Squatters Rights

alona1

Hiya,

Does anyone have information on squatters rights?

After how long 'squatting' can the person apply to have the house permanently?

How is this done?

Dont worry, I'm not a squatter but I rent out some property and was being asked on this...

Thanks

Jowo_2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverse_possession#England_and_Wales

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squatting#United_Kingdom

googler

I like this section of the second Wiki;

"Squatting is a criminal offence in Scotland, punishable by a fine or even imprisonment. The owner or lawful occupier of the property has the right to evict squatters without notice or applying to the court for an eviction order, although when evicting, they cannot do anything that would break the law, for example, use violence."

G_M

Hmm. Well maybe. But I'm not convinced wikipedia is a definitive reliable legal source...

tbs624

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/homelessness/squatting

SouthCoast

Housesitters are being paid to occupy an 18th Century mansion to prevent squatters from moving in.

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/8402967.Housesitters_paid_to_protect_Brighton_mansion_from_squatters/

mostlycheerful

Adverse possession in England and Wales is after 12 years for unregistered land and for registered land prior to 13 Oct 2003 the period was 12 years. If the claimant cannot prove 12 years adverse possession before 13 Oct 2003 the relevant period is 10 years. For Crown land 30 years and Crown foreshore 60 years ie property owned by royalty, and there have been some cases of people successfully claiming royal property which I read about a while ago but sorry I can’t remember where so I haven’t got links to hand. And apparently it’s generally 5 years in California and 30 years in Texas which I found interesting as I’d previously been under the impression that squatting was illegal in America, as it is in Scotland and Canada, for instance.

In England and Wales a key way to assert your claim is to register the property with the land registry. When claiming land it is sometimes suggested to put up a fence to assert your ownership. There are various ways of proving the 12 or 30 years and sometimes it requires a battle. One of the criteria is that the previous owners have not asserted their ownership during the period in question which is supposedly why “London’s oldest squatted street” in St Agnes Place failed in their claims in 2006 and 2007 despite having been in occupation since 1969. It probably also didn’t help their cases that there was a big drug bust and that it had been a magnet for “antisocial behaviour” for a lot of its history.

Some people I knew in London in the 1970s were getting very excited during the 12th year and were telling everyone of their impending good fortune which might be what flushed out the long lost landlord who suddenly turned up at 11 years and 10 months and laid claim to his lovely big house and scuppered all their dreams of owning it and making lots of money out of it, with only 2 months left to go! Oh no, what a disappointment, after all that mounting excitement, so close – and yet so far! The horse fell at the final hurdle. And, just to add insult to injury, he even started charging them rent again after all those years of living for free while he was awol, what a drag.

Harry Hallowes who famously laid claim to a piece of Hampstead Heath in 2007, four takes on his story that I recently found interesting and amusing :

(1) Ragged millionaire who only wanted a place to live
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2007/may/24/property.communities

(2) £2m squatter is moving up the ladder...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/features/3632694/2m-squatter-is-moving-up-the-ladder....html

(3) Tramp given £2m Hampstead Heath plot after squatting on land for 20 years
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-457222/Tramp-given-2m-Hampstead-Heath-plot-squatting-land-20-years.html#ixzz10FvUVvGr

And a 4th version with a bit more info and some mentions of other cases :
(4) Squatter's Rights
http://www.homelessnation.org/node/5231

and Rainbow George Weiss :
(5) Squatter sells 'his' home for £710,000
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-14069083-squatter-sells-his-home-for-710000.do

And, while we’re at it, some other articles about squatting (but not adverse possession leading to ownership) that caught my attention and may also be of interest or amusement :

(6) Homeowner who forgot his wallet returns to find Romanian family moving in in scene from 'Dickensian times'
A householder returned home after forgetting his wallet - only to discover a Romanian family had moved in…The homeowner is thought to have left the house for no more than an hour. The judge dealing with the case was incredulous at the details unfolded at Northampton Crown Court.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1259798/Man-goes-work-comes-home-Romanian-family-moved-in.html#ixzz10HpvxjhV

Unusually, in this case the breaking and entering was prosecuted and the people were denied squatters’ rights.

(7) Pensioner takes dogs for walk... and returns to find locks changed and a family living in his home (in today’s DM)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1314169/Pensioner-takes-dogs-walk-returns-family-living-home.html#ixzz10Fq9Fxsl

(8) Squatters demand £3,000 from family to leave home
A family today told how they were locked out by squatters after leaving their north London home for three days.
The owner “climbed through the window and confronted them. They became quite aggressive and ordered me to leave.” He added: “An Englishman's home is his castle and although I'm old, I wasn't going to be bullied. I threw their stuff out of my bedroom and set up base there. They carried on smoking and drinking and inviting friends over. They acted like hooligans.” The squatters left on Monday after a five-day stay. Mr Ahmed said: “I was so angry with police. It was obvious that the back and front doors had been forced and we had all the documents to prove the house was ours.”
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23838386-our-weekend-living-with-squatters---family-return-to-find-house-taken-over.do

(9) The Romanians at No 76: We'll go if you pay us £2,000, say squatters
“The seven or eight members of two Roma gipsy families moved in over Christmas during a lull in…building works…they were finally compelled to leave by the court order that took Mr Mosedale two weeks to secure.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1242998/The-Romanians-No-76-Well-pay-2-000-say-squatters-finally-evicted.html#ixzz10GOeXBnZ

(10) Residents powerless to remove illegal immigrants from their gardens
A spokesman for Cambridgeshire police said that…'Anybody is allowed to use reasonable force to stop people trespassing and get them off their property - much like a bouncer in a pub or club.’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1259279/Residents-powerless-remove-illegal-immigrants-gardens.html#ixzz10G7BcDqk

(11) Professional squatters move in up the road from Saudi royal family
They said they were providing a service to the community…Eduard from Romania…The squatters are representatives of PREP Ltd
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/professional-squatters-move-in-up-the-road-from-saudi-royal-family-1748276.html

(12) How to stop the squatters moving in: Know the rules to protect your home from intrusion[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]“…the police…advised me to wait until he left the property, change the locks and then make the property secure. If he broke back in, he'd be committing an offence.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/property/article-1200216/How-stop-squatters-moving-Know-rules-protect-home-intrusion.html#ixzz10G911zUA

(13) Couple conned homeowners out of thousands by squatting in properties they had no intention of buying
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1193185/Couple-conned-homeowners-thousands-squatting-properties-intention-buying.html#ixzz10G41DtM1

(14) Council forced to give squatters a list of all its empty properties
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1163457/Council-forced-squatters-list-properties.html#ixzz10GJwbMIN

(15) 'Estate agents' offer empty homes for squat
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-562325/Estate-agents-offer-homes-squat.html#ixzz10GGfQBT2

“homes are being offered by Squatters Estate Agents, which has set up a 'shop' in a derelict warehouse near the gleaming office buildings of the City of London.”

“These people are not the first ones to offer such a service. Back in the mid seventies I ran an organization called The Fulham Squatters. We offered a similar service, and were so good at finding homeless families somewhere to stay, that even a couple of the Local Authorities used to send people to us, whom they couldn't help. Sandie Seward”

“In Amsterdam you'll find squatters have even more rights but owners have found a neat way around the problem! They actually invite squatters! They go to special agencies with lists of "reliable" tenants who agree to leave when asked. In return the tenants get free accommodation and often free services. That way people who need to get a foot on the ladder get a roof over their heads while owners have someone to look after their properties and prevent "unwanted" squatting. It works extremely well. Barrie Redfern”

[FONT=&quot]End[/FONT]

dopester

Adverse possession in England and Wales is after 12 years for most properties

IIRC, a new act passed around 2002 made it 10 years (probably no change for Crown lands though, as you point out, a much longer limitation period) + a few extra months of legal process during which any "superior owner", if they can be found, or are still alive, or whoever they've left their assets to, has opportunity to be notified any reclaim via their superior ownership rights. That is for registered land/property. I think it's just 10 years and no attempt at notification for unregistered lands/property to any possible superior owner.

The position of a registered landowner was significantly improved by the Land Registration Act of 2002. Where land is registered, the adverse possessor may apply to be registered as owner after 10 years[13] of adverse possession and the Land Registry must give notice to the true owner of this application[14]. This gives the landowner a statutory period of time [65 business days] to object to the adverse possession, and if they do so the application fails. Otherwise, the squatter becomes the registered proprietor according to the land registry. If the true owner is unable to evict the squatter in the two years following the first application, the squatter can apply again after this period and be successful despite the opposition of the owner. The process effectively prevents the removal of a landowner's right to property without his knowledge, while ensuring squatters have a fair way exercising their rights.

Note this; On day 1 of taking adverse possession of the property/land (open, clear, with intent to own/possess and all that stuff).... the adverse possessor's ownership of the property/land is good against the world; except against a person who has and can prove superior ownership (within the limitation period of course).

A person who has superior ownership could be the registered landowner (or unregistered landowner with title deeds which they've never lodged with land registry), or, even a former squatter. The previous squatter could regain possession from the new squatter, with the courts on his side. Only a superior owner (who is able to prove superior ownership to the land - including deeds or just earlier adverse possession) can lawfully reclaim the property/land from an adverse possessor.

Also the adverse possessor can sell their interest in the property/land onto another buyer (provided they can find one, despite the risks of a superior owner showing up, and probably at a price that reflects that risk). If adverse possessor sold (or gives) their interest in the land/property they've "owned" for 8 years, without interruption to another person, after another 2 years of ownership by the new party, they're entitled to claim the property/land.

I've got no problem with the concept of open Adverse Possession, for if an owner leaves their property for 10 years and another to use it as their own... then that person is giving up their title. 10 years of a superior owner allowing their interest to be used by someone else (in adverse possession) is a long time. In many instances, and throughout history, it has allowed land/property not being used / abandoned.. to be brought back into productive use.

googler

G_M wrote: »

Hmm. Well maybe. But I'm not convinced wikipedia is a definitive reliable legal source...

OK, I'll rephrase it in different terms;

Assuming the Wiki entry to be a correct statement of the law as it applies in Scotland, I think the lawmakers in England and Wales would do well to embrace the same principle when revising the current law relating to 'adverse possession' .....