I thought I would take the opportunity to come back to a topic that certainly attracts alot of ire amongst commercial Landlords.
As stated before, s144 of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) 2011 makes it an offence to squat in residential premises. Anyone found squatting in residential premises will be liable for a £5000 fine or six months imprisonment. However, squatting in commercial properties remains a civil matter. Squatters in commercial properties can only be removed by a possession order which is subsequently enforced by a court enforcement officer. As a result, squatters are targeting commercial properties (pubs, warehouses etc) and inserting notices on doors and windows to remind people that the premises are not residential AKA s144 notices (which they can download from squatter's rights campaign groups websites).
Removing squatters is a waste of time and money for Landlords. As a result, any Landlords of commercial property have to be vigilant. An empty property should be securely locked. The Landlord should invest in an alarm system and make good use of signs (e.g. 'private property - do not trespass') and CCTV. The Landlord would also be well advised to visit the property at least once a week (preferably twice). In short, the Landlord should give the impression that the property is well attended and not empty. S/he should try to make the environment as unappealing for squatters as possible.
Whilst the government is aware of the problem, and has promised to keep the situation under review, it is unlikely that the law will change any time soon. Following the above will mean that the Landlord will avoid the major expense of having to remove squatters from their premises.
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