Recently there have been reports in the press about making
trespass a criminal offence and amending the law on trespass.
Such a move would certainly be welcomed by the property
industry, however, landlords can already obtain an order for
possession that makes it a criminal offence to remain in occupation
- it is known as an Interim Possession Order (IPO).
The number of instances where squatters are using commercial
premises has been rising exponentially over the past three years.
What can you do about squatters if they come onto your premises?
What are your options and how effective are they? We consider the
key options below:
What is an IPO?
An IPO is designed to remove squatters more quickly than
conventional possession proceedings as it makes it a criminal
offence for the trespassers to remain on site 24 hours after they
have been served with the IPO.