News from the Residential Property Investor, the bi-monthly magazine for RLA members other artilces from the August / September 1999 issue RPI news archive

Squatters win in London tussles - August / September 1999

Landlords with empty properties were given a reminder of just how out of hand things can get when a London man last month succeeded in gaining legal ownership of a house in which he had squatted for 16 years.

Estimated as worth in the region of £200,000, the Brixton house had been the property of Lambeth Council. But it had effectively 'forgotten' about it, and left Timothy Ellis to live there without challenge.

Last December he obtained legal aid to the tune of some £10,000 and took his claim to Lambeth County Court, which agreed he had done enough to gain squatters' rights. And last month the Court of Appeal agreed.

Ellis had been well aware of the advantage to be made from squatters rights and had placed a legal notice on his front door identifying the property as his legal home and confirming that it was not empty.

Lambeth is not the only London borough to run into squatter problems. Hackney, which had been attempting to evict squatters from houses in London Lane for almost 30 years has given up. Instead it has sold the 20 houses involved at approximately one tenth of their full market value to a cooperative formed by the 60 squatters. The plan is to upgrade the properties with the help of an EU development grant before selling them on again to individuals.

A consultative document issued last year jointly by the Land Registry and the Law Commission, dealing mainly with electronic conveyancing, called for registration of title to be made a protection against squatters' rights.

• Bryan Emden of law firm Fox Williams writes:The law will not allow an action to evict someone from land more than 12 years after he or she moved in. However, it also requires that this possession have certain characteristics: first, it must be exclusive to the squatter; secondly, it must exclusive physical control must also be established. Erection of fencing, or even a sign reading 'no trespassing', can be evidence of this.

  Even if he or she does manage to enter 'possession', the squatter must demonstrate an intention to do so. This must be clear enough that if the owner went to the land, it would be obvious that the squatter was not merely a 'serial' trespasser but intended to take possession. If an owner visited the land and found no evidence of the trespasser, any claim for squatters' rights should be unsuccessful.

  To avoid any possibility of this situation occurring therefore, the legal owner should visit empty properties to ensure they have remained secure against trespassers and, if not, take appropriate legal action (in many cases, obtaining an order for possession against the squatters) before a substantial period elapses.

  The recent case in Lambeth should not cause concern to owners. Unoccupied properties are at the mercy of intruders only in cases of chronic neglect and inaction.

• Unconvincing Arguments
• In brief
• Empty promises on council tax exemptions
• Date accommodation left landlord unassured
• Squatters win in London tussles
• HMO definition too broad