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penge
penge Posts: 20 Forumite
in House buying, renting & selling
I have a friend who has been squatting for a while in a commercial premises. Today the owner sent men to change the doors and locks while he is still inside the building. Is this legal? He has not been issued with an Ipo yet.
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Comments

  • elsien
    elsien Posts: 36,636 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    He'll get more sensible answers from one of the squatters networks than on here. I suggest he phones one of them.
    Did they know he was in there?
    All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

    Pedant alert - it's could have, not could of.
  • paddyandstumpy
    paddyandstumpy Posts: 1,486 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    So your friend who is illegally traspassing on someone else's property is asking if they have rights...?!
  • eddddy
    eddddy Posts: 18,244 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 4 September 2018 at 7:27AM
    Hmmm... lots of professional Landlords (and/or regular property owners) contribute to this forum. I'm not sure how many sympathetic responses you'll get about squatting.
  • elsien
    elsien Posts: 36,636 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    paddyandstumpy wrote: »
    So your friend who is illegally traspassing on someone else's property is asking if they have rights...?!

    He's not illegally trespassing. It's a commercial building. Which proves my point about more relevant answers elsewhere.
    All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

    Pedant alert - it's could have, not could of.
  • Grezz24
    Grezz24 Posts: 234 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary
    Maybe your friend should just leave and stop trying to break into others properties/squatting, radical idea i know.
  • ProDave
    ProDave Posts: 3,785 Forumite
    Seventh Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    elsien wrote: »
    He's not illegally trespassing. It's a commercial building. Which proves my point about more relevant answers elsewhere.
    So do you think the law of trespass does not apply to a commercial property then?
  • silvercar
    silvercar Posts: 50,043 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Academoney Grad Name Dropper
    If he feels imprisoned against his will, he should phone the police.
    I'm a Forum Ambassador on the housing, mortgages & student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.
  • david1951
    david1951 Posts: 431 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary Combo Breaker
    edited 4 September 2018 at 7:50AM
    ProDave wrote: »
    So do you think the law of trespass does not apply to a commercial property then?

    https://www.gov.uk/squatting-law/squatting-in-nonresidential-properties

    Trespass to land is a civil wrong under the law of tort. Trespass is not, for the most part, a criminal offence. However, trespass on residential property which amounts to ‘squatting’ has been a criminal offence since 2012.
  • Pixie5740
    Pixie5740 Posts: 14,515 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Eighth Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic
    ProDave wrote: »
    So do you think the law of trespass does not apply to a commercial property then?

    It's not illegal to squat in non-residential property in England or Wales.

    https://www.gov.uk/squatting-law/squatting-in-nonresidential-properties
  • Pixie5740
    Pixie5740 Posts: 14,515 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Eighth Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 4 September 2018 at 7:49AM
    penge wrote: »
    I have a friend who has been squatting for a while in a commercial premises. Today the owner sent men to change the doors and locks while he is still inside the building. Is this legal? He has not been issued with an Ipo yet.

    This is really a matter for the police maybe a solicitor, and the council of your friend will soon be homeless rather than a House Buying, Renting and Selling forum since your friend is doing none of those things.

    Squatters Rights
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