Squatters are every landlord’s worst nightmare, which is why void periods between tenants, or down periods when a property is undergoing essential renovations are particularly risky times when extra security is essential.
Up until now, squatting was only ever a civil offence, so if you were unlucky enough to end up with squatters taking up residence in one of your properties, you were probably faced with a devil of a task trying to have them evicted. But thankfully changes are now going ahead and despite a few hiccups along the way, new legislation making squatting a criminal offence is set to come into force in September, a move which should be welcomed by landlords everywhere.
Homeless charities are against the move because they say there are already large numbers of homeless people forced to live on the streets because of legal sanctions used to deter squatters and in their view, criminalizing squatting will simply make the problem worse.
But as many of us already know to our cost, squatters can cause a massive amount of damage and once they are in situ, it is very difficult to get rid of them. To try and curb this problem, squatters now face a maximum £5,000 fine and up to 6 months in prison if they are found guilty of taking up residence in a property illegally.
Hopefully the severity of such measures will prove to be a deterrent for all but the most hardened squatters, but it is still very important that you try and avoid leaving a property empty where possible, and if you have no choice, always make sure you have effective security measures in place.
