What are Squatters' Rights (in the UK)?

Squatters' rights is the name sometimes given to adverse possession. In England and Wales, someone who has squatted in a property continuously for at least 10 years may be able to apply to own it. The period is 12 years if the property isn't registered with HM Land Registry. Squatters can't simply move in and claim your property.

Article updated: November 2026

What is Squatting?

Squatting is a situation where someone deliberately enters someone else's property without their permission and lives there, or intends to live there. Squatting is trespassing.

My Tenants are in Arrears, are they Squatting?

Someone who originally entered a property with the owner's permission is not legally a squatter. For example, a tenant who stays after their tenancy ends, who has not paid the rent, or whom the landlord wants to evict is not a squatter. Any time they spent there with the owner's permission does not count towards adverse possession.

In such cases, landlords must use the normal possession process to regain possession of their property.

Is Squatting a Crime? Is Squatting Illegal?

Whether squatting is a crime or not depends on the type of property that is being squatted in. It depends on whether the property is residential or non-residential.

Squatting in Residential Property

Squatting in a residential property such as a house or flat is a criminal offence in itself in England and Wales. Under section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, someone commits the offence when three things are true. They are in a residential building as a trespasser, having entered it as one. They know, or ought to know, that they are a trespasser. And they are living there, or intend to live there. No order to leave is needed first: since the 2012 Act, the occupation itself is the offence.

A uniformed police officer can enter a residential building to arrest someone suspected of squatting there.
A person convicted of squatting in a residential building can be fined, sent to prison, or both, under section 144.

Squatting in Non-Residential Property

Squatting in a non-residential building is not a crime in itself. It is a civil rather than a criminal matter. Non-residential buildings include shops, offices and warehouses.

Even when squatting itself is not a crime, other things people do while there can be. Damaging or stealing from the property, or using electricity or gas without permission, can be crimes.

Failing to leave when a court orders squatters to go can be a crime.

Squatter's Rights - When Squatting can be Legal

The legal route for a squatter to own a property is adverse possession.

To do this, the squatters would need to apply to HM Land Registry. They would also need to show that they have acted as if they own the property, such as by maintaining or improving it. HM Land Registry will notify the registered legal owner that adverse possession is being claimed.

If a registered owner does not respond to HM Land Registry's notice in time, the squatter could be registered as the new owner. If a claim is rejected, the squatter may be able to apply again after two years if they still occupy the property, the owner has not tried to remove them, and the property has not been reclaimed.

How to Remove Squatters

To remove squatters, you can go to court with an ordinary claim for possession or, for a building, an interim possession order. If it is a residential property, such as a house or flat, the police also have powers to arrest them, because squatting there is a crime. Using force to remove them yourself, or threatening to, is likely to be illegal and can be a criminal offence. Under section 6 of the Criminal Law Act 1977, using or threatening violence to enter a property can be an offence when you know someone inside objects. This includes cases where the person inside is a squatter. The offence does not apply to bailiffs or police acting lawfully. It also does not apply to people shut out of their home by squatters, people who were due to move in, or anyone acting for them, if they meet the legal conditions.

In non-residential property, police can act if squatters commit other crimes, such as damaging the building or stealing from it.

A lawyer will advise the best course of action. They will also be able to advise on the costs of removing squatters. You can apply for an interim possession order or IPO if it has been no more than 28 days since you found out, or should reasonably have found out, that your property had been squatted in. The government's guidance on removing squatters sets out two cases where an IPO cannot be used. One is where you are also making a claim for damages caused by the squatters. The other is where you are trying to evict former tenants, sub-tenants or licensees. In those cases, an ordinary claim for possession is the route. If it has been more than 28 days since you found out about the squatters, an ordinary claim for possession is the starting point, filed with particulars of the claim.

After being served with an IPO squatters can be sent to prison if they do not leave the property within 24 hours or try to re-enter it within 12 months.

A householder or tenant who finds squatters in a property in which they are living, were living or intend to live may be able to require the squatters to leave without a court order. An occupier who meets the statutory conditions in section 12 of the Criminal Law Act 1977 is a displaced residential occupier (DRO). One who meets the conditions in section 12A of the same Act is a protected intending occupier (PIO). These protections do not cover an owner who was not going to live there.

The law regarding squatting in Scotland, where the Trespass (Scotland) Act 1865 applies, and in Northern Ireland differs from that in England & Wales.

How to Protect Your Property from Squatters

Police prevention advice says protecting a property from squatters mostly means making it look occupied, hard to get into and regularly checked. That applies to any empty property or land, such as vacant buy to let properties, properties left empty between an owner moving out and a new owner moving in, and properties and land which are awaiting sale or redevelopment. Empty periods also mean lost rent, which matters when considering whether buy-to-let is worth it.

• A vacant property can look occupied when it is maintained and tidy.
• Strong doors, locks, grilles and vehicle barriers can make access harder.
• Regular checks can show whether someone has entered the property. Alarms, CCTV or a patrol can also alert an owner to an entry.

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