out yourself. The first 48 hours are about staying lawful, getting the facts and starting the right process. Squatter and unlawful-occupation cases are one of my specialist areas, and the owners who come through them best are the ones who stay calm at the start.

First, is it actually squatting?

GOV.UK describes squatting as deliberately entering a property without permission and living there, or intending to live there. That definition matters, because some situations that look like squatting are not:

• A tenant who has stopped paying rent is not a squatter. They came in with your permission.
• A former tenant or lodger who stayed on after their tenancy or licence ended is not committing the squatting offence, even if they leave and come back.
• Someone let in by your tenant (an unauthorised subtenant, for example) raises different questions again.

In all of those cases, the route is a possession claim, not the squatting rules, and the steps in this article do not apply in the same way. If you are not sure which situation you are in, that is the first thing to establish.

Residential and commercial are treated differently

Residential property. Since 2012, squatting in a residential building has been a criminal offence under section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. A person commits it if they entered as a trespasser, know or ought to know they are a trespasser, and are living there or intend to live there. It can lead to prison, a fine, or both.

Commercial property and land. Squatting in a non-residential building or on land is not in itself a crime. It is a crime to damage the property, and squatters must leave when told to by the owner, the police, the council or under a repossession order. In practice, removing squatters from commercial premises is usually a civil court process.

Hour one: what not to do

GOV.UK is blunt: do not try to remove squatters yourself using force or the threat of force. You are committing a crime if you do. Section 6 of the Criminal Law Act 1977 makes it an offence to use or threaten violence to get into premises when someone inside is opposing the entry. There is a narrow exception for a displaced residential occupier, broadly someone whose own home has been taken over, but it is not a licence to break in, and it is not something to rely on without advice.

So, in the first hour:

• Do not force the door, change the locks on occupied rooms or cut off the gas, water or electricity.
• Do not bring friends, contractors or anyone else to "persuade" them to leave.
• Do not post threats on the door or online.
• Do stay safe and stay polite.

The first 48 hours: what to do

1. Call the police. For a residential property, squatting is a crime and the police can act. If entry is happening now or anyone is at risk, call 999. Otherwise report it on 101. Get a reference number and the name of the officer you speak to.
2. Gather proof of ownership and of the dates. Your title register or lease, council tax and utility bills, and anything that shows when you last visited and when you found the property occupied. The date you found out matters, as you will see below.
3. Record what you can see, safely, from outside. Photographs of the door, windows and any damage, with the date and time. Note how many people appear to be there.
4. Tell your insurer. Most policies have conditions about empty properties and notification. Read them, and keep a copy of what you send.
5. Tell the managing agent or freeholder if the property is a flat in a block, so they can secure the common parts and check other empty flats.
6. Speak to a solicitor, quickly. Court proceedings are reserved legal work. A solicitor will advise which court route fits your situation and can start it for you.

Interim possession orders: why the date matters

If the police do not resolve it, the main court routes are an interim possession order (IPO) or an ordinary claim for possession.

According to GOV.UK:

• You can only apply for an IPO if it has been 28 days or less since you found out your property was squatted.
• Once an IPO is served, the squatters must leave within 24 hours or face prison, and they must not return for 12 months.
• You cannot use an IPO if you are also claiming damages, or if you are evicting former tenants or licensees.
• If more than 28 days have passed, or you want damages, the route is an ordinary claim for possession.

That 28-day window is the reason I say move quickly. Not hastily, but quickly. Every day spent arguing on the doorstep is a day off that clock. I cannot promise how long any case will take; that depends on the court, the facts and the people involved.

After they have gone

• Change the locks and secure every entrance as soon as the property is back in your possession.
• Photograph the condition and keep the evidence with your insurer claim.
• Check meters and tell the utility companies.
• Think about why it was targeted. An empty property that looks empty is the risk: post piling up, no lights, a "sold" or "to let" board left up for months. Regular visits, post collection and a short gap between tenancies all help.

This is general information, not legal advice. Court proceedings are reserved legal work and are handled by a solicitor.